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Page last updated at 17:43 GMT, Sunday, 29 August 2010 18:43 UK

Forest winger accused of cheating by Norwich's Martin

Norwich City defender Russell Martin
Russell Martin signed permanently from Peterborough United in January

Norwich defender Russell Martin accused Nottingham Forest winger Paul Anderson of taking a dive to earn his side's equalising penalty at the City Ground.

The Canaries had to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw after Forest opened the scoring with a spot-kick following Martin's challenge on Anderson.

But Martin insisted that Anderson had made a meal of Saturday's incident.

"For me it's cheating," he said. "It's not even gamesmanship. He touched the ball and dived. There's no contact."

Dexter Blackstock scored from the consequent penalty to give Forest a 35-minute lead, only for Andrew Crofts to equalise just three minutes before half-time.

But Martin was fuming about Forest's goal.

"It's got to be stamped out of the game," he told BBC Radio Norfolk. "If I'd made a bit of contact and he'd gone down easily, that's fair play, gamesmanship to me, but when there's no contact at all?

"He's touched the ball, it's gone five yards, and he dived into me. You could call that gamesmanship, but not for me.

After losing 3-2 in their Championship opener to Watford, Norwich are now unbeaten in their last three Championship games to stand seventh in the table on seven points.

Two of those results have been on the road - and Martin insists that this season's attitude towards away games will remain the same.

"Wherever we go, we go to win," he said. "We never go anywhere for a draw.

"Even a place like this, and they're a good, good team. They haven't started great but they'll be up there for sure.

"We've done unbelievably well to come back into it. The penalty could have cost us but it didn't, and that's down to the strength of the lads and the character we've got in the squad.

"It's one of the best performances since I've been at the club. We defended brilliantly and we should have had four or five goals."



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see also
Nottm Forest 1-1 Norwich
28 Aug 10 |  Championship
Martin backs Norwich's formation
20 Aug 10 |  Norwich
Martin secures Norwich loan move
25 Nov 09 |  Norwich


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