Forest's Striker Fires Twice as Nottingham Forest Round Off European Campaign with Victory over Hungarian Opponents
Match Summary
- Forest were previously qualified to the knockout round.
- Bence Otvos deflection gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in control.
- Striker adds a third with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- James McAtee caps a excellent performance with a penalty.
The Brazilian attacker scored twice as the Premier League side concluded the group stage of the Europa League with a comfortable triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground.
Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and went into this fixture with a slim possibility of reaching 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 the supporters confidence that their side can navigate the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the upright with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.
They opened the scoring in the 17th minute when a delivery from midfield 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 season.
Jesus' 11th came early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the backline and then drive an effort past the goalkeeper.
That goal killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead Forest added a fourth when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a infringement by the unfortunate Bence Otvos inside the box on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw takes place on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Nottingham Forest could be drawn against either the Turkish side or Panathinaikos.
"It is not just the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do collectively well, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"This is another stride forward, but it is a good one."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as New Signing Watches On
Jesus has been a standout performer for Forest in European competition this season with half of his 11 goals coming in the tournament.
This double also means he has got three goals in his previous two outings and the prospect of competition for his position in attack could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was watching this game from the stands.
This development may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, delivering two excellent goals and overall being a menace to the visitors' defence with his pace and runs.
The forward was not alone in impressing, with James McAtee turning in his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from Manchester City in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
These encouraging performances will give the club some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they host their London rivals on the weekend.
"The minimum requirement is a response," added Dyche.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or honesty. It is just about displaying your quality.
"James was very good and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Jesus got another couple and these are positive indicators."
Player of the Match
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- Igor Jesus: Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.8
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.63
- #6: Average Rating 8.01
- #31: Average Rating 7.9
Ferencváros Notable Players
- #11: Average Rating 4.1
- #66: Average Rating 4.1
- #16: Rating 4.09
After the opportunity to submit ratings has closed, the rating shown is the mean from all the submissions.
