Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Ethan Horvath endured a nightmare moment last night as Luton Town dropped points in the Championship. The Hatters were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw against Millwall and for the American stopper it was a night to forget.
Horvath was added to the Forest ranks by Dane Murphy ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. It was always anticipated that he would act as a backup to Brice Samba and that’s how his maiden season at Forest turned out.
During last season he made 11 appearances for the club, keeping four clean sheets. He deputised pretty well in February and March after Samba had seen red during a game against Stoke City.
Last night he endured a really difficult moment. A speculative effort by Zian Flemming was right down his throat and should have seen Horvath make a routine save.
Instead, he got his footwork all wrong and flapped at the ball, allowing it to sail past him and give Millwall the lead. The Sky Sports commentator described the moment as a ‘terrible mistake’ during the live coverage.
Luton did manage to salvage a point. Millwall are a team that they will hope to beat to a play-off place and last night’s result suits the Lions more than it does Luton.
Horvath endured nightmare moment and Forest fans have seen it before
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Horvath has done something like this in English football. He dropped two errors last season at different points in the campaign.
A loose touch during a 2-0 defeat against Middlesbrough saw him set Onel Hernandez up for a tap-in. Then, in March, he allowed a shot from Andre Gray to squirm through his legs during a game against QPR.
Clearly, this is something that is plaguing Horvath. He’s done alright this season, keeping 13 clean sheets for Luton but he must cut out these errors.
Rob Edwards will have the remit to get Luton promoted this season. As a result, he will want his goalkeeper to stop throwing routine saves into the back of the net.
Horvath must cut these situations out of his game quickly. Sadly, it’s these types of moments that will probably ensure he doesn’t get another chance to shine at Forest in the future.