Report | Nottm Forest 1-1 Wolves

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde scored an amazing goal to help Wolves secure their first point of the 2024/25 Premier League season. The team ended up with a draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

In a close match between two teams that have become fierce rivals in the past few seasons, Wolves found themselves trailing after just 10 minutes when Chris Wood scored with a header from a corner.

Yet, Bellegarde's impressive goal from 25 yards away brought his team back to an even score. Gary O'Neil's team was able to hold off the opposing team with strong defensive plays in the final minutes, resulting in a 1-1 tie for the fourth time in five matches.

The coach decided to make nine different players play in the match against Burnley than in the previous game. He also switched Rayan Ait-Nouri to a more offensive position and moved Toti to play as a left-back.

The alteration almost led to success right away as the Algerian player was given room to move on the left side. His initial shot was stopped by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, and then Ait-Nouri's follow-up shot was saved as well.

After allowing eight goals in their first two Premier League games, O'Neil decided to stick with his usual lineup at the City Ground. However, the opposing team managed to score within the first 10 minutes as Callum Hudson-Odoi made a break for the goal. Luckily, Nelson Semedo, who had just finished a three-game suspension, was able to recover and stop the attack.

However, it didn't take much time for Forest to score the first goal. A corner kick was directed towards the back of the goal, where Wood was left unguarded. He easily headed the ball into the net, past Wolves' new goalkeeper, Sam Johnstone.

Nevertheless, Wolves quickly responded when Bellegarde successfully regained possession of the ball in the middle of the Forest's territory. He then steadied himself and unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner of Sels' goal from a distance of 25 yards.

Opportunities arose for both teams in the first half, but neither was able to score before halftime. Ola Aina missed a good chance by shooting high over the Wolves' goal, while Cunha also missed the target with his shot.

Johnstone had to make a quick save when Morgan Gibbs-White took a free kick that looked like it was going in the top corner, but the goalkeeper managed to push it away. Soon after, Anthony Elanga had a great opportunity to score but smashed the ball over Johnstone's crossbar, giving the visitors a lucky escape.

Right before halftime, Cunha had another opportunity to score but chose to shoot wide instead of passing to Larsen who was open on the right side.

At the halfway point of the game, the score is tied with Forest and Wolves each having scored one goal.

The back-and-forth style of play from the beginning of the game carried on into the second half, as both teams had chances to take control of the game, but were unable to capitalize.

Shortly after Wolves hit the post by accident when Elliot Anderson tried to clear the ball in his own penalty area, Forest had a close opportunity to score again. Anderson had a chance to score but Mario Lemina managed to block his shot and send it over the crossbar.

Both teams made substitutions during the second half. The Old Gold team introduced Andre, who was a new signing made just before the transfer deadline. However, it was Johnstone, another player making his debut, who showed his skill by making a great save to stop Wood's header. Wood, a player from New Zealand, jumped the highest in the box, but Johnstone was able to prevent his shot from scoring.

Tommy Doyle entered the game as a substitute and had some of the most impressive attempts for Wolves. He took a powerful shot, which seemed like it was going to score, but it was deflected over the bar by Murillo. Next, Doyle had another shot blocked, and the ball fell to Cunha, but he was unable to get his shot on goal.

In the final moments of the game, most of the shots taken were from a far distance as both teams' defenses remained strong. Neco Williams of the home team came close to scoring but his shot narrowly missed the target. Later on, Forest managed to put the ball in the net with Wood, but unfortunately, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call.

Following Cunha's attempt from far away, Wolves were forced to defend their goal closely towards the end of the match. The defense had to sacrifice themselves by blocking shots in order to secure a draw. Craig Dawson played a key role in making two important blocks to stop Forest's offense, helping Wolves earn their first point of the season.

The match between Forest and Wolves ended in a 1-1 draw.

Wood | Forest line-up: Sels, Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Sangare (Yates 58), Anderson (Jota 90), Elanga (Awoniyi 90), Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi (Sosa 79), Wood.

Spare players not used in the game: Miguel, Dominguez, Da Silva Moreira, Moreno, Boly.

The lineup for Wolves in the game included Johnstone, Semedo, Mosquera, Dawson, Toti, Lemina, J. Gomes, Bellegarde, Cunha, Ait-Nouri, Strand Larsen, with Doherty coming on in the 75th minute, Doyle in the 60th minute, Guedes in the 75th minute, Hwang in the 60th minute, and Andre in the 86th minute.

Substitutes not used in the game were Bentley, Bueno, Sarabia, and R. Gomes.

The person in charge of making sure the rules of the game are followed is Simon Hooper.