Stach's Late Goal Spoils Glasner's Debut for Nottingham Forest
Oliver Glasner stepped out first. Before the players, before the noise truly rose, Nottingham Forest’s new head coach emerged from the tunnel and took in the City Ground. Fifth man in the job in under a year, first competitive match, a fanbase desperate to believe this one might stick.
By the final whistle, the optimism had thinned. The new era began with a sting.
Stach strikes late as Leeds spoil Glasner’s debut
With the game drifting towards a stalemate and the tension rising, Anton Stach decided he had seen enough. A clumsy challenge by Nikola Milenkovic on the edge of the box handed Leeds a late chance; Stach seized it.
He whipped his free-kick towards the near post, the ball skidding and swerving past Matz Sels. The Forest goalkeeper got a glove to it, then crashed into his right upright, tangled around the post as the ball nestled in. Behind him, the away end exploded, Leeds supporters surging forward in celebration. Only a couple of minutes of normal time remained. Forest were floored.
Up to that point, clear chances had been scarce. Leeds, though, always carried the sharper edge.
Harry Wilson thought he had marked his debut with a goal in the first half, racing on to a clever pass from Jayden Bogle and finishing, only to see the assistant’s flag go up for offside. It was a reminder of why Leeds moved for the Wales international, a glimpse of the ambition that shaped their summer.
After the break, another new signing almost delivered the breakthrough. Tarik Muharemovic, a £34m buy from Sassuolo, rose to meet a cross and seemed certain to bury his header in the top corner. Sels read it, flung out a strong left hand and beat it away, one of the few times Forest’s goalkeeper truly imposed himself.
The warning signs were there. Leeds were the side dictating territory, the side snapping into duels, the side playing as if this opening day actually mattered.
Glasner, who had left fellow £34m recruit Ousmane Diomande and midfielder Xaver Schlager out of his starting XI, could only exhale in frustration as every outfield Leeds player sprinted to celebrate Stach’s winner. By full time, the picture in the stands told its own story: the away end bathed in evening sun, still bouncing; home sections already patchy, many Forest fans having slipped away before the end.
Forest offered little as Leeds control the contest
Leeds kept Forest to scraps. Not much more than moments.
Muharemovic, alongside Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol in a three-man defence, delivered a composed debut, rarely flustered, happy to squeeze the pitch and suffocate Forest’s attempts to build. When Forest did threaten, it came in flashes rather than sustained pressure.
Just before half-time, Neco Williams met an inviting cross from Ola Aina on the right, drawing rare applause from Glasner on the touchline. That attack sparked Forest’s best spell. From the resulting phase, Milenkovic and Jair Cunha combined to send a header against James Trafford’s post after James McAtee recycled the ball and swung it back into the box.
Trafford, though, spent most of the evening untroubled. Leeds’ organisation in front of him meant he had long stretches with little to do, watching as his outfield teammates pressed, harried and slowly tightened the noose.
For Forest, the consolation is a quick chance to respond. Leeds return on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup, same opponents, same backdrop, a very different kind of pressure. How many more false dawns can this club take?
