Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo expressed his delight after he saw his side pick up their first victory at the City Ground this season with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
In a back-and-forth contest, the two sides evenly shared 40 shots on goal, with Eddie Nketiah and Ryan Yates both rattling efforts off the woodwork in the first period.
Palace looked likely to break the deadlock but Matz Sels heroically produced seven saves before Dean Henderson’s mistake from Chris Wood’s first-time strike gave Forest a first home league victory of the season.
Victory lifted Forest into the top eight of the Premier League and to their first home league win since a 3-1 result against Fulham in April, ending a six-game winless league run at the City Ground.
Nuno, who watched on from the stands, hailed keeper Sels after dedicating the win to the fans.
That winning feeling 😁 pic.twitter.com/a6im32sCAk
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) October 21, 2024
He said: “I saw it was difficult but so happy we can finally give this moment to our fans, always helping and supporting us so especially delighted for them.
“It says a lot about the game itself when Matz is one of the best players in the team. They are very good, always pressing and so much talent. We are delighted Matz did a very good job and kept us in the game.
“We are delighted but it’s not what is important, what guides us. What guides us is the level of performance, to sustain is always the difficulty.
“We want to raise the bar and sustain that level. Before the break we showed how we must play football, we have to run more than them, cover, always have bodies in front and this is what is important.
“It is the spirit and bond so we can progress as a team. It is how we do things.”
Fine goalscoring form for Chris Wood 😤
He has the joint-third highest amount of goals scored since December 2023 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/fgsVYgcH93
— Premier League (@premierleague) October 21, 2024
Wood netted his fifth goal of the season to give Forest an important victory while their impressive defensive efforts earned a third clean sheet of the season.
Nuno was happy with his striker’s performance, adding: “Amazing, we are delighted with not only his goals.
“All his actions in the game, how he leads the team, his set-pieces and more than all that is the impact he has in the dressing room. His leadership, he is a very experienced player for the young lads. We cannot thank him enough.”
Henderson’s mistake from Wood’s strike meant Palace have failed to win in their first eight league games of a season for just the fourth time in their history.
Following defeat, Palace sit 18th without a win and are the lowest scorers in the league.
It''s all over at the City Ground.#CPFC // #NFOCRY
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) October 21, 2024
Oliver Glasner said Henderson apologised for his mistake but he refused to blame his goalkeeper.
He said: “He tried to apologise but I didn’t allow it.
“It’s not to blame anybody, he made such big saves for us this season and last – it happens, it’s sport and they are all human.
“He doesn’t need to apologise for a mistake he makes. It’s always how we deal with them, the reaction of the team gives me a positive feeling for the next games.
“We know the challenges we have and we will need Dean and he will help us for sure.”
Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged no one at Nottingham Forest expected to be third in April but backed his team to embrace the challenge after they started a huge week with victory at Tottenham.Forest had slipped to sixth in the Premier League after weekend wins for Champions League qualification rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, yet responded with aplomb in the capital.Early efforts...
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