Ryan Lowe hails ‘fantastic’ Bury despite falling short against Forest

Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 by PA

Bury manager Ryan Lowe hailed the “fantastic’ effort of his Sky Bet League Two side as they came close to a famous Carabao Cup first-round win at Nottingham Forest.

The Shakers were denied by an injury-time equaliser, before losing a penalty shoot-out 10-9 after the game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Eoghan O’Connell missed the crucial spot-kick after his second-minute goal looked to have secured victory for Bury, before Matty Cash – who also fluffed a penalty in the shoot-out – struck deep into added-on time.

Reds goalkeeper Jordan Smith had earlier been dismissed after 33 minutes for a foul on Dom Telford, with Luke Steele thrust into action for his Forest debut.

It was the Reds stopper who made the vital save after he had been forced to step up from the spot himself, confidently converting his side’s 10th penalty past opposite number Joe Murphy, who replied in kind for the underdogs.

“I am immensely proud of the boys,” admitted Shakers boss Lowe. “To get clapped off there at the end by the Nottingham Forest fans is massive because of what we did. It just shows what our lads are about and what we are trying to do.

“They were down to 10 men, but we played well for large parts and opened them up a little bit. I cannot fault any of our lads, I thought they were fantastic.

“It was a fantastic start, a fantastic performance and the penalties were fantastic. It ultimately wasn’t to be our night tonight, but again, I am immensely proud of the boys and the fans, who support us through thick and thin. The effort and the commitment was there for all to see.

“They had plenty of quality, with millions of pounds worth of players out there. Some of those players have played in the Premier League and we held our own and dominated for large parts, so I am more than happy.”

Forest boss Aitor Karanka, who picked an entirely different 11 from the team that beat Reading 1-0 at the weekend, handing debuts to Ryan Yates, Michael Hefele and Sam Byram, was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“The most important thing that came out of it is that the players were determined to find an equaliser at the end,” said Karanka. “And in the penalties we were luckier than them.

“I think we deserved to go through as we had chances to win, although it is true they had one or two opportunities. I have a very good squad, but I also know that it is difficult to play with 11 different faces on the pitch.

“I thought we had to approach the game in the right way, but their early goal and the sending off made things difficult for us. They all had a good attitude which was good to see.”