Forest's Striker Scores a Brace as The Reds Conclude European Campaign with Win over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- Forest were previously qualified to the play-offs.
- Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead.
- Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts the team in command.
- Striker nets again with a clinical effort in the latter period.
- The midfielder caps a excellent performance with a spot-kick.
The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as Nottingham Forest concluded the league phase of the Europa League with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had already secured a berth in the knockout round play-offs and went into this fixture with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they required several results to go their way.
That did not happen but this assured display will give Forest fans belief that their team can come through the two-legged play-off to reach the round of sixteen.
Kristoffer Zachariassen did hit the upright with a header inside the opening stages for the away team – who are managed by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was all Forest from that point forward.
They broke the deadlock in the early stages when a delivery from midfield was turned into his own net by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead shortly after – Jesus firing an effort in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign.
The forward's 11th came soon after the restart when he timed a run perfectly to break clear of the defence and then place a shot past the shot-stopper.
The third strike ended Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead Forest scored again when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a foul by the unfortunate Bence Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw takes place on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Nottingham Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos.
"It's more than the scoreline, there was that feel about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the whole squad," said Forest boss Sean Dyche.
"That was another stride forward, but it is a good step."
Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as New Signing Observes from Stands
Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Forest in Europe this season with half of his eleven strikes coming in the Europa League.
This double also means he has scored three goals in his previous two outings and the threat of a challenge for his position in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was observing this game from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, producing two superb finishes and generally being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his pace and movement.
Jesus was not the only one in impressing, with James McAtee producing his finest display in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also impressed.
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 their London rivals on Sunday.
"The minimum requirement is a reaction," added Dyche.
"I've never questioned their work ethic or their loyalty or honesty. It is just about displaying your quality.
"James was excellent and Dan was super sharp. Jesus got another couple and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
#19 The Striker
Match rating: 9.1
Nottingham Forest Key Performers
- Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.1
- J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.75
- R. Yates: Average Rating 8.6
- I. Sangaré: Rating 8.01
- #31: Average Rating 7.9
The Visitors Ratings
- #11: Rating 4.14
- #66: Rating 4.12
- #16: Rating 4.1
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score shown represents the mean from all the submissions.
