Forest's Striker Scores Twice as The Reds Conclude European Campaign with Win over Hungarian Opponents
At a Glance
- Forest were already through to the play-offs.
- Bence Otvos deflection gives hosts a first-half lead.
- The striker's European strike puts the team in command.
- Striker adds a third with a sharp finish 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 Europa League with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium.
Forest had already secured a berth in the next qualifying round and went into this fixture 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 confident performance will give the supporters confidence that their side can come through the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16.
Kristoffer Zachariassen struck the post with a headed effort inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – who are managed by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward.
They opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by the defender and doubled the lead four minutes later – the striker firing an effort in at the far post for his 10th goal of the season.
Jesus' eleventh goal arrived early in the second half when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the backline and then drive an effort past the goalkeeper.
The third strike ended the visitors' aspirations of mounting a recovery and instead the hosts scored again when the excellent James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a infringement by the unfortunate Otvos inside the penalty area on Dan Ndoye.
The Europa League knockout phase play-off draw takes place on the final Friday of January (12:00 GMT), where Forest could be drawn against either the Turkish side or the Greek club.
"It is not just the result, there was that feel about it. I want these players to do collectively well, the whole squad," said manager Sean Dyche.
"This is another step, but it is a good step."
Forest Analysis: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On
Igor Jesus has been a standout performer for Nottingham Forest in Europe this term with six of his 11 goals coming in the Europa League.
His brace also means he has got three goals in his previous two outings and the threat of a challenge for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on.
Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was observing this match from the stands.
That may well have been on Jesus' thoughts as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, delivering two excellent finishes and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his speed and movement.
The forward was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee producing his best performance in a Nottingham Forest shirt since signing from the champions in the previous transfer window, while Dan Ndoye also performed well.
Such positive showings will give Forest some fresh hope as they switch focus to increasing the gap from the bottom three when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
"All you can ask for is a response," added the manager.
"I have always trusted their work ethic or their loyalty or integrity. It is just about displaying your ability.
"McAtee was very good and Dan was incredibly lively. Jesus got another two and these are positive indicators."
Star Performer
#19 Igor Jesus
Match rating: 9.10
Nottingham Forest Top Players
- Igor Jesus: Rating 9.1
- #24: Rating 8.75
- #22: Rating 8.63
- I. Sangaré: Rating 8.0
- #31: Average Rating 7.9
Ferencváros Notable Players
- B. Yusuf: Average Rating 4.14
- Júlio Romão: Average Rating 4.12
- K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09
Once the chance to submit ratings has ended, the rating displayed is the mean from all the votes.
