Football Feb 01, 2026

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Crystal Palace: Sean Dyche's side claim point despite Neco Williams' first-half red card

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Crystal Palace: Sean Dyche's side claim point despite Neco Williams' first-half red card

Nottingham Forest held Crystal Palace to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground despite Neco Williams' first-half sending-off.

Williams was shown a straight red card by referee Tony Harrington when he handled Jefferson Lerma's header on the goal-line following a corner in the final minute of the first period.

Williams' moment of madness allowed Ismaila Sarr to score from the penalty spot in the absence of , who was left out of the Palace squad as he nears an exit from the club, having been given permission to undergo a medical at AC Milan.

Forest looked in control of the game up until then having taken an early lead through Morgan Gibbs-White, who finished smartly inside the box after Palace failed to clear Ola Aina's long throw.

The red card appeared to then swing the game in Palace's favour, with Forest boss Sean Dyche also having to change his goalkeeper at the interval as Angus Gunn replaced Matz Sels for his debut due to a suspected groin injury.

But the home side defended resolutely, with Palace unable to even muster a shot on target in the second half despite dominating possession as their winless run was extended to 12 games.

Forest actually forced the better openings after the break despite their man disadvantage, with Aina firing into the side-netting.

The hard-earned point puts the hosts six points clear of the drop zone following 18th-placed West Ham's defeat to Chelsea.

Crystal Palace are a further three points ahead of Forest in 14th, and hope to soon have reinforcements to call on having agreed a £48m deal with Wolves for the signing of striker .

Your Site pundit Jamie Carragher said: "For Nottingham Forest today, that will really feel like a huge point gained considering their situation.

"They've gone a full half there with 10 men not letting Crystal Palace score a goal.

"If any manager was ideal for that situation, it's Sean Dyche. They did really well in the second half.

"They've got the six-point difference. That is a big difference, but West Ham still have plenty to play for, they are in great form."

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche to Sky Sports: "The red card changes the whole feel of the game.

"We were very good in the first half. We looked good value certainly for 1-0. On another day you get another goal, but we didn't. Then a mistake leads to a corner, then it's an instinctive reaction from Neco.

"He has been terrific for us, so I'm not going to question him on that, it's just one of those things.

"But then the mentality shifted to us again. How are we going to deal with it? How are we going to contain them and look a threat? We did that very well I thought."

On Matz Sels' withdrawal: "We think it's a groin injury. He'll have a scan as soon as possible. But Gunny did terrific when he came on."

Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner to Your Site: "I'm really pleased with the first half, especially with the reaction after the first long throw and being 1-0 down with all the circumstances we are coming here to Nottingham with. The reaction was great

"We get the equaliser and, second half, we just could see how thin our nerves are. For the first 15-20 minutes, we controlled the game, but we didn't score, we didn't create, then we lost our nerves.

"We did things we didn't want to do; we started running with the ball, we played into the areas where they are strong. We wanted to use the width and be patient, playing more in their half, then the last 25 minutes it was really too wild. But I could see all the effort.

"What I learned when I first when I came to Palace was respect the point, especially away. That's what we are doing.

"With all the circumstances, with the group, we arrived after everything that happened in the week, so I'm really happy with the performance in the first half because I think it was a great performance."

Morgan Gibbs-White was named man of the match but Elliot Anderson was an equally deserving candidate.

The 23-year-old showed all sides of his game in a complete performance which underlined, again, his status as one of the Premier League's top central midfielders.

His best work came in possession in the first half as he demonstrated his technical ability and passing range, sending Forest forward on the attack repeatedly.

He continued to show his on-ball value even after Neco Williams' sending-off. No Forest player had more touches or made more passes over the course of the 90 minutes. Anderson even completed all five of his attempted dribbles.

But he was just as influential defensively after the break. Anderson snapped into challenges and played a crucial role in frustrating Palace, working tirelessly, cajoling and instructing team-mates.

In total, he won possession 10 times, the highest total by any player on either side. He was also successful in 12 of his 14 duels. An outstanding all-round performance from a player getting better all the time.

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