Nottingham Forest had Brice Samba to thank for preserving a point at home to Luton Town last night. The Congolese goalkeeper saved a penalty after Jack Colback had tangled with a Hatters player at a corner kick.
The makeshift left-back was shown a second yellow card for arguing the toss over the challenge which resulted in a penalty. He will now miss Friday’s trip to West Bromwich Albion.
Samba wasn’t to be beaten though. He made a fantastic save from Elijah Adebayo and Forest fought tooth and nail to claim a deserved point against 10-men.
It wasn’t just the brilliant penalty save that saw him earn plaudits last night. There was a one-handed catch from a corner in the first half and a tremendous reflex save in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Samba’s emotions have been on a rollercoaster in recent times. During Chris Hughton’s time at the club, his form was up and down but not he’s at least showing some consistency.
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The 27-year-old has been pretty good under Steve Cooper and he’s firmly established as the club’s number one goalkeeper.
Samba signed for the Reds from Caen in 2019. He has now played 106 games for the club, keeping 31 clean sheets in the process.
What have Forest fans said about Samba?
The Reds fan base have given the goalkeeper some pelters over the years he’s been at the club. Many have used one or two errors to apparently justify him not being very good.
That is complete cobblers though and on his day Samba can mix it with the best goalkeepers in the division. This was one of those nights and he firmly silenced his critics under the City Ground floodlights.
Here is what Forest supporters had to say following an outstanding performance between the sticks kept Luton at bay.