EPL: Nottingham Forest boss Cooper lauds Awoniyi, Dennis, others after Brighton game

Head coach, Steve Cooper, praised Nottingham Forest’s resilience, having ground out a 0-0 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Reds came under pressure for long spells at the Amex Stadium as they saw very little of the ball. They needed goalkeeper Dean Henderson and the crossbar to come to their rescue, but they dug in to register only a second clean-sheet of the season in the Premier League.

The point lifts them off the foot of the table, one above Leicester City. And Cooper was pleased with the response from his players, following Saturday’s disappointing performance in the 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“It was always going to be a tough game,” he said. “Brighton are a really good team, we were in their stadium and they have continued to play in a really good way with the change in manager. You can see why they’ve got the points they have already.

“It was always going to be tough. Plus, the fact we’ve been on a poor run, and we could have been even more deflated after the game at Wolves, when a few things didn’t go our way in the second half.

“That could have been a real kick in the teeth for the boys – and it was. So for them to show the resilience, the spirit and the desire they did tonight, it’s ended up being a good point.