THE price tag on David Marshall’s head may well have increased after the Cardiff City captain’s resolve and reactions helped his side to a 2-1 success at the City Ground.
Tony Pulis, the West Brom boss, has publicly stated his desire to sign the Cardiff goalkeeper, who demonstrated his value with outstanding saves to deny Michail Antonio and Tyler Walker in particular.
A £5m bid is understood to have been rejected — and Cardiff’s valuation of the player will only have increased following an afternoon when the experience of the Welsh side’s front men was decisive.
An ankle problem had threatened to rule out Kenwyne Jones but the big striker won his fight for fitness, before then winning the battle to beat Matt Mills to an enticing cross from Peter Whittingham to thunder the ball into the bottom corner of the net and the Welsh side into a 23rd minute lead.
Marshall was a significant figure by half-time, as he stretched himself to push away a probing, angled shot from teenage front man Tyler Walker.
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Four minutes after the interval Anthony Pilkington bent a cross towards the far corner, Mason sent a simple header beyond the wrong-footed Forest keeper, Dorus de Vries. Antonio’s rampaging run and shot deserved a goal, but Marshall again intervened, before regaining his feet to save yet again, as Walker pounced on the rebound.
Marshall stood tall to deny Walker again as he lashed an angled shot towards the near post. Antonio finally broke the keeper’s stoic resistance after battling his way onto a flick from Dexter Blackstock before jabbing home a low finish.
“I can’t see anything happening,” said Russell Slade, the Cardiff boss, when asked about his goalie.“His performance today was excellent. He had to make two or three very good saves. He kept us firmly on top.
“I have said all along that we do not want to lose our quality players, we want to keep them. And David is one of those players.”
Dougie Freedman, the Forst chief, felt the difference between the two sides had been their attacking arsenals.
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“I can’t be too disappointed in the way we are playing, because we have a lot of young players learning their trade,” said Freedman. “But that was the difference. We lacked experience when it came to our decision making.”
Star man: David Marshall (Cardiff City)
Nottingham Forest: de Vries 6, Lichaj 5, Mills 6, Hobbs 6, Pinillos 6, Mancienne 6, Burke 5 (Blackstock 59 min 6), Ebecilio 5 (Osborn 45 min 7), Vaughan 7, Antonio 6, Walker 7 (McDonagh 79 min 6)
Cardiff City: Marshall 8, Peltier 6, Da Silva 7 (Malone 80 min 6), Morrison 6, Whittingham 7, Ralls 6, Jones 7 (Ameobi 69 min 7), Mason 7, Pilkington 6 (Noone 90+1 min 5), Dikgacoi 6, Connolly 6