First half goals from Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi meant Nottingham Forest could have restored a five-point gap above resurgent West Ham and the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Brentford.
Sean Dyche joins Josep Guardiola as the second visiting manager to win at the G-Tech Community Stadium this season. The victory was supported by the team’s defense following Jesus’ first goal, with Awonih securing a point with 10 minutes remaining at half-time.
In a battle between two Brazilians, Igor, in attack, it was the unpretentious Jesus who secured the victory with his first league goal since December 3rd. His great chest and finish after 12 minutes provided Forest with a springboard and they could have easily doubled their advantage with a dominant opening half-hour.
Igor Jesus celebrates after scoring Nottingham Forest’s opening goal against Brentford
As momentum faltered, Brentford had several chances to equalize, but Dango Ouattara, who came on as an early substitute for the injured Mikel Damsgaard, was thwarted by Mats Sells when he should have equalized.
Sepp van den Berg, another substitute in the first half after Christopher Ajer was sent off, equalized just before half-time with a long throw, but he nodded just past the near post.
With Brentford’s pressure mounting after half-time, Forest continued to fall further and further back, but the hosts’ belief was visibly visible as they failed to convert any chances and time ran out to protect their good home result.
Instead, Forest showed the clinical touch their side had been lacking, with substitute Awoniyi making the only touch in the opposition box in the second half and scoring the second goal past van den Berg with 10 minutes remaining.
On a day that started with the Bees’ hopes of cementing their place in Europe, the Bees remain outside the top seven and will fall to ninth if Everton beat Leeds on Monday Night Football.
Daiche is excited about Forest Form
Nottom Forest head coach Sean Dyche told Sky Sports:
“We have to find another way to win. We controlled the ball a little more in the first half and had to defend resolutely, which we did.
“Seven points from three games is a good return, especially with two away games and a draw at home with the league leaders.
“Every team wants a striker who can score, and we certainly have a striker, but I’m happy with them. They worked really hard and so did the whole group.”
Andrews: Forest got the game they wanted
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews told Sky Sports:
“The way we conceded goals didn’t suit me. We lost a bit of track after the first goal, but we controlled most of the game. I was happy for most of the game, but we can’t afford to concede goals like that.”
“Forest got the game they wanted and were able to sit back and counter-attack. I was happy with two-thirds of the performance, but we live and die by results. We need to be more clinical on both sides of the game.”
Analysis: The forest wasn’t pretty, but it was a well-deserved victory
Ron Walker from Sky Sports at Gtech Community Stadium:
“As Rob Green said, Nottingham Forest were unglamorous but effective. At the moment, that would be enough for West Ham to be suffocating and the relegation zone looming too large.
“The victory was underpinned by a superb performance from Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, who looked like they were going to score all 35 crosses Brentford launched into the box, and it was all down to hard work and two quality moments when it really mattered.”
“The timing of these goals was game-defining and could not have been better, as Brentford’s attack struggled but had few ideas to counter the visitors’ low block.
“In defense of Keith Andrews, losing the creative linchpin Damsgaard before half-time didn’t help his cause, but even without him the home side ran out of ideas well before full-time.
“In the end, Forest’s victory was far from pretty, but on a day when Sels only made one save in 90 minutes, Andrews had little to complain about.”
