I was laughing when I saw Derby were a goal down to Crystal Palace after just three minutes, but I soon shut up when Forest conceded one after just two minutes after the defence was caught in no-man's land. I must admit I thought we were going to be in for a long afternoon, but to Forest's credit they didn't let that early setback get them down and they dominated the first half playing some wonderful football at times. They richly deserved to equalise when Robert Earnshaw headed home from a well-timed Chris Cohen cross. It was Earnshaw's first goal for Forest in nearly three months, during which he had endured a frustrating spell on the sidelines nursing a niggling calf injury.
But Forest were made to pay for more lax defensive work when Coventry restored their lead almost immediately through Clinton Morrison. And despite completely dominating the game and deserving to be in front, Forest found themselves trailing at half time. The Coventry fans would have booed their players off if they hadn't been winning.
Oddly for Forest, they managed to play well for the full 90 minutes, but Coventry did ask more questions of them in the second half, putting them under a lot of pressure. It was vital that the next goal would come from Forest, and thankfully that turned out to be the case when right on the hour Joe Garner pounced on the end of a Lewis McGugan free kick to net his third goal of the season, and his second in as many games.
Forest were playing so well that they looked more than capable of snatching a winner, and Garner saw his late chance to win the game spurned by a good save from the Coventry goalkeeper. But that save was nothing compared to the one that Lee Camp made in the 90th minute. Michael Mifsud had looked certain to score, but somehow Camp managed to just about palm the ball away to prevent it going over the line. Yet again Forest were indebted to the heroics of the on-loan Camp. The prospect of him going back to QPR in a month's time fills me with dread. This man has turned our season around. We must do everything we can to sign him permanently, or at the very least extend his loan until the end of the season. Let's just pray that the QPR No 1 doesn't get injured and he is recalled, because I think Camp is the single most important player we have at the moment. I used to think Paul Smith was good, but now I realise that he is not, and there was a reason why he was so low down the pecking order at Southampton.
I know I have said we draw too many games, but this was a good point for us. If we can win at home and draw away, we will be alright. Three of our next four games will be at the City Ground. We play Sheffield United on Tuesday night and then Blackpool next Saturday. I want to see at least four points from those. Both games will be difficult, particularly the Sheffield one because of the rivalry between the two Clubs. Sheffield will be reeling from their home defeat against Burnley at the weekend, while Blackpool despite their unfashionable status are holding their own in the Championship and should not be underestimated.
At least the gap from safety is now only three points. It could have been a whole lot worse. I am setting Forest a target to get out of the relegation zone by the start of the New Year. If we keep on improving then we will soon find ourselves winning more regularly. We have after all lost just once in eight matches now, and that is hardly relegation form. We must not allow our heads to drop and keep on fighting and eventually we will get the rewards.
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