Nottingham Forest continue to fly high with sixth consecutive win
Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against Wolves. Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.
Morgan Gibbs-White silenced the Wolverhampton Wanderers boo boys as Nuno Espirito Santo returned to Molineux to steer Nottingham Forest to a historic sixth straight win.
Gibbs-White, 24, gave the perfect riposte to the vulgar taunts from the stands by opening the scoring as Forest clinched a sixth successive victory in the top flight for the first time since 1966-67, when they finished runners-up.
Chris Wood added a second just before half-time to give Nuno’s side a platform from which they rarely looked like relinquishing.
Gibbs-White scored in the seventh minute from the game’s first chance.
He was firstly booed at the club where he is the most expensive academy product at a fee rising to £42.5m.
Then he was taunted about his girlfriend Britney De Villiers and finally that “the baby’s not yours”.
It was all too easy for the former Wolves midfielder as he scored his fourth goal of the season and his second successive strike.
Receiving a short pass from Elliot Anderson, the recent England cap ran unchallenged for some 40 yards before exchanging passes with Anthony Elanga to his right.
Meeting Elanga’s cross, he swept home first time from 10 yards before the back-tracking Santiago Bueno could react.
Gibbs-White was at first silent as he turned away before turning to the Wolves supporters in the South Bank and cupped his ears.
Wolves responded and seven-goal striker Jorgen Strand Larsen couldn’t force the ball home after Hee Chan Hwang cut inside and shot.
Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels then made a brilliant one-handed save to tip over Rodrigo Gomes’s volley.
Molineux howled for a penalty when a chip from Rayan Ait-Nouri hit Callum Hudson-Odoi.
But replays showed the former Chelsea winger controlled the ball with the side of his chest rather than his hand or arm, despite the loud appeals.
The excellent Sels came to Forest’s rescue again when he blocked Strand Larsen’s point-blank header from Rodrigo Gomes’s cross – a save he could know little about – then palmed away Ait-Nouri’s corner.
Forest were seemingly inexplicably denied a certain penalty in the 34th minute when Ola Aina’s cross struck the right hand of Ait-Nouri, who actually moved his arm towards the ball.
The video assistant took a long look at the incident before declining to intervene.
It was 2-0 in the 44th minute as Forest provided the perfect answer to Wolves’ pressure.
A long kick from Sels gave Hudson-Odoi the chance to run at Matt Doherty down Wolves’ right.
The winger showed pace and muscle as he breezed past the Irishman was ease before squaring to Chris Wood who steered the ball past a helpless Jose Sa with an effortless flick as Ait-Nouri.
Wood celebrated his 499th League appearance with his 12th goal of the season.
Sels came to Forest’s rescue in the 67th minute.
A quick break by Wolves saw Goncalo Guedes square to Strand Larsen for a drive palmed behind by the goalkeeper.
Substitute Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s shot was deflected wide as Wolves probed for a reply.
But Taiwo Awoniyi tapped home in the 94th minute from James Ward-Prowse’s cross to cap a memorable night for Forest.
Sa 7; Doherty © 5, Bueno 7, Ait-Nouri 6; Lima 6 (Bellegarde 59 minutes, 6) J Gomes 6, Doyle 5 (Lemina 59 minutes, 6), R Gomes 6; Hee Chan Hwang 5, Strand Larsen 6, Guedes 4 (Sarabia 75 minutes, 6).
Johnstone, Forbs, Meupiyou, Cundle, Pond, Okoduwa.
Sels 8; Williams 7, Milenkovic 7, Murillo 8, Aina 6; Domínguez 7 (Morato 60 minutes, 6), Anderson 7 (Jota Silva 69 minutes, 6); Elanga 8 (Yates 69 minutes, 6), Gibbs-White 8 (Ward-Prowse 88 minutes, 6), Hudson-Odoi 8; Wood 7 (Awoniyi 88 minutes, 6).
Boly, Álex Moreno, Sosa, Carlos Miguel.
Peter Bankes 7/10
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