(Football news) Nottingham Forest moved off the bottom of the Premier League table after a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. An early header by Emmanuel Dennis in the 15th minute gave the hosts an invaluable lead but Villa’s Ashley Young equalised in the 22nd minute. Despite Steven Gerrard’s team looking like the better of the two sides, Villa couldn’t find the winner and failed to secure their first away win of the season while Nottingham Forest finally ended their five game losing streak. The result means that Leicester City are back at the bottom of the league table while Nottingham Forest are 19th, one point ahead of the Foxes.
Speaking after the match, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper said "It's a step in the direction. It's not the ambition to be drawing games at home and not having much of the ball. But the circumstances meant we had to accept that it was a forward step. There were lots of things we needed to improve on but we really need to look at the things we did well. We can keep building. For all the tactical things we do I haven't loved the fight in the team. We are trying to put a team together but that's not an excuse for not running or fighting. We did that better tonight. We were deeper and more compact. Is this my favourite way of playing? No. But it was something that was right for tonight."
Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard said “I thought we were the better team but we still need to create more in the final third, more quality. I have challenged the forward players to add more in the final third because up to that point there is not much wrong. It is not an application thing. We need more quality from our big hitters. I seem to be talking about our final third play too much. Hopefully, players can get into form. If not, I am going to have to change things, whether that is personnel, system or shape. The names are there, the talent is there, I have seen them do it a lot, consistently. We have certainly got the names. We have recruited big players in that area of the pitch. It is only right that we demand more in that area of the pitch. I am aware we should have more points, more goals. I have not got my head buried in the sand. We are playing against a team that gives a lot of chances up. We had a chance to go from 16th to ninth. The fans deserve for us to win that game."
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