Turner admits he’s ‘glad VAR didn’t intervene’ on error vs. Brentford
Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner admitted he was lucky to escape punishment after nearly conceding a penalty when he was caught in possession against Brentford on Sunday.
With the game scoreless in the second half, Turner took too long on the ball in his box and saw Yoane Wissa win the ball with a clean challenge. The American goalkeeper was in the middle of trying to boot the ball away, and his follow-through took out the Brentford forward after he had sent the ball toward goal with his tackle.
Wissa’s shot was cleared off the line, and Turner was fortunate the incident didn’t go to a video review after he clearly hacked down the forward and got none of the ball in the process.
Christian Nørgaard gave Brentford the lead minutes later on a header Turner could have arguably saved, putting the Bees ahead just two minutes after Moussa Niakhaté was sent off for Forest.
But the 10-man home side would strike back through Nicolás Domínguez to level the match at 1-1, which would end up as the final score.
Speaking to NBC Sports after the game, Turner held his hand up — not only for his error in the Wissa incident, but also for the goal he conceded and a performance that he admitted was shaky on the whole.
“Personally it feels like two [points] dropped but at the end of the day you have to take the positives on it. I look myself in the mirror on that first goal and I know I’ve gotta be better for teammates especially in that moment right after getting the red card,” Turner said.
“For us to concede in the fashion that we did, I shoulder that burden for sure. The response was amazing, some unbelievable individual plays down the stretch. Every point is crucial in this league. It feels like two dropped, but it’s a weird one.”
The USMNT No. 1 added: “It was a terrible start for me in the second half in general. The ball was slow. I wasn’t getting it out of my feet and [Wissa] was pressing me really hard. I was a little bit worried but I tried to hold back as much as I could, because I knew he was going to win it. I’m glad VAR didn’t intervene because that would have made things go from bad to worse for me.”
“But I’m proud of myself, also because of my response the rest of the game, keeping it a one [goal conceded] and coming for some crosses late to relieve pressure.”