Nottingham Forest legend Garry Birtles has raved about Joe Worrall for his performance in last night’s 3-1 win over Brighton.
The club captain was left on the bench by Steve Cooper but came on early doors when Moussa Niakhate was injured.
Worrall put in a true captain’s performance and ensured that Forest claimed their first win for 12 matches at the City Ground.
The Reds won thanks to a Pascal Gross own goal, Danilo and a late penalty by Morgan Gibbs-White.
It was the performance of Worrall that caught the eye of Birtles, however, and he was full of praise for the defender.
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He told the Garibaldi Red Podcast: “Can I just mention Joe Worrall when he came on? I thought he was outstanding and he never put a foot wrong.
“I was so impressed because it’d be easy to get demoralised.
“I know how that feels being out of the team from when I was at Manchester United. But I thought his performance under a lot of pressure was excellent.”
Worrall has endured a frustrating season. Although he’s been fit for the entire campaign, he’s not always been considered the first choice.
On Saturday he was called upon early doors when Scott McKenna picked up an injury. Last night, it was the same situation.
The 26-year-old does clearly care about the football club and it’s hard to pick fault with any aspect of his last two performances.
Forest legend Birtles has raved about Worrall
The Reds were well worth their win last night. Frankly, Worrall’s performance when he came on contributed to the victory.
The player is Forest through and through making his omission from the team harder for him to take.
He hasn’t sulked though and he was more than ready when called upon following Niakhate’s injury.
Forest might now have to hand Worrall the chance to start games once again for the remainder of the season.
The player will strive for consistency but he can take a lot of heart from his performances against Liverpool and Brighton.