Forest looked to build on their triumph at Anfield last Saturday as they took on a fellow unbeaten team thus far, Brighton and Hove Albion.
The travelling Forest support were in fine voice and after a positive start from the men in Garibaldi, were rewarded when Callum Hudson-Odoi was tripped in the box after fantastic work by Morgan Gibbs-White. Rob Jones pointed to the spot, and it was Chris Wood who stepped up to send Verbruggen the wrong way, giving Forest an early lead on the South Coast.
The following exchanges were tightly contested with both teams flying into tackles and neither team able to establish a significant period of possession. Forest as usual looked a threat on the break with the pace of wide men Elanga and Hudson-Odoi and it was the latter who teed up captain Gibbs-White, his effort straight at Verbruggen however.
It looked as if the remainder of the first half would play out with Forest holding a slim advantage, but it was the Seagulls who struck five minutes before the interval with a fantastic header by Jack Hinshelwood from a deflected van Hecke cross. The looping effort back across Selz brought the home side level.
Brighton now clearly energised by being back on level terms were on the front foot and Mitoma’s direct run spelt danger, subsequently forcing Ola Aina to intervene by bringing the Japanese international down. Aina went into the book for his troubles, and it was Danny Welbeck who stood up, bending his effort round the Forest wall, and firing The Seagulls into a 2-1 lead.
The quickfire turnaround harsh on The Reds who had battled well to this point.
HALF TIME: Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Nuno Espírito Santo made three changes at the interval with Neco Williams, Ryan Yates and Jota Silva all being introduced at the expense of Moreno, Ward-Prowse and Elanga.
Brighton started the second half on the front foot and Mats Selz made a magnificent close range stop with his feet to deny Welbeck a second after the striker weaved through Forest tackles inside the box.
Ramón Sosa replaced Elliot Anderson in midfield as Forest searched for an equaliser having looked to have survived the early Brighton pressure at the start of the half. The game was now delicately balanced with Forest beginning to probe the Brighton back line. It was just before the seventy-minute mark when the Forest changes paid off as a perfectly weighted Morgan Gibbs-White pass saw Jota Silva run through on goal before unselfishly squaring it to Sosa to tap in. The Paraguay international with his first goal for the club since his transfer from CA Talleres in Argentina.
The away end burst into life once again as a determined and battling Forest side were level despite chances being few and far between since the game resuming from half-time.
The game reached boiling point just past the 80-minute mark when captain Gibbs-White received a second yellow card for what looked to be a firm, but well-timed tackle on recently introduced Pedro. It was an unusual turn of events as despite referee Rob Jones initially signifying to protesting Brighton players that Gibbs-White had got the ball, he would then show the yellow card to the Forest man for the second time. The aftermath led to both Nuno Espírito Santo and Brighton counterpart Fabian Hurzeler being shown red cards as what had been a fascinating spectacle of a match reached an unsavoury conclusion.
With tensions inside The Amex at an all time high, Forest showed superb character to hold on despite the numerical disadvantage, The Tricky Trees getting over the line to secure a hard-fought point and continue their undefeated start to the Premier League season.
FULL TIME: Brighton and Hove Albion 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Next Up for Forest
Home comforts of The City Ground return with Forest taking on Fulham on Saturday 28th September (3pm KO). The Reds will be looking to build on what was a deserved result after coming from behind on the South coast to take a point back to Nottinghamshire.
The Teams
Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Moreno (Williams 46’), Ward-Prowse (Yates 46’), Anderson (Sosa 58’), Hudson Odoi, Gibbs-White (c), Elanga (Jota Silva 46’), Wood (Morato 72’)
Unused Substitutes: Miguel; da Silva Moreira, Dominguez, Awoniyi
Bookings: Aina (44’), Williams (46’), Gibbs-White (59’ – Sent off 81’), Jota Silva (63’), Hudson-Odoi (90+2’)
Goals: Wood (13’ Pen), Sosa (69’)
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk (c), Hinshelwood, Estupinián (Ferguson 81’), Baleba (Wieffer 61’), Adingra (Minteh 61’), Mitoma, Rutter (Pedro 70’), Welbeck
Unused Substitutes: Steele; Webster, Kadioglu, Igor, Enciso
Bookings: Baleba (24’), Welbeck (38’), Dunk (90+3’)
Goals: Hinshelwood (41’), Welbeck (45’),
Referee: Rob Jones
Attendance: 31,444