Nottingham Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi vows his side will ‘fight to the end’ after 1-0 defeat at Barnsley

The Reds hopes of clinching a play-off spot will go down to the final day after the defeat at Oakwell - a result which meant the hosts’ dreams of avoiding relegation will also go down to the last day of the regular season.

Substitute Patrick Schmidt struck in injury-time to give Barnsley the win their performance deserved against a poor Forest side, who had defended well for 90 minutes, but offered little going forward.

The Reds, without a win in four games, made the short trip to South Yorkshire knowing a point would secure their place in the promotion play-offs, while for hosts Barnsley, anything but a win would see them make an immediate return to League One, having secured promotion behind Luton Town just more than 12 months ago – and it was the hosts who showed they wanted it more as they ran out deserved winners.

Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi praised the victors after the game, but said his team lacked desire and fight.

“There is big disappointment, big frustration,” he said

"The desire of Barnsley’s players was important and they deserved to win. They wanted the win more than us, they ran more, they fought more, they won the duels. In football, if you don’t do that, it’s difficult.

"The spirit in dressing room after the game was terrible, absolutely down.”

Lamouchi did praise goalkeeper Jordan Smith, who made several good saves in for his first league start of the season, as Brice Samba was rested with a slight knee injury.

"I liked Jordan’s performance,” he said, “it was the perfect game from him.”

And he refused to blame the formation as Forest switched to a 3-5-2 to match Barnsley’s preferred system, with Michael Dawson recalled to the starting line-up in central defence alongside Joe Worrall and Tobias Figueiredo - but no out-and-out wingers, full-backs Carl Jenkinson and Yuri Ribeiro providing the width.

Lamouchi said: “We didn’t play well, we didn’t deserve anything. They played much better than us.”

And he promised Forest fans his side would put up more of a fight against Stoke City on Wednesday to secure the point they need for a play-off place.

"Talking with the players in the dressing room, I said one thing, it’s as simple as that, the next one, the last one, it’s a final.

"It we want to play the play-offs, it’s in our hands, one pint, a win, we’re in the play offs.

"The players are down now, but I prefer to be in our position than our opponents.

"It's a final, we need minimum one point, we will try to do it.

“I never imagined we’d play the last game for the play-offs, but nothing is done and we need to fight. We will fight until the end.”

It was Barnsley who started brightest at Oakwell, as Forest struggled to adapt to the new formation and Tykes captain Alex Mowatt forced the first save in the third minute, Smith diving to his left to palm Mowatt’s curling shot away.

Two minutes later, Smith was called into action again, diving to his left this time to turn Luke Thomas’s low shot away for a corner.

Forest’s first chance came in the 10th minute. Ben Watson won the ball in midfield and played Grabban through in the inside left channel, but he dragged his shot across goal and wide of Barnsley goalkeeper Jack Walton’s left-hand post.

Forest were then denied by a combination of Walton and his defenders, blocking first Dawson’s header from Tiago Silva’s left-wing free-kick and then Ribeiro and Figueiredo’s follow-ups.

Conor Chaplin then had Smith worried, midway through the first half, as the bounce from a long ball deceived Dawson, Figueiredo hesitated and Chaplin nipped in, but could only drag his shot across Smith’s gaoal

Barnsley were dominating the game and Thomas came close again, just after the half-hour mark, firing against the crossbar from the edge of the area from Kilian Ludewig’s cross after good work down the right.

Forest were struggling to get a foothold in the game and it took until 40 minutes for the visitors to get a shot on target, if you can call it that - Nuno Da Costa’s tame back flick from Silva’s low right-wing cross was easy for Walton.

Smith then had to react sharply, standing tall to deny Jacob Brown, who never managed to fully get the ball under control as he ran onto Mowatt’s clever through ball over the top in the last action of poor first-half for everyone of a Forest persuasion.

Five minutes into the second half and the Forest were holding their breath as referee Scott Duncan reached for his pocket following a late challenge by Ben Watson on Marcel Ritzmaier, but fortunately it was only yellow and not the straight red card, which could have ruled Watson out of any play-off semi-final games.

Dawson was then incensed as Thomas looked to have overrun the ball and went down, only for the ref to penalise Dawson and award a free-kick just outside the penalty area. Styles stepped up, but sent his shot high over the bar with Smith untroubled.

Lewis Grabban did have the ball in the net after Barnsley failed to deal with a Watson corner just after the hour mark, but the flag had long been raised for offside against substitute Sammy Ameobi almost on the goal-line.

Barnsley were throwing everything forward in search of the goal they needed to prolong their stay in the division, and Ritzmaier saw his shot deflect against the post and away for a corner.

The hosts were dominating the game, with crosses reigning in on Smith’s goal, who had to be alert to punch two corners away from under his own crossbar, while Jordan Williams fired just over.

When the hosts did get into the area, Forest’s three centre halves threw their bodies in their way, making block after block, including goal-line clearances from both Worrall and Dawson.

However, the hosts did find the goal their play deserved in the fourth minute of injury time, Patrick Schmidt sweeping home after Brown headed a deep cross back into the area and giving Forest no time to search for an equaliser.

Schmidt’s strike means Forest have now conceded in stoppage time in three of the four away games they have played since the season resumed – as well as one of the home games and twice in first-half stoppage time, something Lamouchi will no doubt be looking to address in the coming days.

Forest: Smith; Dawson, Worrall, Figueiredo (Mighten, 90+4); Jenkinson (Benalouane, 85), Ribeiro, Watson, Sow, Silva (Yates, 55); Da Costa (Ameobi, 55), Grabban.

Subs not used: Shelvey, Darikwa, Bostock, Lolley, Walker.