Nottingham Forest come from behind to earn feisty point at Brighton
After conceding just two goals in their opening four league outings and having kept opponents Forest at bay in each of their last four head-to-heads, it was perhaps a surprise to see the Brighton defence breached after just 13 minutes.
A clumsy Carlos Baleba challenge was their undoing, bringing down Callum Hudson-Odoi in the box to allow Chris Wood to convert the resultant penalty.
The Forest forward could have had his second of the game when he inexplicably directed a close-range shot off-target, but thankfully for Wood, the offside flag spared his blushes.
There was a growing sense of frustration for the hosts, who were very much second-best for much of the first period, yet two moments of quality saw the game turned on its head just before the half-time interval.
Starting in midfield rather than at full-back, Jack Hinshelwood found himself in the perfect position to meet Jan Paul van Hecke’s cross from deep, powering in a bullet header in the 42nd minute.
Still shell-shocked from conceding the first, Forest were hit with another blow as Danny Welbeck stepped up to take just his fourth-ever Premier League free-kick, whipping an effort past the unsighted Mats Sels to hand Brighton an unlikely lead.
Nuno Espirito Santo looked to his bench for a response, making a triple alteration at the start of the second period, yet it was the home side who almost added to their lead after the restart.
High on confidence from his first Premier League free-kick goal, Welbeck somehow weaved his way through a sea of red shirts to force Sels into a vital stop from close range.
Forest’s first-half positivity had seemingly evaporated as the Seagulls remained in the ascendancy, but in a reverse of fortunes, it was the visitors who equalised against the run of play.
This time, a pair of substitutes combined to level the scores 20 minutes from time, with Jota Silva racing through on goal before squaring to Ramon Sosa for a simple tap-in – his first goal for the Tricky Trees.
A second yellow card for Morgan Gibbs-White and a red card for Espirito Santo following his reaction threatened to derail the visitors, but ultimately, despite a promising late counterattack from the depleted side and a looping Lewis Dunk effort at the other end, there was nothing to separate the teams in what was a back-and-forth affair.
Despite surrendering their lead, a draw marks the first time Brighton have put together a five-game undefeated run at the start of a top-flight campaign, keeping Fabian Hurzeler’s side seventh in the league at this early stage of the season.
A point at the Amex adds further support to the idea that last season’s relegation worries are well and truly behind Forest, who also sit on nine points from five games following their shock win over Liverpool last weekend.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Danny Welbeck (Brighton & Hove Albion)
