The idea of Chris Wood etching his name into Nottingham Forest's annals or the team securing a sixth-place spot in the Premier League appeared far-fetched when Nuno Espírito Santo was named head coach last December. Less than a year on, both scenarios have materialized, thanks to the striker's ninth goal of the season, which sealed a victory over Ipswich. When Nuno took charge amid a relegation fight, Wood was a regular on the bench under Steve Cooper. However, he swiftly became a favorite of his new coach and has since delivered a string of goals in return. Wood now shares the club's top Premier League scorer title with Bryan Roy, having coolly settled a tense match.
After two consecutive losses, Nuno sought a response from Forest. He made his intentions clear by making five changes following the defeat to Arsenal last weekend. Jota Silva was given his first Premier League start, providing the energy and drive his manager desired. The Portuguese international won a corner within 30 seconds of kick-off and forced Axel Tuanzebe into a booking to halt a counterattack. Forest dominated the opening quarter of the match and looked dangerous, yet they failed to test Arijanet Muric, despite numerous set pieces delivered into the box. Instead, Ipswich nearly took the lead when Cameron Burgess flicked a corner across goal, but Ola Aina cleared it off the line.
Ipswich was keen to slow the pace, whether by delaying restarts or feigning injury to disrupt the flow, resulting in a scrappy game. This tactic helped Kieran McKenna's side gain a foothold, and they might have scored if Liam Delap hadn't intercepted Conor Chaplin after Matz Sels palmed an Omari Hutchinson shot into his path. Jota's lively performance led to Forest winning a penalty early in the second half, which Wood dispatched into the middle, equaling Roy's tally of 24 top-flight goals. There was contact between Jota and Sammie Szmodics, but the fall was somewhat exaggerated. Referee Tony Harrington was confident in his decision, and VAR saw no reason to intervene.
Muric made a superb save, tipping a close-range Murillo header from a corner onto the bar to prevent Forest from doubling their lead. Set pieces continued to trouble Ipswich, as Elliot Anderson nearly curled a corner straight in, forcing the goalkeeper to palm it away from under his own crossbar before Burgess headed off the line to thwart Jota's attempt. Ipswich struggled to threaten Forest's defense, with the highly-rated Delap kept quiet by Nikola Milenković and Murillo. Despite the visitors' efforts to chase the game, Sels enjoyed a leisurely afternoon, barely needing to be alert for Ipswich's best chance of the second half when substitute Jack Clarke's shot from inside the box was directed straight at the goalkeeper, leaving Ipswich in the bottom three and Forest back on track.
Source link: https://www.theguardian.com
