Match Review - QPR 1 - 1 Nottingham Forest

Stout defending by a resolute Nottingham Forest team reduced to 10 men after the sending off of Radoslaw Majeski earned a point for the Midlands side and maintained their recent good run of form.

From the kick off Forest showed attacking intent, winning 3 corners within 5 minutes as QPR stumbled out of the blocks. However it was QPR who struck the first meaningful blow, with Tommy Smith picking the ball up on the right side of midfield, running at the Forest defence and placing a sweetly struck curling shot into the bottom corner beyond the despairing dive of Lee Camp in the 16th minute.

After 23 minutes, a moment of madness from Majewski saw him receive a straight red card from referee Mark Clattenburg. Mr Clattenburg had no choice but to give the young Pole his marching orders after a dreadful two footed lunge on the impressive Adel Taarabt. It was only down to good fortune that the QPR captain was not seriously injured, and he was once again the heartbeat of a team that has only been beaten at home once this season.

Facing a team with such a formidable home record is daunting with 11 men, but down to 10 and Forest fans were beginning to fear the worst. Yet only a few minutes after the sending off, Forest found themselves on terms with QPR, a 30 yard free kick from Forest talisman Lewis McGugan hit David McGoldrick on the knee as it was sailing wide and rolled past a wrong footed Paddy Kenny.

After racking up corners for fun in the early part of the game, the 10 men of Forest very nearly took the lead when Wes Morgan rose the highest from yet another corner, forcing a fine reaction save from Kenny with his legs. Forest showed verve and adventure up to half time, sending Wes Morgan and Luke Chambers forwards at every opportunity.

A recurrence of the hamstring injury that had kept Tommy Smith out allowed for the introduction of on-loan Ishmael Miller. He provided a more direct threat to the Forest defence and consistently tested Joel Lynch, brought on for Marcus Tudgay at halftime to combat this threat. Forest found themselves doubling up on Miller, allowing Fourlain and Taarabt space to create problems.

As the second half progressed, Forest, with only David McGoldrick up front were defending with two tight banks of four, and any clearance was short lived as Forest found themselves resisting wave after wave of QPR attacks.

For all their numerical advantage, the only clear chance came from a corner from QPR when Bradley Orr outjumped his marker only to see his header cleared off the line by Chris Gunter having beaten Lee Camp.

At one point in the second half, QPR were enjoying up to 70% possession, however a series of blocks from Chambers and good defensive work from Wes Morgan ensured that the scoreline remained even. As the clock ticked down, Paddy Kenny found himself employed more as a sweeper than goalkeeper, but Forest resisted the attacks, and could have scored on the counter-attack when Lynch fed Tyson who crossed for the advancing left-back late on.

Forest boss Billy Davies was obviously delighted with the backs against the wall defending, and although the winning run has come to an end will certainly view this as a point gained rather than two dropped.

MOTM: QPR - Adel Taarabt - Talismanic performance, nearly every move was instigated by the Morrocan.

MOTM: Forest - Luke Chambers - Allowed Smith to drift inside for the first goal but recovered well and made numerous excellent blocks to keep the scores level.