Official Europa League Quarter Final 2nd Leg Matchday Thread #14. Nottingham Forest v FC Porto 16/04/2026. 20:00 (UK time)

Forest v Porto

  • HOME WIN - Porto pummelled

    Votes: 30 83.3%

  • AWAY WIN - Pork and Cheese‘d

    Votes: 1 2.8%

  • Jose Mourinho

    Votes: 5 13.9%
  • Total voters
    36
  • Poll closed .
42 years of Euro-hurt
1 proud fan here
29000 fans signing MOK during 2nd half - beautiful
1 "family" - they were all warriors with Neco (POTS), MGW, Sangare, Cunha getting special mentions

Injuries - they suck and hope the players recover in time (tho CHO looks bad - he was emotional coming off, whereas Wood was clapping the fans all the way round the pitch)

No need for finger pointing or bed-wetting players today. It could be another 42 years before our next Euro semi (and I won't be here for it, if so!)
 
We won. I know we suffered injuries to key players and it wasn't the most inspiring game, but we won.

This crappy season has had high points and very low points, but we still have something to fight for plus the relegation to worry about. Talk about bitter-sweet!

Just our luck to run into the other English team in the semi, but a girl talking about the game this morning mentioned luck and perhaps the Cup has our name on it? It's not over 'til it's over. COYR.
 
insanity_nffc said:
Absolutely brilliant to make it through, sour note is our stewarding again, since when has it not been allowed to bang on the back of the stand to help the atmosphere carry? I despise modern football fans who are willing to grass on their own for trying to drag the team we all support over the line
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Which stand are you in pal?

New comment, not related to Insanity!

I can't believe all you moaning fukcers, life throws enough shit at us all without actively seeking out reasons to be miserable!
We're in the semi final of a European competition and people are still trying to find a negative because we didn't look like prime Brazil.
The pub was absolutely rocking last night and I didn't hear anyone moaning about the performance, mind you, I did swerve one cnut who would have moaned given half the chance.
We fukcing won!
 
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After the red card Ortega could have come sit next to me behind the goal for the rest of the half. All the action was at the other end of the pitch. It should have been put to bed by HT such was our dominance.

We've seen this show before though. Thank god we had found a goal. The longer the 2nd half went on the nervier we became. In the end, we're in the semi and that's all that really matters.

Porto have lost just 3 times all season, and we account for 2 of them.
 
Wes' Organ said:
Which stand are you in pal?

New comment, not related to Insanity!

I can't believe all you moaning fukcers, life throws enough shit at us all without actively seeking out reasons to be miserable!
We're in the semi final of a European competition and people are still trying to find a negative because we didn't look like prime Brazil.
The pub was absolutely rocking last night and I didn't hear anyone moaning about the performance, mind you, I did swerve one cmut whonwould have moaned given half the chance.
We fukcing won!
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The 2 blokes behind me spent the entire 90 mins moaning!! One bloke turned round and reminded them "We are winning you know??"

Then they sodded off 5 mins before the end.
 
Captain Sinister’s Match Report

It was Me Wot Won It! Match day routine resumed back to normal, with fish and chips from the Lady Bay Fish & Chip shop, followed by a stroll up Trent Boulevard to the ground, where I went in through my “lucky turnstile”, and with the knee incision healing nicely I was able to take my season ticket seat in Block R. MOK was sung with gusto and the game kicked off, on a mild and dry Thursday evening. 1 minute in and I experienced real Deja Vue, as did the Forest midfield, the Forest centre backs, and Stefan Ortega in goal, as the Porto centre forward was allowed to run through to go one on one with Ortega. As with the game in Portugal Ortega produced a blinding save to keep the score level at 0-0 (or 1-1, if you count the away leg as being the first half of the tie).

Forest didn’t capitulate like they did last Thursday, and on 7 minutes Chris wood received the ball on the centre spot, and a breakaway goal looked certain as Hutchinson was steaming through to Wood’s right, with the Porto defence over committed and playing a high line. Wood was about to lay the ball through for the face-creamed winger, but was hit with a late, high, studs-up tackle from former Southampton defender, Jan Bednarek, who caught Wood full on the knee, leaving stud marks and blood on the Forest talisman’s leg. Fortunately, it was Wood’s “good” knee, and not the one he had been sidelined with for 6-months, and after treatment from the Forest medical staff Wood was able to continue. During the delay to play while the injured player was treated, VAR directed the referee to go look at the incident on the pitch-side monitor. After reviewing the videos of the incident, the referee reached for his red card and Bednarek left the game for a very early bath.

The Porto fans were stunned into silence, and the City Ground faithful found their collective voice. Forest were driven on by the fans and responded brilliantly to Porto going down to 10-men with waves of attacking moves. 5 minutes after the sending off MOTM, Morgan Gibbs-White, worked himself an opening and drove from the edge of the box, aiming for the bottom near corner of the goal. The Porto keeper appeared to have the shot covered, but a wicked deflection diverted the low shot up into the top far side of the goal, and Forest took the lead 1-0 on the night, and 2-1 on aggregate. The jubilation for the team and Forest fans was a little subdued as Wood went down immediately the goal was scored, and was substituted, with Jesus joining the action. MGW and the lads celebrated the goal by unfurling Elliot Anderson’s No.8 shirt, with a message of solidarity with the young man, whose mother passed away on the eve of the match. Everyone’s sympathy rests with our “Geordie Maradonna” and we wish him well at this difficult time for him and his father and siblings.

Action resumed, and Forest sought to take more advantage from the visitors depleted numbers. Hutchinson was lively on the right, and Jesus was aggressive in leading the line. Numerous chances were created, with Ndoye just failing to get his head to a far post cross from Hutch, and then Dominguez glanced a header inches wide of the target. Murillo fired a shot from the edge of the box also inches wide, before taking responsibility to drive a direct free kick, but unfortunately it was less Louis McGugan, and more Louis Theroux in execution. Ndoye, who earlier couldn’t quite get his head on Hutchinson’s cross, was having a torrid time of it on the left. His opposing full-back picked up a yellow card midway through the half, but despite that Ndoye seemed unable to beat his man, and lost the ball on numerous occasions.

As the 2nd half got under way it was clear the Porto manager had instructed his players to have a go at Forest, and to stop Gibbs-White, who had had the freedom of the pitch throughout the first half. The crowd looked on anxiously as Porto played some beautiful neat technical football, pushing Forest back ever deeper. Sangare was on form, breaking up Porto’s play, but it felt like an equaliser, and extra time and penalties were becoming inevitable. A cross to the Forest far post saw a Porto header cannon off the underside of the crossbar (the crossbar, incidentally, being invented by NFFC back in football’s early days) and fortunately bounce down the right side of the goal line from Forest’s perspective. Another attempt on goal by Porto skimmed the top of the crossbar, and Forest were riding their luck when a rising shot from the left side of the box hit the face of the crossbar with ball being hooked away to safety.

Forest mounted a few breakaways, and Porto had their keeper to thank for 2 reflex saves, when we did manage to get decent shots towards goal. The home side’s fortunes dipped when first of all Murillo left the field with a knock on his ankle, aas did Hudson-Odoi moments later, who had looked lively after replacing Hutchinson at half-time.

When the referee blew the whistle for full time it was the home supporters who were most relieved. I had felt, as the game wore on, that it was Forest down to 10 men, and several players were looking leggy from around the 70-minute mark. Things would have been much easier on the eye for the home fans if the Forest wingers had really attacked the opposing fullbacks, and not kept on checking back when they had the opportunity to go down the outside. Our crossing, including from corner kicks, was woeful, and Porto’s 6 feet 7 inch goalie won’t have many easier games, the ball seeming to find his safe pair of gloved hands on too many occasions.

However, let’s not be churlish. Porto are a decent side, running away with the Portuguese Championship, and with players able to play quick, slick passing moves, they were able to make rapid progress when transitioning from defence to attack. Despite that, it is Forest who take a step nearer an Istanbul Final, but before Istanbul there is the little matter of beating Aston Villa over 2-legs. And that isn’t a “gimmee”, with Forest starting as significant underdogs.

Player ratings:

Ortega: 7 – other than that brilliant save in the 1st minute, Ortega had very little to bother him, despite the woodwork coming to Forest’s rescue on 2 or 3 occasions.

Williams: 8 – identified by many as our most dangerous attacking player, fullback Neco defended brilliantly again.

Murillo: 6 – seems to be having a spell of games where he isn’t playing quite as well as we know he is able.

Cunha: 7 – a welcome return for our young Brazilian centre back.

Aina: 7 – another solid performance from Ola.

Sangare: 8 – vital for us in keeping the Porto team at bay, particularly in that 2nd half when they were up for the fight to peg us back.

Dominguez: 7 – all action performance that could have sealed the tie if he had put that header away in the first half.

Hutchinson: 6 – sparkled in the 1st half, but picked up a silly yellow card, and Vitor made the right decision to replace him at half time.

Gibbs-White: 9 – brilliant MOTM 1st half, when he ran everything, resulting in him being man-marked in the 2nd.

Ndoye: 4 – oh dear… virtually everything he tried failed. Just not his night.

Wood: impossible to rate, given he was badly crocked on 7 minutes, and had to leave the field of play despite struggling on for another 5 minutes.

Substitutes:

Jesus (on for Wood): 5 – despite putting himself about he is there to score goals, and he just isn’t convincing in front of goal. Mind you the service he got was dire.

Hudson-Odoi (on for Hutchinson): 7 – made an instant impact when he replaced Hutchinson at half-time but limped off with an injury.

Milenkovic (on for Ndoye): 6 – came on to partner Murillo but was discombobulated when Murillo limped off 2 minutes later.

Morato (on for Murillo): 6 – possibly accounts for Milenkovic being a bit below par, but no brainstorms.

Bakwa (on for Hudson-Odoi): 5 – the most memorable moment was when he received a through-ball, ran onto it from the halfway line, and had not the slightest idea what to do when he got to the edge of the Porto box, pausing for an age and allowing defenders to cluster round him and take the ball off him with the ease of big lads stealing a little lad’s bike.

We have qualified for our first semi-final in a European competition for 42 years, and that in itself is a cause for jubilation. Hopefully the Villains don’t bung £27,000 to a bent referee in the away leg! Or the home leg for that matter 😊

Cheers all… see you Sunday for yet another game that could well be season-defining.
 
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The euphoria of reaching a European semi-final in 42 years with tempered somewhat by injuries to Wood,
Hudson-Odoi and Murillo-hopefully not all 3 are serious.

We face an enormous task to overcome Aston Villa over 2 legs but in the meantime we face 2 huge league games against Burnley and Sunderland where we badly need points (4 would be good and 6 probably season defining)
or face a return to football oblivion.

The chips are on the table and the players and crowd need to respond against Burnley on Sunday.

COYR
 
HGF-ohwWIAAj469
 
ubik said:
I once watched a Forest game while tripping. Windy, playing Boro who were running away with the second division (c 1974?) Every time either keeper took a goal kick, the wind sent it out for a throw-in.

Allende had been assassinated by the CIA in Chile and political prisoners were being held in football stadiums. Some loud gammon was bellowing away nearby, and I had a flash of him as a commandant and the crowd as prisoners, but it passed.

As we walked out into a gorgeous sunset over the Trent, I found it hard to believe the way Forest had blown away the league leaders. "4-1!" I said.

My mate pointed out it was actually 5-1 - I'd missed a Forest goal somewhere.
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If i remember correctly this was the week after the 4-1 win in the cup v Man City
 
Coaster said:
Villa are chasing champions league but may take the risk of playing a full strength side, we've got injury woes and panic about staying up. If they win this they get champions league anyway so may just go all out now they are in the semis, we have the opposite problem.
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It will depend on league standings at the time but my worry is they go weak in their game v Spurs between the two legs.
 
We will need a healthy lead to take to Villa Park to stand any chance. I’m not optimistic about getting to the final, but these matches are normally not according to form, it’s who wants it more.
What I would say, is that it’s either us or Villa lifting the trophy. Here’s to hope! 🍻
 
I'll just keep my mouth shout re the semi-final. Tough, tough, tough gig.
It was great to get to the WCFG to be part of a historic occasion last night.
I think at the start of the season, realistic expectations were somewhere between QF and SF. Probably leaning more to a QF exit, actually. So I think we've just about exceeded that now.
Shame that it's been difficult to enjoy at times, because of our precarious league position.
Definitely need a win in the first leg.
 
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