Chris Wood equalled a Nottingham Forest goalscoring record as his penalty propelled the Tricky Trees to a morale-boosting 1-0 success over Ipswich Town in the Premier League.
The ex-Burnley man became the Garibaldi's joint-highest scorer in the competition with a decisive penalty early in the second half, the one moment of real quality in an otherwise forgettable City Ground showdown.
Reinforced by the returns of Morgan Gibbs-White and Wood to the starting XI, Forest unsurprisingly took the game by the scruff of the neck early doors, albeit without the attacking conviction required to penetrate their visitors' defence.
Some wayward shooting from Nuno Espirito Santo's troops was doing them no favours either, and Ipswich also had their fair share of the ball in an extremely closely-contested first 45.
However, the Tractor Boys' first-half resilience ended up counting for nothing immediately after the restart, as hotshot Wood blasted home a thunderous penalty to go level with Bryan Roy on a record 24 Premier League goals for Forest.
Santo's men comfortably kept Kieran McKenna's team at arm's length in the time that remained to rise one place into sixth in the Premier League table, while Ipswich have dropped one place to 19th thanks to Crystal Palace's last-gasp leveller against Newcastle United.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST VS. IPSWICH HIGHLIGHTS
Chris Wood goal vs. Ipswich (49th min, Forest 1-0 Ipswich)
Wood you believe it? Nottingham Forest's New Zealand talisman is back in the starting XI and back among the goals, smashing home a record-equalling strike from the penalty spot.
The 32-year-old sends an emphatic effort straight down the middle after Jota Silva was felled by Sammie Szmodics, making it nine goals for the top-flight season and 24 Premier League goals for Forest, the joint-most of any Tricky Trees player in the competition.
MAN OF THE MATCH - ELLIOT ANDERSON
© Imago
In a game very much devoid of offensive quality barring Wood's venomous penalty, Elliot Anderson often did his best to inject some life into the Tricky Trees' offensive line.
The former Newcastle United man created three chances for his teammates - thanks in no small part to some brilliant crosses - and also put in three successful tackles to help his side return to victorious ways.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST VS. IPSWICH MATCH STATS
Possession: Nottingham Forest 45%-55% Ipswich
Shots: Nottingham Forest 12-7 Ipswich
Shots on target: Nottingham Forest 5-3 Ipswich
Corners: Nottingham Forest 8-7 Ipswich
Fouls: Nottingham Forest 5-16 Ipswich
BEST STATS
Chris Wood has scored 24 PL goals for Nottingham Forest.
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) November 30, 2024
No other player in club history has more. pic.twitter.com/5gyT4IVsv6
2 - With 49 goals for Burnley and 24 for Nottingham Forest, Chris Wood is one of only two players to be top or joint-top scorer for two different clubs in the Premier League, along with @alanshearer (Blackburn & Newcastle). Esteemed. pic.twitter.com/jCt6iz4FrK
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
WHAT NEXT?
Forest hit the road once again on Wednesday evening, when they will seek to become the latest team to earn a shock scalp over stuttering champions Manchester City at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, Ipswich return to their Portman Road base on Tuesday night, when Crystal Palace are the visitors to Suffolk.
Ben Knapton
