Chris Wood scored twice as Nottingham Forest beat sorry Brentford 3-1 on a gruelling managerial bow for Keith Andrews.
The former set-piece coach, taking over from Thomas Frank after his summer move to Tottenham, could only watch on as his side suffered an embarrassing first-half collapse, conceding twice to Wood – the first, ironically, from a corner – with a debut goal for Dan Ndoye sandwiched between.
The hosts were superior in every department, embarking on a season that includes European football for the first time since 1996. Early intent will do their campaign no harm at all, and with Nuno Espirito Santo’s plea for ‘more players’ answered – new signings Omari Hutchinson and James McAtee were introduced before kick-off – Forest appear to be in healthy shape.
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Wood fires Nottingham Forest into an early lead against Brentford
Gibbs-White showed his class, too, providing a slick assist for Wood’s second, and might have earned himself a penalty when clashing with Sepp van den Berg in the box, only for Brentford to be awarded a spot-kick at the opposite end.
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Dan Ndoye marks his debut with the second of the game
Igor Thiago converted from 12 yards to give Andrews a brief moment of solace but the Bees were ultimately well beaten – the Irishman has got his work cut out to get a Brentford side bereft of star man Yoane Wissa competing at Premier League standard.
More to follow…
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Wood caps the perfect half for Nottingham Forest with a third goal to put the hosts in command
