Ndoye’s early goal not enough as Glasner’s Forest lose on his Selhurst return
Sunday 11 October 2026 · By Callum Byrne
Dan Ndoye scored after three minutes, Forest dominated for 40, and Oliver Glasner seemed set for a happy return to the club he managed until the summer. It ended in a 3–1 defeat at Crystal Palace and taunts from his former supporters.
Forest’s start was excellent. Ndoye’s neat low finish gave them the lead, and the BBC reported that Liam Delap was somehow denied a second from point-blank range. Palace were struggling to get out of their own half.
Two goals before the break turned the game. Daichi Kamada finished a team move to equalise on 41 minutes, and Jefferson Lerma headed Palace ahead deep into first-half stoppage time.
The third arrived early in the second half. Matz Sels saved from Jørgen Strand Larsen, but Yéremy Pino was first to the rebound on 59 minutes. Forest could not find a way back.
The BBC asked whether one of the Palace goals should have stood. Glasner will have his own view, but the bigger concern is how quickly control slipped away. Sky noted that the result ended Palace’s 14-year wait for a league win over Forest.
Forest were short of players. Sports Mole had listed Igor Jesus, Nikola Milenković and Savona as expected absentees, with Neco Williams a doubt through illness.
The defeat leaves Forest 14th on five points. Goals remain the problem: five scored, eight conceded. Forest had beaten Aston Villa before the fortnight off, and Unai Emery referred to that defeat after his side’s draw on Saturday. That win now feels a long time ago.
The fixtures get harder before they get easier. Arsenal visit the City Ground on Sunday 18 October (16:30). The champions came from behind to beat Leeds and are second. Forest then travel to Ipswich on Friday 23 October (20:00), and to Brentford on 31 October.
Delap’s missed chance was the turning point of the first half. Had Forest gone two up, the game might have been beyond Palace. Instead, the hosts were given hope, and Glasner’s side conceded twice in quick succession, the second deep in stoppage time when they should have been closing the half out. There was enough in the opening 40 minutes to suggest Forest’s football is in decent shape. Turning that into goals, and avoiding those lapses, is the task.
Glasner’s side showed in the first half what they can do. Delap’s miss was the moment that might have made the afternoon very different.
Ndoye’s goal was a bright moment for a forward line that has struggled, and Forest will need more of them against Arsenal.
For a manager who knows Selhurst so well, the lesson of Sunday will sting: two goals in a few minutes undid 40 minutes of work. Arsenal will punish the same lapse.
The City Ground has been Nottingham Forest’s home since 1898 and sits on the south bank of the River Trent in West Bridgford, a short walk from Trent Bridge and a few hundred metres across the water from Notts County’s Meadow Lane. The address is Pavilion Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 5FJ. It holds about 30,400, with the stands close enough to the pitch that the noise carries and the corners still open to the floodlights and the river.
Visiting supporters are housed in the John Robertson Stand, the end behind the southern goal. Until May 2026 this was the Bridgford Stand, and older tickets, signs and guides may still use that name. The allocation is usually in the lower tier, often blocks W, X1 and X2, with turnstiles in the 49 to 56 range. The visitors’ ticket office is beside those turnstiles, behind the stand, and typically opens 90 minutes before kick-off. The goal in front of you is the one at that end of the pitch. Forest’s singing end, the Trent End, is behind the opposite goal, with the river beyond it.
The stand has a low, sloping roof. Planning rules kept the height down so gardens on Colwick Road still get daylight, and the pitch-side edge of the roof is unusually close. That can make the upper rows feel enclosed, but it also throws the away support’s noise back onto the pitch. Lower-tier seats put you near the goal and the boards. The upper tier, when it is included, gives a wider view of the shape of the game. Expect roughly 2,000 to 3,000 tickets, and more on the biggest fixtures if the club releases them.
Along the west touchline, towards Trent Bridge, is the Brian Clough Stand, the main two-tier stand built after the European Cup years. Opposite, on the east side, is the Peter Taylor Stand, the older main stand, renamed for Clough’s assistant. It still has supporting columns in places, so some seats there have a restricted view. Neither side stand has a goal in front of it. The two goals sit in front of the Trent End and the John Robertson Stand.
Nottingham station is the usual rail stop. From there, take a tram towards Clifton South and walk over Trent Bridge, or a bus into West Bridgford. On foot from the station it is about 25 to 35 minutes if the pavements are clear. Driving is the awkward option. Residential streets have matchday restrictions, official parking is limited, and the bridges clog after the final whistle. If you drive, leave time and use a pre-booked car park rather than circling Colwick Road.
Gates normally open 90 minutes before kick-off and most turnstiles shut about 10 minutes after it, with a few kept open for late arrivals until half-time. Large rucksacks and holdalls are not allowed in, and there is almost nowhere nearby to leave one. The ground is cashless, so take a card for the concourse. Save a digital ticket to your phone wallet before you arrive, because the signal around the turnstiles can drop. Stewards will point you to the away toilets, the accessible platforms in the lower away blocks, and the exit back towards the bridge.
West Bridgford has pubs, but several close to the ground are used by home supporters, so check with your own club which houses are set aside for the away end. The walk back over Trent Bridge is the simplest way into the city. Give yourself a few minutes at the final whistle. The away exit is shared with part of the home support from the same stand, and the pavement on the bridge is narrow when both sets of fans are moving.