ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – A strong outing from in-form Nottingham Forest defender Eric Lichaj helped the warming visitors rally late for a 1-1 Championship draw Friday at Wolverhampton.
The right back went close to opening the scoring two minutes into the contest. Matt Mills flicked a corner kick on for Lichaj, but he missed just wide with a lunging header.
With the Reds trailing as the second half began, the American twice went close to notching an equalizing assist. Shortly after Chris O'Grady fired over from Lichaj's slip pass, he sparked a dangerous counter attack on his own.
The US international picked a pocket in the Forest end and raced into the Wolves end before picking out Nelson Oliveira with a pinpoint cross. However, the Portuguese international slipped just as he was preparing to pull the trigger and the chance fell by the wayside.
For the game, Lichaj racked up eight positive passes in or into the final attacking third, while adding four clearances, three tackles, two pass picks and an area cross block at the defensive end. With but one defeat from their last five games, Forest tentatively inched to within five points of the last promotion playoff spot.
Over in France's Ligue 2, Bob Bradley's Le Havre conceded twice in the final 10 minutes to settle for a 2-2 draw at Nimes. The sixth-place visitors stand five points shy of the top spot with one match left before the midway point of the season.
