May 4, (THEWILL)- Callum Hudson-Odoi scored a brace as Nottingham Forest took a huge step towards English Premier League survival. A 3-1 win over already-relegated Sheffield United at Bramall Lane pulled Nuno Espírito Santo’s men three points clear of the drop zone.
After Luton Town failed to beat Everton on Friday night, the door was open for Forest to climb further away from danger in the survival scrap. The Tricky Trees, who had spurned several chances in defeat to Manchester City last week, picked up where they left off as Morgan Gibbs-White found Chris Wood on the break, but the striker could only volley wide from close range.
That miss was punished in the quarter-hour when Gonzalo Montiel’s dreadful challenge on Ben Brereton Díaz inside the box got what it deserved, with the Chile international rifling home the subsequent penalty. Sheffield United’s lead could have been doubled soon after if not for a goal-saving challenge from Murillo to deny Cameron Archer. Forest, who rode their luck throughout the opening period, netted with their only shot on target of the half as Hudson-Odoi arrowed an effort into the far corner beyond a helpless Wes Foderingham.
As has been the case so often in recent weeks, Sheffield’s failure to turn dominance into goals cost them following the restart. The hosts missed several chances to deal with a Gibbs-White free-kick, and the loose ball was seized upon by Ryan Yates, who netted his first-ever PL goal with a venomous strike past Foderingham.
Hamer and Brereton Díaz then came close to restoring parity, but the contest was finally beyond the beleaguered Blades when, moments after cutting in from the left and striking the far post, Hudson-Odoi was allowed to make the same movement and this time, made no mistake in finding the bottom corner.
Forest, meanwhile, took a huge step towards preserving their top-flight status, thanks to a first away league victory of 2024.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
