CITY 1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0
League Division 1
4th May 1987
attendance 21,405
Scorer Varadi(8)
Ref J Lovatt
City Nixon, Wilson, Clements, McCarthy, Redmond, Langley, May, McNab, Varadi, Stewart, Simpson – Sub Moulden(unused)
Forest Sutton, Walker, Pearce, Foster, Fairclough, Metgod, Mills, Webb, Clough, Wilkinson, Osvold – Sub Riley(73)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
HUNG-OVER FOREST HIT BY VARADI
KEVIN MARRIOTT WRITING IN THE DERBY EVENING TELEGRAPH 5TH MAY 1987
It was a case of After the Lord Mayor’s Show for Nottingham Forest against battling Manchester City at Maine Road yesterday.
Forest, so glorious in victory over Tottenham on Saturday, looked very ordinary against a City side fighting hard to bring off a miraculous escape from relegation.
Perhaps Brian Clough’s side put so much into beating Spurs that they had little left to give yesterday.
Whatever happened, they rarely looked capable of hitting back after Imre Varadi’s 8th minute goal had given City the perfect start in a match they knew they had to win.
The goal was simple in its execution and posed questions of Forest’s marking from Paul Simpson’s corner. Mick McCarthy got a flick on at the near post and Varadi, on the six yard line, had time to plant a header past Steve Sutton.
Forest came nearest to a equaliser in the 23rd minute when Nigel Clough, who had another excellent match, produced a stunning right foot shot from 20 yards which Eric Nixon was forced to tip away for a corner…
Clough did his best to keep Forest ticking but alongside him Paul Wilkinson had another horrendous game, finally being withdrawn after 73 minutes to give David Riley his first senior action of the season.
If Brian Clough was looking for pointers to next season from this performance, he could certainly take heart at the contribution of another of his recent signings, Colin Foster.
The big centre half, not long out of the Fourth Division, portrayed skills worthy of an experienced First Division campaigner. It will be interesting to see how he develops.
City, with Neil McNab playing superbly in central midfield and Simpson shining on the left, always looked dangerous on the break but only once came close to increasing their lead.
That opportunity fell to Varadi after good work by Paul Stewart, but the striker shot wide with most of the goal at his mercy.
City’s loyal fans gave their side a tremendous ovation at the end though relegation could be just around the corner.
For Forest, it was a time to reflect. This was their 12th away defeat of the season and it is a statistic which will prevent them finishing in the top six.