Nottingham Forest played well to beat Fulham 3-1 in their battle to avoid relegation in the Premier League on Tuesday night at the City Ground. The hosts dominated the first half of the game, with winger Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring after nine minutes and Chris Wood making Forest’s lead 2-0 in the 19th minute. Fulham manager Marco Silva made three substitutions, but things became worse for the visitors before halftime as the superb Morgan Gibbs-White made it 3-0 in stoppage time with an excellent finish.
Fulham responded admirably in the second half, giving themselves a lifeline when Tosin Adarabioyo headed in from a corner. Both sides hit the woodwork, but Forest held on to go to 25 points, three ahead of Luton Town, who are in the final relegation spot.
Forest was left in grave trouble after being punished by four points last month for breaking Premier League financial rules. However, they have recovered admirably from that setback, drawing with Crystal Palace over the weekend and winning against Fulham on Tuesday thanks to a barnstorming first half.
Forest seized the lead inside 10 minutes when Gibbs-White’s pass released Hudson-Odoi, who cut back inside and fired past Fulham keeper Bernd Leno. Hudson-Odoi missed another opportunity shortly after, but Forest increased their advantage when Wood caught Leno off guard with a shot from the edge of the area. Fulham’s manager Silva replaced Alex Iwobi, Saaa Luki, and Harry Wilson with Adama Traore, Tom Cairney, and Willian after Anthony missed an opportunity to make it 3-0.
Forest was relentless in moving forward, and Gibbs-White capped a magnificent half with a shot into the far corner that sent the Forest fans into raptures. Adarabioyo’s header shortly after the restart created some panic in the home ranks, but Forest quickly fired back, with Neco Williams’ shot deflecting against the crossbar. Fulham, on the other hand, made significant improvements, and if Kenny Tete’s header had gone in instead of glancing off the crossbar, the game would have ended on a nerve-racking note.
One of the best starts we’ve had in terms of the way we attacked and the overall balance. We still have to regret some aspects but let’s not ignore the things we did very well, Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said after the crucial win. It’s too bad we can’t always play at City Ground. The noise they make and the help they give us, they deserve this moment so much. We’ve been trying hard to give them this happiness so let’s try to enjoy it, Santo added.
