Igor Jesus 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.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in command.
- Forward adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- James McAtee rounds off a excellent display with a penalty.
The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest concluded the group stage of the European competition with a convincing triumph against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and entered this game 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 display will give Forest fans belief that their side can come through the two-legged play-off to reach the last 16.
A Ferencvaros midfielder did hit the post with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – who are managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward.
They opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by the defender and doubled the lead shortly after – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the far post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
The forward's eleventh goal arrived early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the backline and then place a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
That goal ended Ferencvaros' hopes of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the impressive McAtee converted a spot-kick after a infringement by the hapless Otvos inside the box on the winger.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round lottery is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Nottingham Forest might face 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 New Signing Observes from Stands
Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in European competition this term with six of his 11 goals coming in the tournament.
This double also means he has got a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the threat of competition for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently brought in temporarily and he was watching this match from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was impressive against the opposition, delivering two excellent goals and generally being a constant threat to the visitors' defence with his pace and runs.
The forward was not alone in catching the eye, with James McAtee turning in his finest display in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye 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 the manager.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their dedication or honesty. It is just about displaying your ability.
"McAtee was very good and Dan was incredibly lively. Jesus got another two and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
Number: 19 Igor Jesus
Match rating: 9.10
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- #19: Rating 9.10
- #24: Average Rating 8.8
- R. Yates: Rating 8.63
- #6: Average Rating 8.01
- #31: Rating 7.94
The Visitors Ratings
- #11: Rating 4.14
- #66: Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Rating 4.09
Once the chance to rate players has ended, the score displayed represents the mean from all the submissions.
