Paul Rachubka was in stunning form for Blackpool as they managed to come away from the City Ground with a 0-0 draw after having their backs to the wall for large parts of the game.
The American stopper, who has upped his game since the loan arrival of Graham Stack, was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers, as he saved a Wes Morgan six yard bullet brilliantly to keep a point intact.
Liam Dickinson had the Seasiders’ best chance but he headed over after good approach play by Adam Hammill – a surprising miss given the 23 year old’s recent form.
But it was the hosts who kept pressing, and Rachubka who kept thwarting their attempts. Paul Anderson and Joe Garner were foiled by Rabs whilst Morgan saw another effort hit the crossbar.
Despite the heavy pressure, Blackpool did create decent opportunites to test Lee Camp. However, most of these positions came from either corners or freekicks and ‘Pool’s delivery was questionable all afternoon. Eight corners were sent into the Forest box, with none threatening, and the first man on the near post feasting on some poor crossing. Ian Harte must’ve been sitting in the stands thinking he can certainly do a job for us whilst we are in complete set piece disarray.
But the point has again moved us into a healthier position than we started from at the beginning of the weekend – now ten points clear of the relegation zone – and if the Seasiders can beat Swansea City at home on Saturday, Christmas cheer will certainly be upon the seaside.
Nottm Forest: Camp, Moloney, Wilson, Morgan, Lynch (Bennett 26), Anderson (Davies 79), Cohen, Thornhill, Perch, Tyson, Garner (Earnshaw 71).
Subs Not Used: Chambers, McCleary.
Booked: Perch.
Blackpool: Rachubka, Barker, Baptiste, Edwards (Coid 18), Martin, Reid, Southern, Fox, Hammill (Taylor-Fletcher 79), Dickinson, Burgess (Gow 79).
Subs Not Used: Kabba, Jorgensen.
Booked: Baptiste, Barker, Fox, Reid.
Ref: Pat Miller (Bedfordshire).
Colin Calderwood Says…
‘The belief is very strong that we will get out of it and after performances like that I don’t think anyone can disagree.
‘We did everything but score and I think you can see that there is a great spirit among the players.
‘Because of some fine keeping and missed chances we settle for a point.’
Simon Grayson Says…
‘He (Paul Rachubka) was busier than he has been a lot of times away this season and at the end we were thankful to him for making some fantastic saves.
‘Sometimes you must grind out a result and I was really pleased that we did that to be able to leave with a point.
‘I was disappointed with our attacking but you have to give Forest credit for the way they put pressure on us.’
