I'm inclined to think only a goal would have stopped him pulling play back anyway. Gomes could have done better (it was quite central) though I don't think he was well sighted enough as the wall left him no gaps to see through.
I wouldn't say that, there were players trying to catch him but he was just too quick and maybe they weren't expecting him to go so far up the pitch. Now if you want an example of a so-called world class goal that only looked as such because no one round the player made any real effort to catch him have a look at this - if the defence were any slower they'd have been statues. When you let a 33-year-old of modest pace outrun you with acres of space, that kind of sums up why you're going down: [video=youtube;kXTFeFRPlbc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXTFeFRPlbc[/video]
I disagree. Gomes didn't take a step anywhere. He was guarding the far post and the wall was set to guard the near post/centre. The free-kick was just too good. The Muff free kick came in from the other side. Edit: Looking at it again it does look as if the wall's not in the right place. They're too central and could have been two steps to their right guarding the near post properly. Then Gomes could have been sighted as the ball came in over the wall. Still doesn't mean he'd have saved it though.
I honestly don't think Forest expected Connolly to keep going. He's a centre back...they were probably expecting him to lay it off and positioned accordingly. And then he kept going, and going, and going...
I'm honestly not one of those fans who says 'oh we only won because of this or that'..we won and that's enough for me! Getting over the line is what counts at this stage of the season. However, looking back on last night in the cold light of day Forest should have taken the lead before our goal and should have equalised to make it 2-2. We didn't cope well playing ten men, as we didn't for a while at Brentford either. Something for us to work on for sure. So I think we did wobble after the red card and had Antonio scored I wonder if we would have had the balls to win 3-2. It was still a terrific win though and summed up our 'we will score more goals than you' philosophy which has made this season so exciting!
He made a small step/jump to his left - have a look at the picture I've attached. His feet are both off the ground and he is moving slightly to the opposite side of the goal. The free kick was hit with power and Gardner did well to get it over the wall, but it was fairly central and if Gomes hadn't gone to his left he would have had a better chance of saving it. He was left flat-footed and couldn't get across as easily as he normally would. He was, quite easily, our best player yesterday, and like you said it was a good free kick. My original post was made to point out how easy it is to step the wrong way (defending Stockdale, who was criticised quite a lot on here), rather than to criticise Gomes. View attachment 2824 EDIT: Can't tell a thing from that. What a waste of time. 100% sure he did move to his left though.
Very interesting stuff. From your pic it looks like both the wall and Gomes were set up to guard the far post. Bizarre. From jon-e-lee's video link @#367 it looks like they were both guarding the centre. Again weird. Whichever, it looks like Gomes rendered himself 'unsighted'. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it normally pretty easy to see which post the wall takes and which the keeper has responsibility for? Usually the wall takes the near post with the keeper nearer the far post waiting for one swung in around the side of the wall. If the free-kick taker is good enough to get it up and down over the wall with accuracy at the near post then the keeper's stuffed. So, to me, it still looks like the set-up was wrong rather than anything Gomes did at the last moment.
Cracking away day that was. having had enough time to fully recover i can now appreciate what a good game it was. Could have easily been 5-5! Both keepers made impressive stops, esp Gomes. What a fantastic keeper we have. I think the pressure showed last night, wrong decisions being made at key times and some woeful passing in the 2nd half. But we came through it. Had Anya's volley gone in at the near post just after half time we could've gone on to get 4 of 5. I actually think the subs were correct. Although I swear I saw Vydra all ready to come on just before they scored but then next thing it was Paredes and Toszer coming on. Not sure if it was a quick change of mind from SLAV or perhaps I was seeing things! Watching vines of Antonio's miss makes me feel sick tbh. That would gave been a horrendous journey home if we'd royally ****** up a 2-0 lead. #scenes when Abdi scored. What an outpour of sheer relief and joy that was. Finally just a mention for the quality steward in our block who was accosted by the lads behind me and forced into a 'group hug/bounce in a minute' scenario when he came up the stairs to tell us to move in from the aisles, and he took it in good humour. He even came up for some more bouncing in the 2nd half!
I thought their stewards were brilliant, always looking for a laugh with the younger ones and not seeking trouble at any point. Object lesson in sensible and good humoured crowd control.
I'd like to see some timestamps for those, please; I'm not convinced that they were all taken last night.
To be fair the stewards were decent - the only one who acted like a lump of butter was the supervisor - what a complete tool! The stewards under his control obviously couldn't stand him, and seemed to ignore most of his instructions - one bounced on his own trying to get his female colleague to join in from the side of the pitch. Three points, thanks very much, move on! Birmingham is not going to be easy - I hope we don't come across any banana skins....
Life is full of postives and negatives. Negative: Couldnt get a ticket had to sit in the Trent End Positive: Those that went looked good and sounded even better. Many a good comment made by the florists around me Negative: Sat near the front behind the post that Almen clipped. it was was swerving and was on its was in. Positive: Troy giving him clear support Negatives: Having to explain that Connolly was not a third striker, nor was he a midfielder Postives: If Almens face was a joy to florist fans afer his miss, Agent Antonios was even better, and the florist fans reactions a joy (karma) At full time, plenty wished us luck and hoped we get promoted
