Nottingham Forest ace slams 'two poor decisions' in verdict on controversial Sunderland winner

Latest Nottingham Forest news as Ange Postecoglou's Reds beaten 1-0 by Sunderland at the City Ground

Nottingham Forest were left scratching their heads in more ways than one after Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Sunderland.

First, there was the disputed free-kick from which the visitors scored to win the game at the City Ground. And then there was the string of chances the Reds created but from which they were unable to profit.

The two factors combined meant Ange Postecoglou’s first home game as Forest head coach did not pan out in the way he had envisaged. After five matches at the helm, the former Tottenham Hotspur boss is yet to register a victory.

But should this weekend’s encounter have ended in defeat? Defender Neco Williams was certainly not convinced the Black Cats should have had the opportunity to put the ball past goalkeeper Matz Sels in the 38th minute in the first place.

Forest argued midfielder Nicolas Dominguez had been fouled in a 50-50 challenge with Trai Hume. Referee Tony Harrington, however, booked the Argentine for simulation and awarded a free-kick to the visitors.

Omar Alderete was left with a free header from Granit Xhaka’s set-piece and made the most of it to put his team in front. VAR checked for a potential offside and Forest were convinced Williams had been fouled as the ball was put in, but the goal stood.

"We should have defended it better but at the same time, I've never seen a ref give one of those free-kicks before in all my time of playing football,” Williams said in an interview with Sky Sports (via the BBC). “There was contact so he got it wrong and for the goal, I was held back.

“Their player had two arms round my waist and that played a key factor in their goal. It is two poor decisions, especially by the referee, and then the people on VAR.

"It's a tough one to take. It was a game where we just didn't finish off our chances. We created many chances but just couldn't put it to bed.”

The Reds dominated possession against the newly-promoted side but could find no way through. Even when Postecoglou threw on the attacking cavalry in the second half in an attempt to rescue a result, there was no breakthrough.

Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Dilane Bakwa all tried their luck as the hosts tried to response. Omari Hutchinson, Igor Jesus and Anderson went on to draw saves from goalkeeper Robin Roefs. But it was last season’s top scorer, Chris Wood, who spurned Forest’s best chances in the dying minutes.

Postecoglou has undoubtedly overhauled the Reds’ style of play since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo in the hot seat. A busy schedule has left him with little time on the training ground with his squad, but Williams is confident the results will soon turn in Forest’s favour.

"We kept going until the end and they didn't create many chances,” the full-back reflected. “We created many but the end product just wasn't there.

“We couldn't put our finishes to bed so it was just one of those games. We're working hard in training, we're still learning the style of the manager and as soon as it clicks we'll be good to go.

“It's about the ball being in the back of the net and we just couldn't do that. We will get there but it's just about getting that first win."

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