Christ Wood’s Late Strike Leads Nott’ham Forest to Gritty Victory Over Crystal Palace
The English Premier League 2024-25 offered another nail-biting match to the fans on Monday evening. Nottingham Forest secured a narrow win of 1-0 against Crystal Palace because of Christ Wood’s low shot outside the box that came in at 65 minutes. This victory is Nottingham’s first home win of the season.
The match flow:- Nott’ham Forest
Crystal Palace started well at the city ground and came close to scoring a goal with little over five minutes on the clock. Elliot Anderson’s effort towards the goal at 15 minutes, was blocked by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson. Therefore, the Eagles finished the first half strongly with both teams standing at 0-0.
In the second half, Nottingham goalkeeper Matz Sels made excellent saves, first from Eberechi Eze’s free kick after an hour and second from Jeffrey Schlupp with 9 minutes remaining. Both teams, with multiple shooting opportunities, turned the game into an end-to-end contest.
However, Dean Henderson’s blunder cost Crystal Palace as Christ Wood’s right-foot strike outside the box sneaked inside the post. As a result, Nottingham and Palace stood 1-0 at 65 minutes into the match.
Christ Wood’s Feat:- Nott’ham Forest
The victory was also a personal celebration for Wood as he scored his fifth goal of the season. As a result, he was responsible for scoring 63 percent of Forest’s 2024/25 goals. With this feat, Christ Wood joined Bryan Roy and Stan Collymore as the only players to have reached the 20-goal mark in the Premier League for Forest.
“We needed a home win and thankfully we got it,” Wood said. “We did the consistent things that we have always been doing. We showed tonight that we have a full squad that we can compete with. It’s vitally important but we’ve got to keep going.”
Palace’s Dismal Campaign
With the loss on Monday evening, Crystal Palace stood third from the below in the standings of this season. The team has not been able to secure a single win from eight matches.
This was their worst start to a Premier League season since 1992-93.
Managers’ opinion
Nuno Espirito Santo who watched the winning match from the stands because of the three-match touchline ban said: “It feels good, especially for the fans. They’ve been waiting for this moment [winning at home].
“When you’re goalkeeper is your best player on the team it says a lot. But also it says Palace is a tough team. Matz [Sels] once again kept us solid. It’s important.”
Oliver Glasner: “I saw the team fighting from the first to the last second, we created chances, hit the post twice. At the moment [we] don’t score goals and we have to be honest. No goal today, no goal v Liverpool, no goal v United, and if you play like this it is difficult to win.
“We make one mistake and we get punished. That is the situation we are in. But the only guys that are in this team can turn it around.”
Teams
Forest: Sels (GK), Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Moreno (Morato, 78), Yates, Domínguez, Elanga, Anderson (Williams, 78), Hudson-Odoi (Sosa, 84), Wood (Awoniyi, 84).
Subs: Miguel (GK), Boly, Omabamidele, Toffolo.
Palace: Henderson (GK), Chalobah, Guéhi, Lacroix, Mitchell (Schlupp, 74), Lerma, Hughes (Sarr, 74), Muñoz, Eze, Nketiah (Mateta, 66), Kamada (Agbinone, 88).
Subs: Turner (GK), Ward,, Clyne, Wharton, Kporha.
