Cash rescues point for Forest amid injury-time drama at West Brom | Football

Nottingham Forest capped off a rollercoaster week by holding an imperious West Bromwich Albion to a 2-2 draw at home, a physical, contentious game decided in the dying minutes with a searing strike from Matty Cash after almost endless pressure from the home side.

Callum Robinson had scored the opening goal with a smooth finish after a moment of magic by Matheus Pereira before Kyle Bartley and Tobias Figueiredo traded own goals. In the end, Cash denied the league leaders a fourth straight victory and the chance to move nine points ahead. And there was still time for drama even deeper into injury time, with Robinson’s effort ruled out for offside despite the ball hitting his teammate Bartley when over the line.

These are pivotal moments in the race for promotion and the tension surrounding the top teams has led to one question defining the league at the turn of the year: does anyone actually want to leave? West Brom have burst into February with three consecutive wins, but not before looking returning to retain their spot in the Championship with a rancid run of seven winless games. Forest, meanwhile, blunted the euphoria from last weekend’s toppling of Leeds with a desolate loss at home to a struggling Charlton.

The Forest manager, Sabri Lamouchi, had been hammered for the lead-up for his decision to rotate his squad against Charlton. He had one eye on West Brom and the result meant the contest counted even more. The urgency of the game for both teams was reflected in a contentious opening 20 minutes as tackles flew in from every direction.

Pereira, Cash and Yuri Ribero all hit the floor under the force of heavy challenges. Words were exchanged and points were made, but the staccato start did not benefit the flowing possession of the home team as their early pressure became sterile.

Throughout the season, Pereira has demonstrated that he can create anything from anywhere, and it took a typically transformative moment from nothing to invigorate his impotent team. Samba Sow was leisurely carrying the ball forward when suddenly it had been snatched from him. By the time Sow looked down, Pereira had burst forward and then slipped a lovely ball to Robinson, who was composed with his far post finish.

Before the match, Lamouchi responded to universal anticipation of West Brom’s dominance of possession with a simple phrase: “Possession is not the most important thing.” By the end of the first half West Brom’s possession had topped 64% but Forest took their time and generated chances themselves, culminating in Sammy Ameobi slipping down the left wing and whipping a perfect ball into the box. Bartley applied the finish by hammering the cross into his own goal.

The home side seemed to settle into the second half, generating wave after wave of pressure before Jake Livermore fired a vicious low effort close from a tight position that rolled through the legs of two players, collided against Figueiredo and into his own goal. The goal did not stop West Brom from chasing after a third to kill the game and even as the clock counted down they held onto the ball. But Forest were patient and when they found themselves in an advanced position with their last chance of the game, Cash made no mistake, hammering a right-footed strike into the top corner to rescue a draw.