Morgan Gibbs-White opened the scoring for Nottingham Forest from the penalty spot as they beat Porto 2-0 in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night
Morgan Gibbs-White said he felt like he could ‘finally breathe’ again after helping to steer Nottingham Forest back to winning ways. It was lift-off for new Reds head coach Sean Dyche at the first time of asking as he oversaw a 2-0 victory over Porto.
Spot-kicks from Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus secured three Europa League points for the home side. It marked Forest’s first triumph since the opening day of the campaign and their first clean sheet since April.
And it helped to dispel the gloom that had descended over the City Ground following a dreadful run of results. Dyche was brought in on Tuesday after Ange Postecoglou’s winless 39-day spell had been terminated.
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For Gibbs-White, there was an obvious sense of relief. “I can finally breathe tonight,” the Reds playmaker told TNT Sports (via the BBC).
“It has been a difficult couple of months with all the changes and the bad performances, so it was good to get our first win in eight or nine games. We are delighted to get the three points and I want to thank the fans for sticking by us.
“The gaffer said when he came in that last season we had a real identity, and he wants to build on top of that. I am just delighted that the boys got the three points and the win.
“You can feel the morale. It feels a lot more positive and it needs to stay like that. That’s credit to the manager. He has instilled that in us, and we have to keep up that mentality.”
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Dyche, speaking about his first win as Forest boss, said: “It is a start. There is a lot more to come but it is a start. A good start.
“I said to the lads it is a start and there is a whole lot more work to go. Now we need to keep building and keep working.
“We can’t think that’s all the questions answered. It is a journey and that is a good start.”
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