It was a day that began with tension and ended with relief for Sean Dyche, who was able to use his post-match remarks to restate the values of patience and togetherness, after Nottingham Forest put the furore of their Europa League defeat in Portugal behind them to make it seven points from nine in the Premier League.
Mouthwatering goals from Forest’s maligned strikers, first Igor Jesus with a blaster then a solo effort from Taiwo Awoniyi, decided a contest that was otherwise a tactical standoff. But the intensity with which Forest set about their task was a far cry from the insipid efforts that led to boos from the away support in Braga on Thursday night. It was Brentford who were off this pace on this occasion, and a second consecutive defeat had Keith Andrews calling for his team to be “ruthless and clinical”.
Dyche said: “I thought we did well, with and without the ball. We looked creative in the first half. In the second, we had to manage the game differently. The resilience of the side, I think, is improving. We’ve just taken six points away from home and a point against the league leaders. The Premier League is not just about having technical talent. It’s about learning the game. That’s a talent in itself, and it’s a big learning curve.”
For Andrews, the disappointment was contained but real. His side had the greater number of chances, even if clearcut opportunities were at a premium, and things would surely have been different had the ball rolled obligingly for Igor Thiago in just the second minute of the match, but his stretched finish bobbled inches beyond the far post.
“Really frustrating is the honest answer,” Andrews said of watching opportunities being spurned. “I want us to keep pushing and not just be content with a good performance. We have to be ruthless. We have to be clinical because games at this level are decided on those moments. They’ve had two shots on target and come away with three points.”
Having weathered Brentford’s initial flurry, Forest took the lead in the 12th minute, after Ola Aina deflected a cross against Rico Henry and up into the west London air. With his marker, Nathan Collins, pinned behind him, Igor Jesus watched the ball drop, controlled it off his shoulder, left Collins in a heap, and buried a dagger of a shot back across goal. It was a strike that sent Jesus into a frenzy, just his second league goal of a frustrating debut season. It also sucked the breath out of the stadium, such was the decisive way in which it was taken.
Forest settled into the game from there, Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson dictating the tempo for Dyche’s side. Brentford meanwhile looked to be something at a loss, their lightning transitions hampered by Forest’s happiness to dig in out of possession. An enforced double substitution on the 35th minute, with Mikkel Damsgaard and Ajer injured and replaced by Dango Ouattara and Sepp van den Berg, allowed for a change of shape, with a midfield three closing up space in the centre and allowing a shift back to parity, in terms of possession at least.
The second half was a dull watch. Perhaps as a result of Brentford’s first‑half switch, play was condensed in the middle and space was at such a premium that only the quickest of interchanges could hope to create space, and they rarely did. Brentford had the better of the ball, and were able to maintain possession 30 yards out from the Forest goal but Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic refused to let anything beyond them, be it ball or man, and the sight of Brentford forwards being flung to the ground (legally) became commonplace.
Any sense of expectation appeared to be drained from both home players and supporters alike as Igor Thiago failed to make the most of two half-chances and another flick-on in the box was missed by Nathan Collins on the six‑yard line. With the hosts running out of ideas, Forest began to emerge from their shell and, with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Gibbs-White took the ball out of the air to send Awoniyi away down the right.
Making only his ninth appearance of the season, after the Nigerian’s recovery from abdominal surgery was complicated by further injuries, Awoniyi bested Van den Berg in a foot race, cut inside, watched Michael Kayode slide past him in a failed attempt at a late block, and finished smoothly past Caoimhín Kelleher. By way of celebration, Awoniyi removed his shinpads, which were both marked with a crucifix, and placed them over his eyes.
• This article was amended on 26 January 2026. An earlier version said Igor Jesus was being marked by Kristoffer Ajer before his goal; however, the defender was Nathan Collins.
