Delap’s Return To Portman Road Exposes Finishing Woes

• Delap’s late header over the bar summed up his struggles on return
• Milenkovic’s weak back-pass gifted Enciso the Ipswich equaliser
• Forest dominant, VAR drama as Diop avoided a red in a 1-1 draw

Nottingham Forest will feel this was two points dropped. They bossed Ipswich for long spells at Portman Road, led early through Neco Williams, and still came away with a 1-1 draw after a calamitous error and more wastefulness in front of goal. The headline, though, belongs to Liam Delap, who returned to his old patch and spurned the game’s big chance.

Forest Dominant, But Wasteful

Oliver Glasner’s side started on the front foot. Jair Cunha went close, then Delap sliced wide after sharp work from a fit-again Morgan Gibbs-White. The breakthrough was classic Glasner: Delap’s hold-up play drew in Issa Diop, Gibbs-White pinched it off Dara O’Shea and fed Daniel Munoz, whose cross was met by fellow wing-back Williams for a crisp right-foot volley past Christian Walton. Forest might have been out of sight, but Leif Davis produced a superb goal-line clearance to deny Gibbs-White.

Then came the sting. With four minutes left of the half, Nikola Milenkovic took down O’Shea’s hopeful ball but his back-pass was far too soft, Julio Enciso pounced and slid beyond Matz Sels for 1-1 on 41 minutes. After the break, a VAR flashpoint: Thomas Bramall booked Diop rather than sending him off for hauling down James McAtee on 47 minutes. Forest kept pressing — Williams saw a drive blocked, Murillo forced a save, Dan Ndoye threatened, and Davis intervened again — and for those weighing up form on the best football betting sites, the numbers screamed away win. The finishing didn’t.

The Delap Dilemma

This was the moment that told the tale: with 16 minutes left, Abdoul Ouattara miscued a clearance and Delap, unmarked, headed over from close range. Minutes later he leathered a 30-yard effort just wide. It all underscored the striker’s current reality — only two Premier League goals since the big-money switch to Chelsea after his 12-goal Ipswich campaign — and why Glasner’s faith is being tested.

There was more concern as Williams departed with an arm injury, while Callum Hudson-Odoi drilled narrowly wide and Ipswich sub Jack Clarke missed late on. Forest have just one league win in eight under Glasner, and that’s on the forwards as much as the officials. The structure is there, the performance level is high, but until Delap and company turn chances into goals, nights like this will keep slipping away.

Latest Football News