Nottingham Forest boss makes clear Brennan Johnson point after Sheffield United penalty woe

Boss Steve Cooper believes Brennan Johnson will be all the “stronger” for his penalty woe in Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield United.

A foul on Djed Spence in the first half at Bramall Lane saw referee Josh Smith point to the spot, having earlier missed Keinan Davis’ shirt being pulled as he stretched for a ball.

Johnson is on duty from 12 yards in the absence of injured striker Lewis Grabban, and he fired straight down the middle, just as he had done against Blackburn Rovers last month.

This time, however, goalkeeper Wes Foderingham stood still and denied the Reds attacker - as one of a host of chances spurned by the visitors on an evening where they were the dominant side.

Billy Sharp almost made Cooper’s men pay for their profligacy in front of goal when he opened the scoring with 20 minutes to go, but Ryan Yates rescued a point with a header right at the death.

“It was more of a clear penalty on Keinan before that. I have seen it back. The ref shouldn’t miss that,” Cooper said.

“The young guy, making his debut, has made a bit of a naive decision there.

“I thought Djed’s was a clear penalty, but Keinan’s was double-clear. How he’s missed that is disappointing.

“With regards to Brennan, he needs these moments. He’ll be disappointed, but he needs these moments to become the player that he is going to become.

“I don’t worry about him for one second, because what hurts you makes you stronger. You need to go through moments like that.

“He’ll be on the next one, that’s for sure.

“His character is more than fine. For all of the good bits you see, and what we see a lot of, right underneath is a really determined player that works really, really hard and is a real winner.

“He’ll obviously be disappointed that he’s