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This is the price of instability. Nottingham Forest appear lost and the latest change of direction might serve to make matters worse before they find a way out of a maze they have created for themselves.
Bournemouth, up to second, battered them for 45 minutes, went two up and coasted in. The first went directly from a corner which should have been a goal kick but make no mistake this was no fluke.
The scoreline flattered Forest, now winless in eight Premier League games and firmly ensconced in the relegation zone…
Forest of Dyche
Sean Dyche bemoaned ‘physical consistency’ and ‘cloudy minds’ after being unable to follow up the win against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday. ‘It looked like we flatlined,’ said Dyche.
‘The elation of the other night, the relief to win again but then it comes at you quickly and it’s not going to stop. Look at the fixtures.’
Up front, Forest made nothing stick. In midfield, they lacked bite. At the back, they could not resist.
They did not muster any sort of shot at goal for 20 minutes and when they did it was wildly off target from Neco Williams.
Dyche, having only made one change to the team that started against Porto, seemed to accept that he got that wrong by making three substitutions at half-time. His team improved, without looking like getting anything from the game.
Forest keeper Mat Sels is helpless as Marcus Tavernier’s corner goes straight in for 1-0
Junior Kroupi celebrates scoring Bournemouth’s second shortly before half-time
Sean Dyche rallies his troops but his first Premier League game as Forest boss ends in defeat
Ryan Yates added aggression in midfield and Taiwo Awoniyi was more effective up front. They got Morgan Gibbs-White on the ball in more advanced areas.
Still, they did not extend Bournemouth’s goalkeeper Djorde Petrovic until a swerving effort by Gibbs-White from just outside the penalty box in the 77th minute.
Orset Balloon
Bournemouth bristles with energy and intensity. They have troubled better teams than Forest and will continue to do so if Andoni Iraola can keep key players fit.
They have lost only once – at Liverpool in a six-goal thriller on the opening day of the season.
Once ahead, they did not look like taking anything less than three points. Marcus Tavernier whipped in the first from a corner that should never have been, but Forest did not deal with it well. Matz Sels flapped under pressure from Tyler Adams and claimed a foul but VAR did not get involved.
Sels was beaten from 30 yards for the second. Adams, outstanding throughout, won the ball in midfield, referee Sam Barrott played a good advantage and Junior Kroupi scored his fourth goal in three games, slammed in low as Nikola Milenkovic backed off and invited him to try his luck from 30 yards.
Bournemouth never looked like relinquishing their lead after half-time and are now second
Ripening Cherries
The second half was a more even contest. Iraola’s team lost their tempo and let Forest make the run, seeking to pick their moments on the break which they did without maximizing them.
Still, they did not let the visitors back into the game, perhaps a sign of maturity in Iraola’s team who sent their fans home singing about the Champions League and dreaming the dreams Nottingham Forest were dreaming a year ago.
Unflappable Iraola shrugged off any excitement, insisting he was concerned only with points, not the position in the table. And will not declare this team better than the last until they have surpassed the 56 points accumulated last season.
