Premier League star hailed for Chelsea display 4 days after hero uncle's death
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper paid tribute to captain Joe Worrall after he put his grief over the death of an uncle to one side to produce a man-of-the-match display in the win against Chelsea.
Worrall's uncle Sergeant Graham Saville was tragically killed in a train accident last Thursday as he heroically tried to save a man in distress in Nottingham. Sergeant Saville was struck while trying to help a man who was electrocuted near Bulpit Lane level crossing.
He died in the hospital on Tuesday surrounded by his family. While he has been grieving his family's loss, Worrall captained Forest to an impressive win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, to earn high praise from boss Cooper.
He said: “He has been incredible. He has put himself second for the football club. It has given him a release. The guys showed him a huge amount of respect for what he has been through and I cannot speak highly enough of the man he has been this week or so.
“I know how important this will be. It will give him and his family some respite. Nothing can make what happened any better but at least it gives him some nice feelings for a while. A lot of that result today was for them."
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Cooper added to BBC Sport: "Really proud of him. It's tragic what's happened. It's Joe's story to tell more than mine. What I do know is that he's represented his family and himself incredibly well.
Joe Worrall put in a man of the match performance in the win over Chelsea, just days after his uncle was tragically killed (Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images))"Football has helped him, the club has helped him. He got a round of applause in the dressing room there. There's a lot of respect for him and that win definitely is for him and his family. It was a long time coming.
"To come somewhere like Stamford Bridge against this team and get a result like we did today and in the way that we did it is one that I think the players deserve after what went on at Old Trafford. We've fallen short since we got back into the Premier League, so for us to get up and running here today this season is really rewarding for everyone involved."
Anthony Elanga’s goal condemned Chelsea to their second defeat of the season and there were boos at the final whistle. The win came on the back of an outstanding defensive performance, with the hosts limited to just two shots on target.
Chelsea's failure to break down their opponents left boss Mauricio Pochettino frustrated. The Blues now sit a lowly 12th in the table, despite another summer of huge spending in the transfer window.
"We are disappointed because we did everything to try and get a different result but football is about not making mistakes and we made one mistake and paid for that. We created many chances but we did not score," Pochettino told BBC Sport.
"This Premier League is really competitive if you don't score it is difficult to win. They didn't create many chances. We conceded because of our mistake. Disappointed because it was a game that should be a win.
"We need to be more clinical in front of the goal. We didn't score and that is why we didn't win. Congratulations to them but we were disappointed because we could not break down their low block."
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