On Saturday Night Football, Newcastle defeated a determined Nottingham Forest team 3-2 in an exciting match.
Nottingham Forest saw a chance for some breathing room in the fight to avoid dropping out after watching fellow struggling teams Luton and Everton lose earlier in the day, but Newcastle had other plans.
Anthony Elanga of Forest rallied the team to tie the score after Bruno Guimares’ deft volley put the visitors ahead.
After a wild first forty-five minutes, Newcastle took the lead once more through Fabian Schar, but the home team rallied once more when Callum Hudson-Odoi’s deflected goal beat Martin Dubravka to tie the game.
When Taiwo Awoniyi fell to ground after being challenged by Dubravka, Forest had a strong start to the second half and were fortunate not to be awarded a penalty by referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Tony Harrington.
Nonetheless, Guimaraes added his second of the game to give Newcastle a three-goal advantage. Eddie Howe’s team, who have now won four in a row away from home in all competitions for the first time since 2016, avoided making the same mistakes they had earlier in the game and hung on to advance to seventh place.
Forest, on the other hand, is in 16th place and is only two points above the drop zone despite having not won in the league in their last four games.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said: “It was another really entertaining game. We came in level at half-time after playing well. We showed good spirit to win the game.
“Big win, great spirit. Especially in the second half. We played well in the first period. We dominated the ball and controlled the game but then came in at 2-2 which was disappointing. Second half was different I thought we won the game based on our determination and unity and spirit.
“Having a couple of options from the bench was massive for us and we haven’t had that for a few months. Hopefully everyone came through this one fit because that’s going to be key for us.”
On chasing the Champions League places: “We’re just trying to win every game we play. We’re feeling more ourselves now after these couple of away wins.”
Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes to said: “I’m very happy, it’s a good game for us. I played with more freedom and felt good. It was important after the draw with Luton last week. We played very well and it was very important for us today.
“For me, we shouldn’t have given the ball away, we tried to pass. The second half we played very well. We played with the ball a lot tonight.
“We have to get Europe again. Try for Champions League, I know it’s difficult but definitely for Europa League. We have been better away from home this season. We have a big game at home next week and hopefully we can get the three points.
“I enjoy my time here. The fans have been unbelievable for me and my family. I hope this can keep going for a long time.”
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “Good performance, we did a lot of things good. Some things bad that really cost us. We didn’t defend well the corner for the third goal but overall we played good. The boys fight and we had chances to make a difference.”
On penalty decisions against his side: “It’s hard – I’m very polite in these situations. I don’t like to interfere too much but when VAR have time to see and check it over and over again they don’t see what I see. It happens, let’s move on. More important for me is to try and look how we play. We did well, we created a lot of situations. Controlling the game in the second half, playing good. We have to be focussed and look at details.
“Final decision was good, we had one vs ones with the goalkeeper. We are finding the right space but we need to improve on the finishing.
“We’ve been working very hard, the boys are committed. It’s about trying to convert results from spells of good football. And we have to improve defensively.”
Nottingham Forest host West Ham next on Saturday while Newcastle host Bournemouth on the same day.
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