FROM DANNY DREADNOUGHT in Herning
VITOR PEREIRA gambled the house on his second-string stars—and watched them hit the jackpot in a cold night in Denmark.
Nottingham Forest are marching into the Europa League quarter-finals after a 1-2 victory over FC Midtjylland that proved class is permanent, even when it’s starting on the bench. Despite making a staggering nine changes with one eye on Sunday’s relegation scrap with Spurs, Pereira’s “B-team” showed they have A-list ambition.
Forest arrived trailing from a dismal first leg, but NICOLAS DOMINGUEZ didn’t care for the script. In the 41st minute, the Argentine ghosted into the box like a thief in the night to meet a Nikola Milenkovic cross, bulleting a header past Elias Olafsson to silence the MCH Arena.
It was no more than the visitors deserved. While the big hitters like Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson watched from the dugout, the “depth” players were busy bossing the Danes.
If the first goal was about finesse, the second was pure, unadulterated Forest steel. Seven minutes into the second half, captain RYAN YATES—a man who bleeds Garibaldi red—picked up the ball 25 yards out.
He didn’t look for a pass. He didn’t look for a teammate. He looked for the top corner and found it with a guided missile that nearly took the net off its hinges. At 0-2 on the night, Forest were purring.
It wouldn’t be Forest without a late wobble. Martin Erlic clawed one back for the hosts with 20 minutes to go, turning the final exchanges into a frantic, nerve-shredding affair.
But Pereira showed his tactical teeth, throwing on the heavy artillery. MORGAN GIBBS-WHITE and NECO WILLIAMS arrived to restore order, helping Forest navigate a cagey extra-time period where Yates even had a second goal cruelly chalked off by VAR.
When the whistle blew at 1-2 (2-2 on aggregate), the ghosts of European nights past loomed. But this new-look Forest is built of sterner stuff.
While Midtjylland fell apart in the shootout—missing three consecutive penalties—Forest’s stars were ice-cold. Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare, and Williams all dispatched their spot-kicks with the nonchalance of men playing in the park.
”We proved we have a squad of winners,” a beaming Pereira said afterwards. On this evidence, the Tricky Trees aren’t just making up the numbers in Europe—they’re looking to own the place.
