Igor Jesus Fires a Brace as The Reds Round Off European Campaign with Win over Hungarian Opponents
Match Summary
- Forest were already through to the play-offs.
- A Ferencvaros defender own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in control.
- Forward adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- James McAtee rounds off a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
Igor Jesus scored twice as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the European competition with a comfortable win against Ferencvaros at the home stadium.
The hosts had already secured a place in the next qualifying round and went into this game with a slim possibility of reaching the top eight, although they required several results to go their way.
Those results failed to materialize but this confident performance will give the supporters confidence that their side 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 first 10 minutes for the visitors – who are managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from then on.
Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by the defender and added a second four minutes later – Jesus squeezing a shot in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
The forward's 11th came soon after the restart when he made a perfectly-timed run to break clear of the defence and then place a shot beyond the shot-stopper.
The third strike killed off the visitors' hopes of making a comeback and instead Forest added a fourth when the impressive James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the unfortunate Bence Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
Europe's secondary club competition knockout phase play-off lottery takes place on Friday, 30 January (midday UK time), where Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"It's more than 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 good one."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On
Jesus has been a standout performer for Forest in European competition this term with six of his eleven strikes coming in the Europa League.
This double also means he has got a trio of strikes in his last two games and the threat of a challenge for his position in attack could be providing motivation.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week signed on loan and he was watching this game from the directors' box.
This development may well have been on the striker's thoughts as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, producing two superb goals and generally being a menace to the visitors' defence with his pace and runs.
The forward was not alone in impressing, with James McAtee producing his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing 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 increasing the gap from the Premier League relegation zone when they welcome Crystal Palace on the weekend.
"The minimum requirement is a reaction," added the manager.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their dedication or integrity. It is just go and show your ability.
"James was excellent and Dan was super sharp. Jesus got another couple and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.10
Forest Top Players
- #19: Average Rating 9.1
- #24: Average Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01
- N. Milenković: Rating 7.94
Ferencváros Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.1
- #66: Rating 4.12
- #16: Average Rating 4.1
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score shown is the mean from all the submissions.
