Nottingham Forest v Fulham

ACADEMY MATCH REPORT
STOKE CITY U23s 1
NOTTINGHAM FOREST U23s 0
Mon 18th October 2021 | Kick-off 7pm | Lyme Valley Stadium, Newcastle Town FC | Premier League 2 Division 2
Andy Reid’s Under 23s suffered their
first league defeat in five matches
when beaten by a single goal by
Stoke’s Under 23s in Newcastleunder-Lyme
last Monday.
The Reds, playing in the distinctive
luminous yellow and orange change
kit, included Cafu, Xande Silva
and Mohamed Drager from Steve
Cooper’s first team squad to get
extra minutes in their legs.
The side was stronger than the XI
fielded in the 6-2 reverse in the
Premier League Cup at QPR the
preceding week, when a number of
youngsters were on international duty.
The Reds’ youngsters changed from
the usual diamond formation to adopt
the 3-4-1-2 system recently used by
the first team, with Silva and Julian
Larsson leading the line and Ateef
Konate just behind. Leading scorer
Will Swan dropped to the bench.
The game on a rainy evening in
Staffordshire swung on two key
moments.
Firstly, in the 27th minute a sweeping
move from one end of the pitch to
the other resulted in a penalty for
Forest. Cafu took the spot kick but
Stoke keeper Nathan Broome saved
with a strong outstretched arm as
Cafu tried to slot the ball down the
middle of the goal.
Then, with 11 minutes left, Stoke
grabbed the only goal of the game
when striker Douglas James-Taylor
powered a ferocious effort from
just inside the right hand side of the
penalty area high past Nicky Hogarth.
The Reds had ten shots, five of which
were on target, which was more than
their hosts but it was Stoke who took
the three points.
The result meant that Stoke
leapfrogged Forest into fourth in the
Premier League 2 Division 2 table,
with The Reds slipping a place to fifth.
NEXT MATCH
The Under 23s played at league
leaders Fulham on Friday night
(details in the next edition of Forest
Review)
The next home match is on Monday,
1st November against second placed
West Bromwich Albion at Meadow
Lane with a 7pm kick-off.
MATCH STATISTICS
Stoke U23: Broome, Roney,
Macari, Coates, Trialist
(Sparrow 20’), Sy (Jarrett 90’),
Wright-Phillips, Malone, James-
Taylor, Porter, Oakley-Boothe
Unused subs: Hemfrey, Knowles,
Sparrow, Jarrett, McCarthy
Goal: James-Taylor 79’
Bookings: Waller 35’, Thomas 57’
Forest: Nicky Hogarth; Aaron
Donnelly, Sam Sanders, Fin
Back; Jayden Richardson,
Cafu (Josh Barnes 80’), Tyrese
Fornah (c) (Lewis Salmon
89’), Mohamed Drager; Ateef
Konate; Xande Silva, Julian
Larsson (Will Swan 69’)
Unused subs: Alex Akers,
Ollie Hammond
Bookings: Hogarth 29’
ANDY REID’S VIEW
”It was a tough game with
the conditions and pitch not
particularly good, so it was it
was a decent test for our lads.
It’s always good to test them
in different circumstances and
scenarios.
“I can’t really fault the work rate
and, maybe, if we had scored
the penalty in the first half then
it might have been different.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t to
be but there were some decent
performances.
“We tried a different shape
which will help us have a bit
more flexibility moving forward.
I think it’s important that we
give the players different tests
and different formations so
that when they step on in their
careers they have it in the locker.
“Steve (Cooper) also wanted
some of the players around
his squad to get some minutes
under the belt.
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t
come away with anything from
the game. We most certainly
deserved something.
“We’ve got a tough test now. We
go to Fulham on Friday who are
doing well. These are the type of
weeks that really test the players.
It makes it feel like it’s more like
a first team week for us where
the first team will have to play
Saturday, Tuesday and we’re
playing Monday and Friday.”
44