Jesse Lingard finally enjoys himself in a Nottingham Forest shirt as dismal Spurs suffer Carabao Cup exit

Nottingham Forest 2-0 Tottenham (Renan Lodi 50′, Lingard 57′)

CITY GROUND — These are odd evenings. In the early rounds of a domestic cup competition, football is supposed to be played at an unusual 90 per cent tempo which is actually great fun because the players want it just enough but not so much it tenses up the muscles and fogs the mind. It’s hard to accept that soon our thoughts must shift to hope and fear and angst and anger because you always have to be angry at or about someone at a major tournament.

These are the months for hats and scarves and floodlights shining through the freezing mist and domestic football’s mythos taking shape. You can imagine that Nottingham Forest’s players may have forgotten all about this night by the time the first midweek after Qatar brings with it another Carabao Cup assignment. If it makes a difference before Saturday, a shot of confidence that victory over a supposedly higher-class opponent provides, that will do for now.

We didn’t get to 90 per cent in the first half; barely close. Forest seemed to generally want it more (or at least have more energy), Tottenham had the better players. Forest are generally happier to sit back, Spurs sometimes seem to forget that they are allowed to attack at all. It doesn’t exactly make for aesthetic nirvana. Darude’s techno pop hit Sandstorm played before the second half began, presumably to wake up those who had fallen into a comatose state.

More from Football

Grealish stars and Phillips passes World Cup audition - Man City 2-0 Chelsea player ratings09 November, 2022Gordon could have been England's World Cup wildcard but Everton star has not justified the hype09 November, 2022Wilson preferred to Toney, no place for Maddison - i's predicted 26-man England World Cup squad09 November, 2022

Looking to evaporate some of the criticism after consecutive league defeats, Antonio Conte named a surprisingly strong team that changed only three outfielders from the starting XI that lost to Liverpool on Sunday and included Harry Kane. Gareth Southgate does not need to watch horror films this week; he is following the Carabao Cup from behind the sofa.

The problem with picking a strong team is that it looks far more damning if you still get outclassed. Nottingham Forest supporters have not seen the best of Jesse Lingard yet this season, but he finally played as a No 10 with the sole responsibility for threading passes and driving forward when picking up possession and won the tie in the process.

The game was decided when Forest shifted through different gears in the second half and Spurs remained stuck in neutral.

It remains difficult to see how Steve Cooper can accommodate Lingard and Morgan Gibbs-White in the same team, but it is pleasing enough to see the former really enjoying himself again. His link-up play with Sam Surridge and Taiwo Awoniyi transformed Forest and fully earned their two-goal lead.

Long before the end, Tottenham were a rabble. Fraser Forster twice helped prolong any hope of recovery and avoided defeat becoming humiliation, Orel Mangala’s red card with 15 minutes remaining helped too. Forest sat on what they had. Tottenham are sitting on nothing but the thrusted arms of the away end up to the heavens and back, as if to ask how so very much can be warped into so very little.

from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/YFHpXAM