Matt Turner endured a tough moment in Saturday’s showdown with Manchester United at The City Ground, but responded in a big way to help Nottingham Forest earn a historic home victory.
Turner made four saves, including two crucial ones in the final minutes of a 2-1 triumph. It marked Nottingham Forest’s first head-to-head win over the Red Devils since 1994 and was a second-straight victory under Nuno Espírito Santo.
“In the end, it was a beautiful night at the City Ground,” Turner said postmatch in an interview, transcribed by The Mirror. ”You have to be perfect in the Premier League. We weren’t perfect, and I wasn’t perfect, but we dug deep and got the result I think we ultimately deserved. You know, there are ups and downs being a goalkeeper. I’ve had my moments this season.
”What happened out there was a microcosm of my whole career,” he added. “I always seem to battle back. I looked around at the guys beside me, they weren’t blaming me and pointing fingers, they had my back tonight and we ended up getting the win.”
Turner’s errant pass in the 78th minute led to Manchester United’s tying goal as Alejandro Garnacho set up Marcus Rashford for a 1-1 equalizer. It was another blunder from the U.S. men’s national team’s No. 1 this season, but Turner did not hang his head.
After denying Christian Eriksen’s long-range effort, Turner quickly restarted things before watching Anthony Elanga connect with Morgan Gibbs-White for Forest’s winning goal in the 82nd minute. Forest would hang on for a crucial three points at home, giving them back-to-back wins over Newcastle United and Manchester United.
Despite Turner’s inconsistent spell at times for Forest, the 29-year-old admitted his enjoyment in watching his teammates pick him up from a rough moment.
”And you never want to make mistakes but if you are going to make them, you want to respond in the right way and I think I did,” Turner said. “So, it was an amazing feeling seeing Morgan [Gibbs-White] score. The boys picked me up. We have each other’s backs.
”I think that’s clear and, personally, it felt nice,” he added. “You always want to impact the game, cutting out crosses or making saves. But to have a direct impact on a goal we scored was pleasing, and it made me emotional.”
Nottingham Forest next hosts Blackpool in FA Cup play on January 7.
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