Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario endured a hot afternoon at the City Ground as Tottenham lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest.
Two weeks ago, Vicario was booed by supporters after a disastrous first half when Spurs conceded two goals in the first six minutes against Fulham, and had another disappointing game as he missed out on a chance to win his third straight game in all competitions for the first time under manager Thomas Frank.
From the off, Spurs struggled to cope with Nottingham Forest’s intensity. Nicolò Savona’s cross led to Ibrahim Sangare, who came within inches of taking the lead within five minutes, but the midfielder’s header hit the foot of the post and the visitors survived.
Tottenham’s downfall was brought about by their own actions. Vicario’s pass to Archie Gray, who was heading towards his own goal on the edge of the box, was of poor quality and did not give his young team-mate many chances. Sangare nipped in and stole the ball from a young Spurs player, flicking the ball away from Vicario and into an empty net for Callum Hudson-Odoi.
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Nottingham Forest take the lead at the City Ground after Spurs’ misery at the back
Vicario’s day didn’t get any better after the break.
But while Hudson-Odoi’s shot was successful, the winger had no intention of hitting the net with his cross. Vicario misjudged the flight of the ball and it was sucked past the goalkeeper and into the far corner for the W forward’s second goal of the afternoon.
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Guglielmo Vicario misjudges Callum Hudson and Odoi’s cross into Forest’s second!
Frank was foresighted enough to make a triple change, replacing Jed Spence, Gray and Rodrigo Bentancur with Lucas Bergvall, Ben Davies and Parinha, but the desired change did not come to Spurs.
Sangare had a great try and it was Forest who had a great try. The strike deflected off Vicario and went inside the post, moving Sean Dyche’s side to within five points of the relegation zone.
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Nottingham Forest score third goal against Spurs courtesy of Ibrahim Sangare
Frank: “Spurs have taken a step back”
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank told Sky Sports:
“Very disappointing. It was a very disappointing performance today.
“It was a terrible performance, especially in the first half. Overall, we looked disjointed, especially after the 1-0 goal. And after the second goal we looked disjointed.”
“We didn’t win enough duels. We just couldn’t hit each other after that. Throughout the game, we seemed to give away the ball every time we got it back.”
“The first two goals were mistakes, which often happens. We need to show resilience and bounce back from that. And continue to do the right things and keep doing them. That’s definitely a sign that it’s a working theme that we need to constantly work on to be more consistent.”
“Today is two steps forward and one step back.”
“Spurs’ alarming performance”
Former Forest and Tottenham winger Andy Reid told Sky Sports:
“It was a worrying performance from Spurs.
“Thomas Frank was starting to show signs of recovery and seemed to be starting to make a positive impression on the club and this team.
“But they put in a performance like this, they’re not going, they’re not showing any desire. The body language didn’t seem good at all.
“Nottingham Forest ran on top of them and played better than them in all areas of the game. Man-to-man they were fitter and all over the pitch they were better.”
“Spurs got what they deserved from this game, but it was nothing.”
The story of the game in terms of statistics…
Dyche: That’s where you want to be when you take over.
Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche told Sky Sports:
“The players were outstanding from start to finish.
“Our form was good, our pressing was good, our recovery line…that’s what we think as managers and coaches. And the good things took care of themselves. We have talented players here and we know they want to play freely. But we need the right framework and we definitely did that today.”
“In your mind’s eye, that’s where you want to get to when you take over.
“They looked fitter, stronger – the same way I like fit in players – and showed some quality as well.
“Run, run and run some more. It’s not rocket science. In my world, you get players fit, you shape them, you organize them. Because if they have talent, I believe they have it, so it’s built on the foundations.”
“Connections in the forest are constantly being built.”
Nottingham Forest goalscorer Callum Hudson-Odoi told Sky Sports:
“Our mindset from the beginning was 100 percent, go, go, go. From start to finish, everyone worked their socks off. You could tell that’s what we wanted.
“Today was a great performance from start to finish.”
“I can see the connections being built more and more. Every time we step on the pitch, we’re growing. We’re enjoying our soccer.”
