Forest's Striker Fires Twice as Nottingham Forest Round Off European Campaign with Victory over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- Forest were already through to the play-offs.
- Bence Otvos deflection gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- The striker's European strike puts the team in control.
- Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the second half.
- The midfielder rounds off a great display with a penalty.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest concluded the group stage of the European competition with a comfortable triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had previously guaranteed a place in the next qualifying round and entered this fixture with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they needed several results to fall in their favor.
Those results failed to materialize but this assured performance will give Forest fans confidence that their team can navigate the two-legged play-off to advance to the last 16.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the upright with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.
They broke the deadlock in the early stages when Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by Bence Otvos and added a second four minutes later – the striker firing an effort in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
The forward's 11th came early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the defence and then drive an effort beyond the goalkeeper.
The third strike killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead Forest scored again when the excellent James McAtee converted a spot-kick after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off draw takes place on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or the Greek club.
"It is not just the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the whole squad," said manager Sean Dyche.
"That was another step, but it is a positive step."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Watches On
Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Forest in European competition this term with half of his 11 goals scored in the Europa League.
His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the prospect of a challenge for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was last week signed on loan and he was observing this game from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was outstanding against the opposition, delivering two superb goals and generally being a menace to the visitors' defence with his speed and runs.
The forward was not the only one in catching the eye, with James McAtee producing his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions in the previous transfer window, while the Swiss international also performed well.
These encouraging performances will give the club some renewed optimism as they switch focus to pulling further away from the Premier League relegation zone when they welcome their London rivals on Sunday.
"All you can ask for is a reaction," added Dyche.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their loyalty or integrity. It is just about displaying your ability.
"James was very good and Dan was incredibly lively. Igor got another two and these are good signs."
Star Performer
#19 Igor Jesus
Match rating: 9.1
Forest Key Performers
- Igor Jesus: Rating 9.10
- #24: Rating 8.8
- R. Yates: Rating 8.6
- #6: Average Rating 8.01
- #31: Rating 7.9
The Visitors Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1
- Júlio Romão: Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Rating 4.09
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the rating shown represents the mean from all the submissions.
