O'Reilly's outstanding double fires EDS to victory over Forest

After a tactical opening half hour, O’Reilly broke the deadlock for City with a smart finish seven minutes before the interval.

City continued to dominate in the second half as we chased our first victory of 2024. 

And our patient football was rewarded with an incredible O’Reilly second which he scored from inside our own half. 

Victory sees Brian Barry-Murphy‘s side move off the bottom of the Premier League 2 table. 

WHAT HAPPENED

A freezing wind engulfed the Joie Stadium and it took both teams some time to pick up a threatening pace to the game.

Despite City controlling the ball for the majority of the opening 15 minutes, it was Forest’s Kyle McAdam who carved out the first early chance.

He almost chipped George Murray-Jones from just outside the box after a throughball left the City keeper undecided as to whether to commit or close down the danger but was relieved when McAdam’s effort ball floated just wide.  

City hit back and Tom Galvez unleashed a shot towards goal but it flew wide of the left post after positive build-up play down the left between O’Reilly and Joel Ndala just before the half hour as City grew in stature.

But Forest’s man-marking was proving tricky to get past with  centre-backs, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Kane Taylor, seeing a lot of the ball and waiting for the right moment to begin a line of attack.

And the breakthrough came 10 minutes later when Justin Oboavwoduo intercepted a pass, before driving down the right wing.

He pulled the ball back into the path of the onrushing O’Reilly to tuck the ball into the bottom right corner to give City a deserved lead on 38 minutes.  

Kian Breckin almost doubled City’s lead before the break but his left-footed shot from Micah Hamilton’s cross flew over the crossbar.

City continued to fluster the Forest back four and O’Reilly’s chip to the back post was just too close to the byline for Oboavwoduo to squeeze in a second just before the half-time whistle.

It took until the 70th minute for either side to get a good sight of goal with O’Reilly’s close-range strike blocked on the line by a Forest defender.

The visitors threatened an equaliser when Hamiltonwas  dispossessed deep in City’s half but Esapa Osong’s shot on the half-turn  drifted inches wide of the left post.

Forest were beginning to enjoy a few short spells of possession as  they chased for an equaliser.

But with a couple of minutes remaining, O’Reilly squashed their hopes of returning to Nottingham with a point.

The number 10 regained the ball inside the centre circle before hitting a superb second that floated beautifully over Aaron Bott’s as the Forest keeper to scramble back to his line.

Substitute Manni Norkett tested Murray-Jones from just inside the City box in added time but the keeper wasn’t to be beaten as we held on for a clean sheet and a vital three points.

HOW WE LINED UP

 Murray-Jones wore the number one shirt with a back four of Wright, Simpson-Pusey, Taylor and Galvez in front of him.

Mahamadou Susoho returned to his more favoured number six position with Breckin and O’Reilly deployed either side of him.

Oboavwoduo led City’s front line with skipper Hamilton and Ndala constantly swapping flanks throughout the match.

TEAMS

CITY XI | Murray-Jones, Wright, Simpson-Pusey, Taylor, Galvez, Susoho, Ndala, Breckin (Adam 81’), Oboavwoduo (Tibidi 71’), O’Reilly (Sodje 91’), Hamilton

UNUSED SUBS | Grant, Lawrence

FOREST XI | Bott, Perkins, McAdam, Thompson, Hanks, Abbott, McDonnell, Perry (Norkett 82’), Osong, Gardner (Sinclair 59’), Nadin

UNUSED SUBS | Willows, Norkett, Whitehall, Anisjko

UP NEXT 

Brian Barry-Murphy‘s next assignment will see us welcome Sunderland to the Joie Stadium on Monday 11 March. 

Kick-off for our upcoming Premier League 2 match is at 19:00 (UK).