Nottingham Forest 1 Wolves 1 - Report

Some disappointing defending handed Chris Wood a 10th minute opener at the City Ground.

But almost immediately from kick-off Wolves responded, as Bellegarde picked the ball around 25 yards out from goal and rifled it into the top corner.

Wolves were screaming for a second half penalty when the ball struck Wood on the hand, denying Craig Dawson a chance, but referee Simon Hooper did not give the spot kick and VAR did not intervene.

With 10 minutes of added time on the clock, Wolves braved a Forest storm to leave with their first point of the new season.

Analysis

Gary O’Neil made nine changes from the team that beat Burnley in the Carabao Cup, and stuck with the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Deadline day signing Sam Johnstone started between the sticks, as Jose Sa did not travel with a potential move to Saudi Arabia in the works.

Daniel Podence was also not involved, as he is due to leave for the Middle East, while new signing Andre made the bench.

Former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo named former Wolves academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White in his Forest starting XI.

Wolves had a huge chance in the opening minutes as they opened Forest up. Matheus Cunha slipped a delightful pass through for Rayan Ait-Nouri, who saw his first shot saved and his second blocked.

After failing to capitalise on a good start, Wolves were behind after 10 minutes. A corner came in and as Toti Gomes got caught underneath the ball, Wood was left free to head into the bottom corner, with Johnstone wishing he could have done better to stop it.

But less than 60 seconds from the restart Wolves levelled. Mario Lemina won the ball in midfield and as the ball dropped to Bellegarde, he smashed it into the top corner from outside the box with a fantastic strike.

It was a chaotic and frantic back-and-forth game, with two sets of supporters firmly up for the fixture.

In a spell of Forest pressure, Neco Williams was released down the right but his low cross was superbly cleared by Nelson Semedo at the back post.

Gibbs-White then forced Johnstone into a good save directly from a free-kick, before Anthony Elanga fired wide at the back post.

On the stroke of half-time Cunha had the chance to play Bellegarde in, but he chose to shoot and blasted it over the ball, to his team-mates' disgust.

The teams then entered the break drawing 1-1.

A quiet start to the second half almost burst into life when Cunha darted down the left flank. He charged into the box but overran the ball when a shot or pass to Larsen was on, losing the chance.

An excellent Johnstone save then denied Wood a second. Gibbs-White lifted in a cross, Wood beat Dawson in the air, but his header was clawed away by the goalkeeper.

At the other end, Tommy Doyle had a shot from range unfortunately deflected wide.

Wolves were left absolutely furious when the ball struck Wood on the arm as he was trying to deny Dawson from connecting with a cross. Referee Hooper put the whistle to his mouth and then changed his mind, with VAR not intervening.

O’Neil was apoplectic on the sidelines and was booked for his reaction.

Forest almost went up the other end and scored, too, but Williams blazed over from a good position.

With six minutes remaining, Wolves failed to clear their lines from a corner and Wood tucked the ball into the bottom corner, but the offside flag saved the visitors.

Andre then came on in the 85th minute for his Wolves debut, as O’Neil looked to shore up the midfield.

The officials put up the board showing 10 minutes of added time, which galvanised the home support.

Forest put Wolves under immense pressure during that spell, but Dawson led his back line superbly as they weathered a storm to take a point.

Key Moments

GOAL 10 Wood takes advantage of poor defending to head home from a corner

GOAL 12 Bellegarde smashes the ball into the top corner for a quick equaliser

Teams

Wolves: Johnstone, Semedo (Doherty, 73), Mosquera, Dawson, Toti, J.Gomes (Doyle, 59), Lemina, Bellegarde (Guedes, 73), Cunha, Ait-Nouri (Hwang, 59), Larsen (Andre, 85).

Subs not used: Bentley, Bueno, Sarabia, R.Gomes.

Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina, Sangare (Yates, 56), Anderson (Jota, 90), Elanga (Awoniyi, 90), Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi (Sosa, 79), Wood.

Subs not used: Miguel, Dominguez, Da Silva Moreira, Moreno, Boly.