🔗 Share this article Forest's Striker Fires a Brace as The Reds Round Off Europa League Group Stage with Victory over Ferencvaros The Brazilian forward has now scored eleven strikes in every tournament for Nottingham Forest this season. Match Summary Forest were previously qualified to the knockout round. Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a opening period lead. Igor Jesus' fifth goal in Europe puts Forest in control. Striker adds a third with a clinical effort in the second half. The midfielder rounds off a great performance with a spot-kick. The Brazilian attacker found the net on two occasions as the Premier League side concluded the group stage of the European competition with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the City Ground. The hosts had already secured a berth in the next qualifying round and entered this fixture with a small chance of making the league's elite, even though they needed several results to go their way. That did not happen but this assured performance will give the supporters belief that their side can navigate the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16. A Ferencvaros midfielder did hit the upright with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the away team – coached by former Tottenham striker Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward. Forest opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Ryan Yates' cross was turned into his own net by Bence Otvos and doubled the lead four minutes later – the striker squeezing a shot in at the back post for his tenth strike of the campaign. The forward's eleventh goal came early in the second half when he timed a run perfectly to escape the defence and then drive an effort past the shot-stopper. That goal ended the visitors' aspirations of making a comeback and instead Forest added a fourth when the impressive James McAtee scored from a spot-kick after a infringement by the unfortunate Otvos inside the penalty area on the winger. The Europa League qualifying round draw is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest could be drawn against either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos. "It is not just the scoreline, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these players to do well as a unit, the entire team," said manager Sean Dyche. "This is another stride forward, but it is a good step." Team Breakdown: Striker Shines as Recent Arrival Watches On Jesus has been a revelation for Forest in Europe this term with six of his 11 goals scored in the Europa League. His brace also means he has scored three goals in his last two games and the threat of competition for his place in the forward line could be spurring him on. Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week signed on loan and he was watching this match from the directors' box. That may well have been on the striker's mind as he was outstanding against Ferencvaros, delivering two superb goals and overall being a constant threat to the opposition backline with his speed and movement. Jesus was not the only one in catching the eye, with McAtee turning in his finest display in a Forest jersey since signing from Manchester City in the previous transfer window, while the Swiss international also impressed. These encouraging performances will give Forest some fresh hope as they turn their attention to pulling further away from the bottom three when they welcome Crystal Palace on Sunday. "The minimum requirement is a response," continued Dyche. "I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or integrity. It is just go and show your quality. "McAtee was very good and Dan Ndoye was incredibly lively. Jesus got another couple and these are good signs." Player of the Match Number: 19 Igor Jesus Match rating: 9.10 Nottingham Forest Key Performers Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.1 J. McAtee: Average Rating 8.75 R. Yates: Average Rating 8.63 I. Sangaré: Rating 8.0 N. Milenković: Average Rating 7.94 Ferencváros Notable Players B. Yusuf: Rating 4.14 #66: Average Rating 4.12 K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09 After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed is the mean from all the votes.