A penalty in each half was enough to give Sean Dyche the perfect start as Nottingham Forest manager as they beat Porto to pick up their first win in the Europa League this season.
Dyche, a former Forest youth team player, was appointed as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement on Tuesday and received a raucous homecoming from a City Ground crowd which would be given more to cheer within 20 minutes of kick-off.
After former Southampton defender Jan Bednarek handled in the penalty area, Gibbs-White was able to send Diogo Costa the wrong way and open his account for the season while also notching the first goal of the Dyche era.
Gibbs-White scores from the spot
Bednarek thought he had redeemed himself early in the second half as he bundled in an equaliser in an apparent continuation of Forest’s set-piece woes, but a VAR check saw the goal ruled out after striker Samu Aghehowa was offside from an initial flick-on.
The visitors continued to apply pressure without creating much to write home about, and they were punished by a second spot-kick with less than a quarter of an hour of regular time to play.
Nicolo Savona was initially booked for diving under a challenge from Martim Fernandes, but a VAR check saw the decision overturned and allowed Igor Jesus to double the advantage with his first goal at the City Ground.
Forest fans also took the time to pay their respects at half-time and throughout the game to Harley Pearce, son of club legend Stuart, who sadly lost his life earlier this week.
For Dyche, the win against a side who had yet to taste defeat this season gives him the ideal start while pulling Forest away from the bottom 11 of the league phase table.
Sean Dyche took charge of his first game as Nottingham Forest head coach.
Attentions will now turn to Dyche’s first Premier League game in charge away at Bournemouth on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
‘I’m not a football purist, I like going long’
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche, speaking to TNT Sports:
“The players have been through a lot recently and the fans have. Just to give something back and put a smile on their face and also the quality of performance – we’ve had two days with the players.
“We’ve crammed a lot in, they’ve listened, they’ve accepted it and they’ve gone and delivered it. That’s the most pleasing thing for me and the coaches. I thank the players for it because it’s not easy.
Dyche helped guide Nottingham Forest to their first clean sheet of the season
“They’ve had another manager coming in with different ideas, and they’ve had to accept that very quickly and they have done with that performance.
“It’s a start. There’s a lot more to come but it’s a start.
“The shape was good, the defensive shape. We knew they played with the ball and bring it out slowly. We had to be methodical with our shape and break the game out when we could.
“But also with the ball. I talked to them about mixing up our play. Can we stretch the game? Can we play long? Then also playing in the pockets, because we know we’ve got some good players, and I thought we managed to find the balance.
“They’ll get fitter and sharper the way we work. That’s not a criticism of other managers. It’s just the way I like my players fit. I think they’ll adapt to our training and what we do, but it will take a little bit of time.
“I don’t like to question other managers. Everyone has a different style. I’ve always liked mixed football. I don’t want to be a purist. I want to mix the game. I want to play long, I want to stretch teams. I think we did it ever so well in the first half.
“Then it gives you more room to play, because we have some really good footballers. The more room they get to play the better it is. That’s all we want to do, is be effective with how we play.
‘No one deserves this more than the fans’
Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White, speaking to TNT Sports:
“I feel like I can finally breathe. It’s been a difficult couple of months here – all the change has happened, the bad performances.
“To do it here at the City Ground on a European night is an incredible feeling, no one deserves it more than these fans. Those three points were for the fans for sticking by us.
“The gaffer came in and said ‘last season you had a real identity, a real structure to how you wanted to play’. He wants to bring that in and build on top of that.
“I think you’ve seen that tonight. We were solid, hard to break down. When we went forward we could’ve been a bit more clinical, but we take the three points and move on.
Igor Jesus added a second goal from the penalty spot
On the penalties: “I’ve been practising them this morning, so I knew which way I was going. I was set in stone. I went the other way a couple of times so I had to change it, and luckily enough it went in. That settled the game. I’m just delighted the boys got the three points.”
On giving Jesus the second penalty: “I’m a team player. Igor’s been in good form in the Europa League lately. I thought it was only right to give him that one. I knew he was going to put it away, it gives him that extra bit of confidence.
On whether this is a turning point: “Hopefully. It’s only been one game and a few training sessions. Definitely you can feel the morale within the stadium and within the group. It feels a lot more energetic and positive. It needs to stay like that for us to continue and try and push forward. That’s credit to the manager.”
‘We took the shackles off Gibbs-White’
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche, speaking to TNT Sports:
“We tried to take the shackles off [Gibbs-White] really. He’s very good defensively, we knew that already.
“When he gets the ball, we know he can play. He’s infectious, the way he goes about and the way he trains.
“The more of that kind of glue, the way he holds the team together…”
Sean Dyche believes Elliot Anderson can continue to improve as he learns his system.
On Elliot Anderson: “He’s a very good player. He’s got to learn the nuts and bolts of things in the role. He can deal with the ball. He’s infectious with his nature and how he goes about his game.
“There are some good players here, experienced players that will rub off on him. He’s certainly… on that performance, you can see the quality he’s got.”
