Player Ratings - Nottingham Forest H

Last updated : 25 July 2009 By Jacob Daniel
Starting Line-Up

Russell Hoult - 6 -
Had very little to do as, despite quite a lot of pressure, Forest's strikers seemed allergic to the goal. Made one fine stop from Robert Earnshaw when the Welshman should've scored and seemed fitter than last season, allowing him to be quick off his line and commanding in the air.

Brendan Moloney - 8 - An excellent performance from the young right back against his parent club and the eyes of Billy Davies. Moloney was superb defensively and never allowed winger Nathan Tyson a sniff of getting past him, whilst he also linked up well with Craig Westcarr and was effective in possession.

Graeme Lee - 7 - In his first start for the club the former Bradford defender was commanding and dealt well with a Forest frontline comprising both strength and pace. He won the aerial battle with Dele Adebola with ease and was also clever enough not to allow Robert Earnshaw to get in behind him. Gives McParland a real dilemma for starting places now.

Mike Edwards - 8 - Another reason McParland has to really think about his first choice centre backs, Edwards was back to his best after disappointing last campaign. He made some fine interceptions and was uncompromising when dealing with the physical threat of Adebola, and also coped well with the pace of Earnshaw and, later, Dexter Blackstock.

Jamie Clapham - 6 - Steady showing by the former Ipswich Town man who was comfortable in defence but often rushed in possession and gave the ball away on a number of occasions. The lack of a natrual right winger meant that Clapham rarely had to deal with a man running at him and it ended up being a fairly quiet day for him.

Craig Westcarr - 7 - After impressing at Arnold on Tuesday right winger Westcarr was again lively, supplying a beautiful cross for Lee Hughes' goal. He struggled early on with some heavy touches but once he settled down he showed some good pace and skill to make Chris Gunter's afternoon an uncomfortable one, whilst his delivery was consistently good.

Neal Bishop - 6 - Calm on the ball and a good range of passing certainly, but Bishop wasn't as imposing on the match as he could've been. It was a friendly of course and we can expect more robust play in the league, but Bishop allowed the likes of Majewski and McKenna to play rather than unsettling them. He was however effective and useful in possession and rarely gave the ball away.

John Thompson - 7 - Never one not to impose himself on a game, former Forest man and Notts captain John Thompson found himself back in midfield where he impressed. Despite sometimes seeming slow and clumsy, Thompson threw himself into challenges where necessary and rarely came out without the ball. He also linked up play well and did the simple things to a good standard in the centre of the park.

Ben Davies - 6 - This won't be Ben Davies' finest performance in a Notts County shirt but he showed a good work rate and some neat touches while in an unfavoured left midfield role. McParland is expected to bring in a natural left footed winger soon, which means Davies won't find himself having to cut back inside quite so often and won't find it so uncomfortable to take a man on. That said, he had a solid game and rarely gave the ball away, but rarely threatened to do the spectacular.

Lee Hughes - 7 - Everyone at Meadow Lane today will now know that a fully fit Lee Hughes is going to be a real asset for the Magpies. He chased and harried despite obviously lacking in fitness and never looked like allowing his head to drop despite rarely getting a sight of goal. Some neat touches in the first half were backed up in the second where he popped up at the far post to guide a fine header past Lee Camp.

Sean Canham - 5 - A disappointing day for Canham who earned a start after two strikes in the first half at Arnold Town on Saturday. Kelvin Wilson and Wes Morgan provided a far sterner test for Canham however and he rarely looked up to the required standard. His touch seemed heavy and he struggled to link up play whilst he also didn't seem to be chasing things down as much as Hughes, while he never got a chance to prove his quality in front of goal.

Substitutes

Kevin Pilkington - 4 - A horrible day for Pilkington who's only real act of the second half was to fumble a harmless looking effort from Lewis McGugan into his own net. Forest rarely threatened to hit any shots on target although Pilkington did collect a couple of crosses well, but really his serious blunder cannot be overlooked even though it didn't cost the Magpies in the end.

Luke Rodgers - 8 - Luke Rodgers doesn't seem able to do anything wrong at the minute, as he struck his 6th goal in 4 games. He worked tirelessly upfront chasing and closing down and almost struck after less than a minute of being on the field when he hit the post from a tight angle. He wasn't to be denied for long however as he calmly slotted the ball home when clean through, his pace and tenacity troubled Forest for the whole time he was on.

Delroy Facey - 6 - Worked hard upfront after replacing Lee Hughes although by this point the Magpies had reverted to defending their lead. He chased down long balls forward although he did struggle to keep the ball out of Notts territory for any period of time.

Ben Fairclough - N/A - Touched the ball about 4 times.