Forest's Striker Scores a Brace as Nottingham Forest Round Off European Campaign with Win over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- The home side were already through to the knockout round.
- A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead.
- Igor Jesus' European strike puts the team in control.
- Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- The midfielder rounds off a great performance with a spot-kick.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the European competition with a convincing triumph against Ferencvaros at the home stadium.
The hosts had already secured a berth in the next qualifying round and went into this fixture with a slim possibility of making the league's elite, although they needed several results to go their way.
Those results failed to materialize but this confident performance will give Forest fans belief that their team can navigate the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the upright with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from that point forward.
They opened the scoring in the early stages when Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by Bence Otvos and added a second four minutes later – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the back post for his tenth strike of the season.
The forward's 11th arrived early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to escape the defence and then place a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
That goal killed off the visitors' hopes of mounting a recovery and instead Forest scored again when the impressive James McAtee scored from a penalty after a infringement by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round lottery takes place on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Forest might face either the Turkish side or Panathinaikos.
"It's more than the scoreline, there was that feel about it. I want these players to do well as a unit, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"That was another stride forward, but it is a good one."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as New Signing Observes from Stands
Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in European competition this term with half of his 11 goals coming in the Europa League.
His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the prospect of a challenge for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was observing this game from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, delivering two excellent goals and overall being a menace to the visitors' defence with his speed and runs.
The forward was not alone in impressing, with McAtee producing his finest display in a Forest jersey since signing from Manchester City last summer, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
Such positive showings will give Forest some renewed optimism as they switch focus to increasing the gap from the Premier League relegation zone when they host their London rivals on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a response," continued Dyche.
"I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or honesty. It is just go and show your ability.
"James was very good and Dan was super sharp. Jesus got another couple and these are good signs."
Star Performer
Number: 19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- #19: Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.8
- #22: Average Rating 8.63
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.94
The Visitors Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1
- #66: Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.1
Once the chance to rate players has ended, the rating displayed represents the mean from all the votes.
