Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman happy with his side's fighting qualities
Saturday 19 December 2015 21:25, UK
Dougie Freedman praised his Nottingham Forest side's battling qualities as they earned a 2-1 win over MK Dons.
The Reds had to ride out a nervous finish to secure their fourth consecutive victory at the City Ground after substitute Josh Murphy had pulled one back for the visitors in the 81st minute.
Nelson Oliveira and Ryan Mendes had put Forest in control with early goals, but the home side spurned a host of chances and allowed MK Dons back into the game.
"We had to make sure we defended properly in the last 10 or 15 minutes and credit to the lads for that," Freedman said. "MK Dons had nothing to lose and they threw on a few subs and fired the ball into the box.
"But what really pleased me was the start to the game we made. We got two goals, could have got three in the first 20 minutes had Nelson put away another chance.
"MK Dons are a possession-based side and (boss) Karl (Robinson) has been working on that approach for five years, so we needed to make a bright start and we did.
"Nelson has that cutting edge and he is only going to get better for us."
Forest suffered a blow when Daniel Pinillos limped off with a serious-looking knee injury in the second half.
"The injury to Daniel was a real blow. But at the end all you want is to win the game and, even though we had to defend late on, that is exactly what we got," added Freedman.
"I felt that we hurt them when we got possession. Our attacking play was good and, in the end, we had to show that determination and desire that is the trademark of any successful team. But we had that."
Dons boss Robinson felt his side had deserved more from the game.
"I thought we were the best team, beyond our mistakes in the first half," he said. "I thought we dominated territorially. We created chances.
"The difference is when you have the kind of quality players that Forest do playing against you.
"We have to do things in a certain way, but we did that. I have seen Forest a lot this season and they are assured in the system they play.
"But we have pushed them hard by playing good passing football, not by lumping the ball into the box or kicking them.
"I am proud of the way we came to Forest and played. I did think we were going to get something out of the game. Our substitutions made us stronger."
