Liam Delap endured a frustrating return to Ipswich as Nottingham Forest were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw despite delivering a dominant performance at Portman Road.
The striker earned a big-money transfer to Chelsea after netting 12 goals for Ipswich throughout the 2024-25 campaign, but he returned to his former club with Forest on Friday having scored only twice in the Premier League since departing the Suffolk side.
Any prospects of recapturing his previous form failed to materialise, with Delap missing a gilt-edged opportunity 16 minutes from time to leave Forest with just one league victory from eight matches under Oliver Glasner.
Glasner will feel aggrieved after Neco Williams deservedly put the visitors ahead after 13 minutes, before Nikola Milenkovic gifted Gary O’Neil’s team an equaliser with an atrocious back pass, allowing Julio Enciso to level after 41 minutes.
Forest remained the team most likely to find a second-half winner and were left aggrieved after Issa Diop escaped a red card for a 47th-minute challenge on James McAtee, though Glasner ultimately left with a point.
Glasner stuck with Delap despite his costly misses at Crystal Palace and almost watched the away side score in the sixth minute.
Jair Cunha went close before Delap lashed well wide after good play by fit-again Morgan Gibbs-White.
While Forest started the day second from bottom, they regularly belied their lowly position and broke the deadlock in classic Glasner fashion.
Delap initially held up well versus Diop, then Gibbs-White beat Dara O’Shea to the ball and played in Daniel Munoz, who picked out fellow wing-back Williams to send a right-footed volley past Christian Walton.
It was trademark Glasner and while Enciso curled a free kick over for Ipswich soon after, Forest remained dominant with Gibbs-White off target before only Leif Davis’ excellent clearance on the line denied the England midfielder.
However, with four minutes of the first half left, Forest and specifically Milenkovic gifted Ipswich a leveller.
O’Shea’s long ball was brought down by Milenkovic but his pass back to Matz Sels was weak and Enciso raced clear before he found the bottom corner.
VAR took centre stage at the start of the second half when referee Thomas Bramall inexplicably failed to penalise Diop for hauling down McAtee before he decided upon review to hand out only a yellow card.
Glasner’s men failed to make the most of the subsequent free-kick and yet went close on the hour mark with a Williams’ shot blocked before Murillo’s effort on the turn was saved.
Murillo and then Dan Ndoye went close in quick succession – Davis again forced to produce a key intervention in front of goal.
Then Delap’s big moment arrived but he headed over after Abdoul Ouattara’s miscued clearance and then sent a 30-yard piledriver fractionally wide.
Forest lost Williams to a worrying arm injury minutes later and there was still time for Callum Hudson-Odoi to drill wide for the visitors before Ipswich substitute Jack Clarke fired off target to ensure the spoils were shared.