Forest's Striker Scores Twice as The Reds Round Off European Group Stage with Victory over Ferencvaros
At a Glance
- The home side were previously qualified to the play-offs.
- A Ferencvaros defender deflection gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead.
- Igor Jesus' European strike puts Forest in control.
- Forward nets again with a sharp finish in the second half.
- The midfielder rounds off a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
Igor Jesus found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the Europa League with a comfortable win against Ferencvaros at the City Ground.
Forest had already secured a place in the next qualifying round and went into this fixture with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they needed other matches to fall in their favor.
Those results failed to materialize but this assured display will give the supporters belief that their team can come through the two-legged play-off to advance to the round of sixteen.
A Ferencvaros midfielder struck the upright with a headed effort inside the opening stages for the away team – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from then on.
They broke the deadlock in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by the defender and doubled the lead shortly after – the striker firing an effort in at the back post for his 10th goal of the campaign.
Jesus' eleventh goal came soon after the restart when he made a perfectly-timed run to break clear of the backline and then place a shot past the goalkeeper.
The third strike killed off the visitors' hopes of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the impressive James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round draw is scheduled on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either the Turkish side or the Greek club.
"It is not just the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do collectively well, the whole squad," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"This is another step, but it is a good one."
Team Breakdown: Jesus Catches Eye as New Signing Observes from Stands
Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in European competition this term with half of his eleven strikes scored in the Europa League.
His brace also means he has scored three goals in his last two games and the threat of a challenge for his position in the forward line could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was watching this match from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was outstanding against the opposition, producing two superb finishes and overall being a menace to the opposition backline with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee producing his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
These encouraging performances will give Forest some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome their London rivals on the weekend.
"All you can ask for is a reaction," added the manager.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or integrity. It is just go and show your quality.
"James was very good and Dan Ndoye was incredibly lively. Igor got another two and these are positive indicators."
Player of the Match
#19 Igor Jesus
Average rating: 9.10
Forest Key Performers
- Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.10
- #24: Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.6
- #6: Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.9
Ferencváros Ratings
- #11: Average Rating 4.14
- #66: Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.1
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the rating shown is the average from all the submissions.
