Nottingham Forest vs Queens Park Rangers. Sky Bet Championship.
The City GroundAttendance28,750.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at the City Ground
Saturday 22 February 2020 21:25, UK
Mark Warburton returned to the City Ground to deliver a minor blow to Nottingham Forest's promotion push after his QPR side hung on for a 0-0 draw.
Forest had far more chances as they looked to keep pace with the automatic promotion spots and maintain their position in the top six of the Sky Bet Championship.
They failed to make their opportunities count, though - the closest they came to a goal being when Joe Worrall had a header chalked off because the ball had been moving when Joe Lolley delivered a corner.
Lolley then planted a header wide in the dying seconds, as Forest missed one last chance to take all three points in a game they dominated.
Forest thought they had taken the lead when Worrall flicked home Lolley's corner but, with the two sides almost ready to restart the game in the centre-circle, the goal was ruled out.
The ball had been moving when Lolley struck the corner, and replays showed it was the right decision, but the lengthy delay left Forest fans frustrated.
The hosts came close to breaking the deadlock moments later when Sammy Ameobi hit a driven shot, which Liam Kelly saved brilliantly, as he pushed it over the bar with the slightest of touches.
Lewis Grabban fired a decent chance over the bar, Lolley drove an effort wide after making room for himself with a driving run, and Adama Diakhaby had a powerful strike bravely blocked in the box.
Forest had been forcing all the pressure but QPR might have taken the lead when Yoann Barbet hit a free-kick which forced an awkward save from Brice Samba in the swirling wind.
The home side continued to look a threat from corners, with Tiago Silva almost scoring directly from one, as his curling ball bounced off the bar.
Ebere Eze was not too far away with a curling free-kick for Rangers, although Samba looked to have it covered as it bounced wide.
Forest made three changes as they looked to find a breakthrough, while QPR looked to hold on for a point.
Lolley cut inside from the right but saw his shot easily saved by Kelly at the near post - and the winger missed one last chance to break the deadlock in added time, when he headed wide.
Nottingham Forest's Sabri Lamouchi: "Two more points today would have changed a lot. We missed an opportunity and it is not the first time, but I hope it will be the last time. We must keep going. We need to play in the same way and, in the last third, we must find more efficiency.
"It was one of our better performances. The players tried until the end. But at the end it is a big frustration. I said to the players that we defended well, which was good. My players were very down, but I told them that, when I need to complain about them, I will complain, but today I cannot."
QPR's Mark Warburton: "Forest are battling hard, they are pushing hard. We had to stand up as a team and we did. I thought we showed them too much respect in the first 20 minutes. But we had two big chances in the game and I am delighted with the players, because the point was well deserved.
"This is the Championship. You see Barnsley win at Fulham and few people are surprised by these results. That is this division. You have to stand up and produce your best, because if you don't you will get hurt, regardless of the opposition."
