Pressure increases on Postecoglou as Forest lose to Newcastle
NEWCASTLE, England :Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes scored a brilliant goal and won a penalty as his side beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at home in the Premier League on Sunday to heap even more pressure on under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou.
The size of the task facing the Australian was apparent as once again goalkeeper Matz Sels was his side's best player as they struggled to create chances of note.
After a scrappy goalless first half, Guimaraes gave his side the lead in the 58th minute with a superb strike, picking up a pass from Dan Burn outside the box and curling it beyond the despairing dive of Sels in the Forest goal.
The visitors had given as good as they got up to that point, but they fell apart after the goal, with Sels repeatedly called into action to keep his side in the game.
With the Newcastle pressure mounting, he pulled off a superb reflex save to steer a Malick Thiaw volley away to safety, and a couple of minutes later he stood his ground to deny Harvey Barnes.
They barely managed to threaten at the other end, with Chris Wood looking like a shadow of the striker that netted 20 Premier League goals last season, and anything they did get on target lacked the power to trouble Nick Pope in Newcastle's goal.
Despite his heroics, there was little Sels could do when Elliot Anderson needlessly scythed down Guimaraes in the 82nd minute to concede a penalty, and German striker Nick Woltemade fired home confidently from the spot.
The win lifts Newcastle to 11th spot in the standings on nine points while Postecoglou's Forest, who are without a win in seven games in all competitions, are 17th with five points from their seven league games this season, one point above the drop zone.
"It is always tough coming here with the crowd behind them and the atmosphere but I felt we handled it well," Postecoglou told Sky Sports.
"It's a struggle, it's a fight, there's nothing wrong with that, it doesn't worry me. That's why I love what I do. I could have been sitting on a couch watching ... but I prefer to be here, you know," he added.
"I prefer to be right in the middle of it, where I can have an effect, and I believe I will."
