Igor Jesus Fires a Brace as The Reds Conclude European Campaign with Win over Ferencvaros
Match Summary
- The home side were already through to the play-offs.
- A Ferencvaros defender deflection gives hosts a first-half lead.
- The striker's European strike puts Forest in control.
- Forward adds a third with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- James McAtee caps a great performance 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 win against Ferencvaros at the City Ground.
Forest had already secured a place in the knockout round play-offs and entered this game with a small chance of making the top eight, although they required several results to fall in their favor.
Those results failed to materialize but this assured performance will give Forest fans belief that their team can come through the home-and-away tie to reach the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the post with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached 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 deflected in by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead shortly after – Jesus firing an effort in at the far post for his tenth strike of the season.
Jesus' eleventh goal came early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to escape the backline and then place a shot beyond the shot-stopper.
That goal killed off Ferencvaros' hopes of making a comeback and instead the hosts added a fourth when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the hapless Bence Otvos inside the box on the winger.
Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round draw takes place on the final Friday of January (midday UK time), where Forest might face either the Turkish side or the Greek club.
"It is not just the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the entire team," said manager Sean Dyche.
"This is another stride forward, but it is a good step."
Forest Analysis: Striker Shines as New Signing Watches On
Igor Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in European competition this season with six of his eleven strikes coming in the tournament.
His brace also means he has scored a trio of strikes in his last two games and the prospect of a challenge for his place in attack could be providing motivation.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was watching this match from the directors' box.
That may well have been on the striker's mind as he was impressive against the opposition, delivering two excellent goals and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and runs.
Jesus was not alone in catching the eye, with McAtee producing his best performance in a Nottingham Forest shirt since joining from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
Such positive showings will give the club some fresh hope as they switch focus to increasing the gap from the bottom three when they host their London rivals on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a reaction," continued Dyche.
"I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or integrity. It is just about displaying your ability.
"James was very good and Dan Ndoye was incredibly lively. Igor got another couple and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.1
Nottingham Forest Top Players
- #19: Average Rating 9.10
- J. McAtee: Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Rating 8.0
- #31: Average Rating 7.94
Ferencváros Ratings
- B. Yusuf: Rating 4.1
- #66: Rating 4.1
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.1
After the opportunity to rate players has ended, the score shown represents the mean from all the submissions.
