Forest's Striker Fires Twice as The Reds Conclude European Campaign with Victory over Ferencvaros
Match Summary
- Forest were already through to the play-offs.
- A Ferencvaros defender deflection gives hosts a opening period lead.
- The striker's European strike puts Forest in command.
- Striker nets again with a sharp finish in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps 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 City Ground.
Forest had previously guaranteed a berth in the next qualifying round and entered this game with a small chance of reaching the league's elite, even though they required other matches to fall in their favor.
That did not happen but this confident performance will give Forest fans confidence that their team can come through the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16.
A Ferencvaros midfielder did hit the upright with a headed effort inside the opening stages for the visitors – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from that point forward.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was deflected in by the defender and doubled the lead shortly after – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the far post for his 10th goal of the season.
The forward's 11th arrived early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the defence and then place a shot past the shot-stopper.
That goal killed off the visitors' hopes of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the impressive McAtee converted a penalty after a foul by the hapless Otvos inside the box on the winger.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round draw is scheduled on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Nottingham Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or the Greek club.
"It's more than the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do collectively well, the whole squad," said manager Sean Dyche.
"This is another step, but it is a good step."
Forest Analysis: Jesus Catches Eye as Recent Arrival Watches On
Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in European competition this season with six of his eleven strikes scored in the tournament.
This double also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the prospect of competition for his place in the forward line could be providing motivation.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was recently signed on loan and he was watching this match from the stands.
That may well have been on the striker's mind as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, producing two superb finishes and generally being a constant threat to the visitors' defence with his speed and movement.
Jesus was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee producing his finest display in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions last summer, while the Swiss international also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club some fresh hope as they switch focus to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a response," added the manager.
"I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or honesty. It is just about displaying your ability.
"McAtee was very good and Dan Ndoye was super sharp. Jesus got another couple and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
#19 The Striker
Average rating: 9.10
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- #19: Average Rating 9.10
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.6
- #6: Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.94
Ferencváros Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.1
- #66: Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Rating 4.1
Once the chance to submit ratings has ended, the rating shown is the average from all the submissions.
