Newcastle 1 Nottingham Forest 3
Nuno Espirito Santo took his Forest side to St James’ Park to face Newcastle, with the omens not looking good at a ground they had failed to win at for some time. Eddie Howe’s side were struggling to deal with an ever-growing injury list so far this season however.
The visitors had the first glimpse of goal as the ball dropped to Morgan Gibbs-White in the box but his shot flashed wide of the post. It should have been a warning to the The Magpies that Forest were not going to go down without a fight in this one.
Miley then threaded the ball into Isak in the box, who turned his marker, before ending in a heap on the ground. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and a VAR review agreed. Isak then stepped up to slot home, but Turner really should have saved the poorly placed spot kick.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Geordies at this point, they dreamed of days where Ant and Dec topped the charts again, all was well in the world. They almost made it two as Gordon shot at the back post but for the block of Montiel.
Credit: @NUFC
Forest should have been level when the same player sent Elanga through on goal, but his choice to shoot himself rather than squaring it to Wood to slot home, caused the striker to kick the post in frustration. Dubravka got down well to deny the former Man Utd winger.
Isak was giving the Forest defence a headache and as he skipped past Danilo into the box, he tried to chip it over Turner but the keeper was alert enough to turn the Swede’s shot over the crossbar and keep his side in the game.
Newcastle looked to double their lead in added time but the move broke down and Gibbs-White countered. As he got to the edge of the box, he fed Elanga who this time crossed to Wood giving him the easy job of tapping the ball into an empty net. St James’ Park fell silent.
Isak should have restored the lead before half time when Schar crossed from the byline. The striker had a completely free header in the middle of the goal but put it too close to Turner as the keeper saved and got up to claw away the loose ball straight afterwards.
Elanga was terrorising Burn on the right wing and straight after half-time he picked out Gibbs-White in the box. It was a perfectly weighted cross but the Forest midfielder headed wide from six yards out with no Newcastle players anywhere near him.
The Forest winger’s pace was causing Eddie Howe’s side real problems and he slotted the ball in behind the Newcastle defence for Wood to run onto. He twisted and turned, leaving the defender for dead before dinking the ball over Dubravka to make it two-one.
Credit: @NFFC
It was a deft finish by the Kiwi striker but Newcastle’s defence look about as solid as a government-endorsed PPE contract during the pandemic. It was like they were being controlled by somebody’s dog on the PlayStation.
Chris Wood then sprung the offside trap and rounded the Newcastle keeper before slotting the ball into the back of the net. The former Newcastle striker had come back to haunt Eddie Howe’s side with a hat-trick on his old stomping ground.
The hosts tried their hardest to find a comeback, Miley shot narrowly wide of the far post. Schar then crossed to find Isak at the back post and his shot beat Turner only to see a sliding Forest defender stop it on the line.
Gordon then reacted quickest, looking to drill the rebound home but it was once again blocked on the line. Newcastle demanded a penalty for handball for the challenge by Niakhate but the replay confirmed it came off his shoulder.
It was a first win as Forest manager for Nuno Espirito Santo and his striker came away with the match ball to boot. Eddie Howe’s woes continue as their qualifying for the Champions League last season seems a long and distant memory.
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