Gibbs-white all right for Nuno
A THREE-GOAL first-half blitz edged Nuno Espirito Santo further towards safety as the City Ground heaved a sigh of relief.
Goals from Callum Hudson-odoi, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-white looked to have eased the relegation pressure by the halfway stage.
But Tosin Adarabioyo’s header three minutes after the restart prompted thoughts among the hosts and visitors alike that a second comeback – following a stirring revival at Bramall Lane – could be on the cards.
Marco Silva’s side certainly believed and laid siege to the home goal. Kenny Tete crashed a header into the crossbar and Adama Traore rattled the goalframe with a thunderous shot but, in the end, Forest held out.
The Cottagers paid a price for a sloppy opening 45 minutes in which they were second to everything, first to nothing. Silva made three changes just after the half-hour. By that stage, they were two adrift. It could have been more.
The scoring started inside the opening 10 minutes. Gibbs-white played a lovely ball with the outside of his right boot inside Tete. Hudson
Odoi had the run on latter confidently slipping Fulham’s right-back and the ball past Leno. was inside the area as the Forest returned to the defender scrambled to get dressing room to a the right side of his man. standing ovation. Fulham He did, but the former returned to demands for Chelsea man cut on to his improvement. Within right foot and slammed a three minutes, they had shot into the pulled one back. bottom corner. Andreas
Bernd Pereira’s Leno then corner was blocked met at the after Gibbswhite near post again by
2-0 broke clear Adarabioyo. and fed the Suddenly, it goalscorer. It was game on. was a temporary Neco Williams reprieve. Moments later, smashed a shot that Murillo fed a ball into deflected on to the
Chris Wood, who had his woodwork. A goal then back to goal, 30 yards out. would have been too
The New Zealand much to pull back. Tete international turned, also hit the crossbar with strode forward and then a header from another shot into the bottom Pereira corner. corner from 25 yards. Fulham went for broke
In first-half injury-time, but Forest held firm as Danilo and Gibbs-white they put a three-point played one-two with each buffer between them and other from the halfway Luton in the final line. It ended with the relegation spot.