Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has criticised goalkeeper Brice Samba for one aspect of his performance in the 3-0 win over Barnsley.
The Reds were dominant from the off. Goals from Keinan Davis and Ryan Yates set the tone, with Brennan Johnson sticking the seal on a comfortable victory with a second-half striker.
Forest have set themselves high standards under Cooper. As a result, the manager wasn’t overly impressed with his team’s performance in the second half.
The Reds did allow the Tykes a firm foothold. The visitors had a lot of the ball in the second period but couldn’t find a way to breach the Forest rearguard.
It was another clean sheet for Samba last night. Cooper would have liked a bit more from his stopper, however, when it came to the ball at his feet.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “It was a good opportunity to play with good intensity. There were gaps to play through, which we didn’t take.
“At times, Brice was too slow getting the ball back into play, and then that had a knock-on effect. In the end, the game became a bit of an average spectacle.”
Standards: Cooper won’t rest on laurels and Samba will need to improve Forest footwork
The Reds have put themselves into a great position but ultimately standards are being set higher than ever by boss Cooper. As a result, Samba might need to up his game when in possession of the ball.
Particularly in the second half last night, the goalkeeper was very lackadaisical with his kicking which bordered on complacent at times.
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Samba’s antics are brilliant when trying to run the clock down. Last night, however, there was no need to pander to the crowd in that sense, with more goals there for the taking.
Cooper was perhaps right to be annoyed with his goalkeeper last night and he’ll hope to get things moving a bit quicker from the back next time out.