Dyche secures first Premier League win in charge of Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Goals from Ibrahim Sangare, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson cancelled out Lukas Nmecha’s opener as Nottingham Forest secured a crucial three points against Leeds United. 

Forest had not won at the City Ground in the Premier League since August against Brentford, but faced a Leeds side they had not lost to in a top-flight game at home since November 1971, and who had claimed just one away win this season.

Having had the opportunity to rest key individuals during Thursday’s goalless draw with Sturm Graz, it was no surprise to see Forest’s big-hitters restored to the starting line-up – and they wasted no time asserting themselves. Within two minutes, Morgan Gibbs-White forced Lucas Perri into a sharp diving save, while Igor Jesus’s deflected effort drew an even quicker reaction stop from the Brazilian goalkeeper.

However, Leeds responded instantly on the break, turning the game on its head. Noah Okafor released Brenden Aaronson, who threaded an excellent pass into the path of Nmecha, leaving the forward plenty of room to bury his effort into the bottom left corner to give the visitors the lead. 

Daniel Farke’s calls for concentration had hardly faded before Leeds were undone at the back. Barely two and a half minutes after taking the lead, Dan Ndoye’s low cross was pushed back into traffic, and Sangare pounced on the loose ball to side-foot home his first Forest goal.

The next 30 minutes mirrored the struggles of both teams, with a scrappy, end-to-end battle where each looked to exploit the other’s defensive frailties, but were unable to find a clean breakthrough. 

Still chasing his first Premier League goal, Jesus came agonisingly close again after the interval, as Ndoye once again embarked on a mazy run down the wing and delivered an inviting ball, but the Brazilian couldn’t quite apply the finishing touch to steer Forest in front. 

As the contest began to slowly stagnate, Dyche turned to his bench earlier than usual, making a triple change. Club-record signing Omari Hutchinson, Taiwo Awoniyi and Ryan Yates were sent on to try and lift the tempo. 

To the delight of fans inside an electric City Ground, it took only 10 minutes for the gamble to pay off. Hutchinson whipped a delightful cross into the box, finding Gibbs-White unmarked to nod Forest into their first lead of the afternoon.

Taking inspiration from Dyche’s early changes, Farke made five substitutions in a bid to salvage something from the game, but Forest stood firm and weathered the storm, with Sels producing a fine stop to deny Daniel James’ curling effort.

However, it was Hutchinson who emerged as Forest’s second-half hero, causing the Leeds defence plenty of headaches with his pace on the right. His energy and explosiveness proved too much for makeshift full-back Jack Harrison, who brought the former Ipswich Town man down in the area, leaving referee Jarred Gillett with no choice but to point to the spot.

Up stepped Anderson, who sealed the victory with a confident penalty into the top-left corner, clinching a vital three points for Forest in front of the Trent End. 

The victory provides Forest with a boost of momentum ahead of a difficult challenge against Liverpool at Anfield after the international break.