Nottingham Forest 1 (Johnson 38) Wolves 1 (Podence 83)
Daniel Podence earned Wolves an invaluable point at the City Ground, as he showed brilliant composure to cut inside and fire into the top corner to rule out Brennan Johnson’s first half strike and ensure it finished honours even in Nottingham.
Forest led at the break thanks to Johnson firing between the legs of Jose Sa, after Moussa Niakhate hit his own crossbar for the hosts, and once they passed up numerous opportunities to add to the lead, Wolves struck through their top scorer Podence to avoid a damaging defeat in the Premier League relegation battle.
A quick glance at the table told the magnitude of the occasion at the City Ground and it was the hosts who rose highest in the first half, threatening before Johnson gave them the lead at the break.
It was the Wales international who threatened first on seven minutes, after coming inside past Toti, operating in an unfamiliar left-back role, and forcing Sa to turn over one-handed. As for Wolves, their first threat came through Adama, who latched on to a deep Toti cross and connected well with his effort, but the Forest defence were able to come across and block.
The closest Wolves came to a first half goal was actually via a Forest man, as Matheus Nunes swung in a cross looking for Matheus Cunha, but Niakhate got his head to it and slammed an effort against the crossbar with Keylor Navas beaten.
At the other end, Emmanuel Dennis was causing Nelson Semedo problems and when he cut inside past the full-back, he fired a low effort which needed claiming by Sa. However, when Dennis got the better of Ruben Neves on the of the Wolves box soon after, he fed Johnson, who from a tight angle fired between the legs of Sa to give Forest the half-time lead.
Half-time | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Wolves
After the break, it was still the hosts who looked the more likely to add a second. Morgan Gibbs-White fired straight at Sa against his former club, before the Wolves goalkeeper did brilliantly to deny Dennis with his legs, before Johnson fired the rebound wide, with the goal gaping.
Wolves were being restricted to shots from distance, but efforts from Maximilian Kilman and Podence did little to trouble Navas, while Danilo, who had moved into a makeshift striker position shot wide for Forest, when he should have been hitting the target.
The longer the contest went at 1-0, the more hope Wolves had and the introduction of Pedro Neto forced the issue, as the wide man’s shot fell to Diego Costa, and once the striker fed Podence on the left, he had the composure to come inside on his right foot and fire into the top corner to spark scenes of joy, and relief in the away end.
With seven minutes remaining it was a case of sticking or twisting for both clubs and neither truly staked a claim for a late winner. Gibbs-White tested Sa again, while Wolves had a late corner come to nothing, meaning it was honour’s even at the City Ground.
Full-time | Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves
Forest | Navas, Williams, Felipe, Niakhate, Toffolo (Lodi 61), Mangala (Kouyate 86), Freuler, Danilo (Awoniyi 86), Niakhate, Gibbs-White, Johnson, Dennis (Worrall 67).
Unused subs | Hennessey, Shelvey, Colback, Surridge, Ayew.
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Dawson (Bueno 65), Kilman, Toti, Lemina (Sarabia 46), Neves, Moutinho (Podence 46), Nunes, Adama (Costa 65), Cunha (Neto 81).
Unused subs | Bentley, Collins, Gomes, Jimenez.
