On 26 December, one of the matches of the 19th round of the English football championship took place. Newcastle (England) and Nottingham Forest (England) met.
English Championship, 19th round
Newcastle (England) - Nottingham Forest (England) - 1:3 (1:1)
Goals: Isak (23) - Wood (45+1), Wood (53), Wood (60).
Warnings: Sangare (26), Anthony Gordon (27), Gonzalo Montiel (27).
Nottingham Forest picked up a crucial away win over Newcastle in a thrilling Premier League encounter at St James' Park. The final score of 3-1 in favour of the visitors highlighted their clinical play and solid defence. The start of the match was characterised by attacking action from both teams. However, the first serious incident did not occur until the 23rd minute. Newcastle were awarded a penalty after a foul in the box and Oleksandr Isak confidently converted it, giving his team an early lead. Nottingham Forest responded immediately and earned a yellow card for Idrissa Sangare in the 26th minute. The physicality of the match was evident as both teams received a flurry of yellow cards, with Aleix Gordon (Newcastle) and Gonzalo Montiel (Nottingham Forest) also getting into the referee's notebook. Closer to the break, Nottingham Forest managed to equalise in the 45th minute. Callum Wood took advantage of a mistake in the Newcastle defence and shot past the goalkeeper, levelling the score 1-1. The visitors continued to dominate the second half and Wood netted a double in the 53rd minute. Newcastle's defence struggled to contain him, allowing him to hit the net for the second time in the match. In the 55th minute, Newcastle tried to turn the tide of the match by making two quick substitutions. Miguel Almiron and Dwight Byrne were replaced by Callum Wilson and Valentino Livramento respectively.
However, Forest kept the momentum going and increased their lead in the 60th minute thanks to Wood's hat-trick goal. Nottingham Forest made a substitution in the 70th minute, bringing on Ryan Yates and Nathaniel Williams and removing Sangar and Montiel. Newcastle also made a substitution, replacing Sean Longstaff with Joelinton. As the match neared its conclusion, both teams made more substitutions. Forest introduced Carlos Hudson-Odoi and Nacho Dominguez in place of Sangare and Wood in the 79th minute, while Newcastle introduced Sven Botman and Liam Hall in place of Isaac Hayden and Federico Fernandez in the 79th minute. A flurry of yellow cards followed in the closing stages of the match as tensions rose. Nottingham Forest's Williams and Nottingham Forest's Bruno Guimaraes and Newcastle's Fabian Schar were caught in the referee's notebook. Nottingham Forest made their final substitutions in the final minutes of the match, with Anthony Elanga and Joe Worrall replacing Wood and Danilo respectively. The final whistle sounded and Nottingham Forest claimed a deserved 3-1 victory over Newcastle. Nottingham Forest showed their resilience, clinical play and solid defence in this match. This result will surely give the visitors a much-needed boost in their Premier League campaign, while Newcastle will only have to regret missed opportunities and lapses in defence.
The next round of fixtures await the rivals: Liverpool v Newcastle, Nottingham Forest v Man United.
| Newcastle | Nottingham Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Kicks in the box | 6 |
| 19 | Kicks | 15 |
| 6 | Blocked shots | 3 |
| 16 | Penalty kicks | 10 |
| 3 | Penalty kicks | 5 |
| 10 | Offences | 11 |
| 9 | Corners | 2 |
| 0 | Offsides | 1 |
| 62% | Ball possession | 38% |
| 3 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 3 | Keeper saves | 5 |
| 499 | Total assists | 324 |
| 435 | Accurate assists | 262 |
| 87% | Accuracy of passes | 81% |