Albion held by ten-man Forest

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Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck score superb goals but it finished 2-2 at the Amex.

Bruce Talbot

2024-09-22T16:00+01:00

Jack Hinshelwood has kept his place in the England Men's U21 squad after making his debut last month. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck both scored brilliant goals in the space of three first-half minutes but Albion had to settle for a third successive Premier League draw.

Trailing to Chris Wood’s 13th-minute penalty, Hinshelwood’s towering header and a fantastic 25-yard free kick by Welbeck put Albion in control against Nottingham Forest at the Amex.

But substitute Roman Sosa levelled against the run of play midway through the second half before an eventful finale saw Forest skipper Morgan Gibbs-White sent off along with both managers, Fabian Hurzeler and Nuno, after Morgan-White collected his second yellow for a foul on Joao Pedro in front of the technical areas.

Albion had dominated early on and one move involving Baleba and Rutter opened up Forest on the right. Simon Adingra burst into space but there was no one to convert his low ball across the face of goal.

Jack Hinshelwood's stunning header made it 1-1. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Instead, Forest broke the deadlock with their first penalty in 30 Premier League games. Morgan Gibbs-White’s cut-back found Callum Hudson-Odoi, who went down under Baleba’s challenge. Wood sent Bart Verbruggen the wrong way by drilling the spot-kick into the bottom left corner.

Baleba was booked for a foul on Elliot Anderson before the impressive Georginio Rutter had two efforts. He met Estupinan’s inswinging corner but flicked his header well over then turned on the edge of the box but his right-foot shot didn’t test Matz Sels.

Frustrations were growing on the pitch and in the stands. James Ward-Prowse was penalised for a foul on Joel Veltman and Albion took the free-kick quickly but referee Rob Jones pulled play back and Welbeck’s protests earned him a yellow card.

Danny Welbeck danced through the Forest defence, but his chance was kept out by Matz Sels. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion needed some inspiration and came up with two wonderful goals.

Hinshelwood scored the first in the 41st minute. Jan Paul van Hecke had time and space to tee up a cross from the right-hand corner of the box and Hinshelwood timed his leap perfectly to power his header past Sels. It was Albion’s first effort on target – and some effort it was!

If that was a bit special there was more to come. Kaoru Mitoma was fouled by Ola Aina in full flight 25 yards out. Welbeck lined up the target and swept a powerful right-foot free kick past a statuesque Sels into the top corner. Two fantastic goals in three minutes had transformed the mood.

Forest reacted with a triple change at the break, but Albion had got on top and a third goal nearly came on 50 minutes. Welbeck took Mitoma’s fine pass in his stride and slalomed past three defenders only for Sels to deflect his shot wide. An important save by the Forest keeper.

How important became apparent when Forest equalised against the run of play with 20 minutes to go. Gibbs-White threaded a pass through Albion’s high defensive line which Jota Silva ran onto before unselfishly squaring the ball to the unmarked Sosa for a tap-in and 2-2.

Morgan Gibbs-White was sent off for a second yellow card, which he received for a rash challenge on Joao Pedro. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Forest went down to ten men with eight minutes to go when Gibbs-White picked up his second booking for a badly-timed tackle on substitute Joao. Head coach Nuno followed his captain down the tunnel while Hurzeler’s protests at the challenge meant he was sent off too.

In stoppage time Forest could have won it when Sosa broke clear on goal, but he elected to try and pick out the unmarked Hudson-Odoi but overhit his pass to Albion's undoubted relief.

Albion ended up with 71% possession and 14 shots but for the second successive Amex game just one point.

Albion: Verbruggen, Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan (Ferguson 81), Adingra (Minteh 62), Hinshelwood, Baleba (Wieffer 62), Mitoma, Rutter (Joao 70), Welbeck.