How 55 seconds left Forest’s Europa League hopes in balance

It was difficult to see how Nottingham Forest could have fared worse on Thursday night.

They completed the unholy trinity of missing a penalty, receiving a red card, and scoring an own goal in Braga as they suffered a terrible defeat.

Sean Dyche’s side head home with those hopes all but lost after the evening had set out with the intention of advancing to a top-eight finish in the Europa League and ensuring automatic qualification for the last 16.

Even a victory over Ferencvaros in the final round of league games is unlikely to spare them a two-legged playoff place in the last 16.

Although the outcome was poor, you can tell that the performance was just as bad because the traveling supporters booed their side off both at half-time and full-time.

If Morgan Gibbs-White had managed to convert a 53rd-minute penalty, the outcome at least might have been completely different.

However, a Ryan Yates own goal saved the midfielder’s effort, and 55 seconds later Braga took the lead.

One minute of madness in a game that never appeared to be in trouble, Dyche told TNT Sports.

“We miss a penalty, and it’s possible.” We lose the game to a poor goal in the next ten or so minutes.

They get a lift, the crowd goes crazy, and Yatesy is in for a treat, too. Very unsatisfied. “

Forest’s frustration will only grow stronger as a result of Braga’s ability to win the game without conceding even one shot on target, which is only the second time in Europa League history.

Since Saturday’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Arsenal, Dyche had made seven changes. In the FA Cup at Wrexham, he last altered the team so significantly.

The Forest manager was very critical of the team members who had entered the team after leaving that night, but he was more forgiving in this instance.

There is work, he continued, “we want more of that, but it’s on the cutting edge.”

We are in a strange situation where I have to defend particular players. We are aware that Premier League is very important, but we still wanted to do well in this competition.

It’s a fine line, and it’s juggling, she says. On the one hand, you want to safeguard some players and give everyone a chance.

Yates believed that Forest had a slight advantage over them and that they “controlled the majority of the game.”

He told TNT Sports, “We are frustrated because I believe we did enough to win the game.”

“We’ve lacked a chance,” he said. We can definitely do better than we did, though. We must proceed quickly.

Joleon Lescott, a former Manchester City defender, saw it slightly differently and highlighted Elliot Anderson’s late red card.

He told TNT Sports, “It’s a mess,” and that’s the best way to sum up. It wasn’t good enough collectively, “.

It’s devastating to lose someone of Anderson’s caliber when you have a big game next week.

“You frequently examine video games and consider whether they have any merit.” Tonight, I don’t believe there will be any.

What should have been a marvellous evening was wasted on by a terrible night, terrible performance.

Anderson will miss the final group game of the week, and Forest will hope the ban does not include the likely February play-off.

Without their star midfielder, Forest might struggle to recover from those extra games because they are trying to survive in the Premier League.

In the end, Forest believes they could have avoided this circumstance.

You might get a draw, Dyche said, but you shouldn’t really lose the game.