🔗 Share this article Forest's Striker Fires a Brace as The Reds Conclude European Group Stage with Victory over Ferencvaros Igor Jesus has now notched eleven strikes in every tournament for the club this campaign. At a Glance Forest were previously qualified to the knockout round. Bence Otvos own goal gives Nottingham Forest a first-half lead. The striker's European strike puts Forest in control. Forward nets again with a clinical effort in the latter period. James McAtee rounds off a great performance with a penalty. Igor Jesus scored twice as the Premier League side concluded the league phase of the European competition with a comfortable win against their Hungarian visitors at the home stadium. Forest had already secured a place in the next qualifying round and entered this fixture with a slim possibility of reaching the league's elite, although they required several results to go their way. Those results failed to materialize but this confident display will give Forest fans confidence that their team can come through the home-and-away tie to advance to the last 16. Kristoffer Zachariassen did hit the upright with a header inside the first 10 minutes for the visitors – coached by ex-Premier League forward Robbie Keane – but it was dominantly the home side from that point forward. Forest opened the scoring in the early stages when Ryan Yates' cross was deflected in by the defender and doubled the lead shortly after – the striker squeezing a shot in at the far post for his 10th goal of the season. Jesus' 11th came soon after the restart when he made a perfectly-timed run to escape the defence and then drive an effort past the shot-stopper. The third strike killed off Ferencvaros' aspirations of making a comeback and instead Forest added a fourth when the impressive James McAtee converted a penalty after a foul by the unfortunate Otvos inside the penalty area on the winger. Europe's secondary club competition qualifying round lottery is scheduled on Friday, 30 January (12:00 GMT), where Forest might face either Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos. "It's more than the result, there was that atmosphere about it. I want these guys to do well as a unit, the entire team," said Forest boss Sean Dyche. "This is another step, but it is a good one." Forest Analysis: Striker Shines as New Signing Watches On Jesus has been a revelation for Nottingham Forest in Europe this season with six of his eleven strikes coming in the tournament. His brace also means he has got a trio of strikes in his previous two outings and the prospect of competition for his position in the forward line could be providing motivation. Italian forward Lorenzo Lucca was last week brought in temporarily and he was watching this match from the stands. This development may well have been on Jesus' mind as he was impressive against Ferencvaros, producing two excellent finishes and generally being a menace to the opposition backline with his pace and runs. Jesus was not alone in catching the eye, with McAtee turning in his best performance in a Forest jersey since joining from the champions last summer, while Dan Ndoye also performed well. These encouraging performances will give Forest some fresh hope as they turn their attention to pulling further away from the bottom three when they host Crystal Palace on Sunday. "All you can ask for is a reaction," continued Dyche. "I have always trusted their commitment or their loyalty or honesty. It is just go and show your ability. "McAtee was very good and Dan was incredibly lively. Jesus got another couple and these are good signs." Star Performer #19 Igor Jesus Average rating: 9.10 Forest Top Players Igor Jesus: Average Rating 9.1 #24: Rating 8.75 R. Yates: Average Rating 8.6 I. Sangaré: Average Rating 8.01 N. Milenković: Rating 7.94 The Visitors Notable Players B. Yusuf: Rating 4.14 Júlio Romão: Rating 4.1 K. Zachariassen: Average Rating 4.09 After the opportunity to rate players has ended, the score displayed represents the average from all the votes.