Steve Cooper provides honest assessment of Nottingham Forest’s performance in 1-1 draw with Sheffield United

Nottingham Forest kept themselves in the promotion race by earning a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United on Friday evening.

The Blades have been in fine form under Paul Heckingbottom but were unable to hold on for all three points with Ryan Yates nodding home in second half additional time.

Despite having to rescue a point, Steve Cooper was adamant that Forest were the better team at Bramall Lane and he drew some interesting conclusions when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “We were excellent. As the performance goes, we should have won comfortably. It would have been criminal had we lost that game.

“We were by far the superior team. Tactically we were excellent, there were some great performances. We looked like the home team. Our fans made it feel like that, as well.

“To play like that, against a team with one of the strongest squads in the league bodes well for what we are trying to do. We are miles off being in a position where we want to be.

“Okay, we have had good games. But we have a journey to go on here. I do feel as though there is that improvement; there is a lot more potential in the team.”

The race for a spot in the top six looks set to go right down to the wire and it was essential the Reds did not allow Sheffield United to gain three points on them.

They could look back at Yates’ equaliser as a huge moment in their season.

The Verdict

Wes Foderingham denied Brennan Johnson from the penalty spot in the first half, a huge moment in the match that proved vital when Billy Sharp gave the hosts the league in the second period.

Forest have shown this season that not many can live with them at their best, the Blades have been on promotion form since Paul Heckingbottom replaced Slavisa Jokanovic at the helm, and over