Report and free match highlights as Nottingham Forest end a six-game winless run with a 2-0 home win over Aston Villa; Ola Aina scored fine fifth-minute opener; Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made mistake for Orel Mangala's second in week he was named world's best goalkeeper
Sunday 5 November 2023 22:04, UK
Nottingham Forest ended a six-game winless run with a 2-0 home victory over Aston Villa that saw Emiliano Martinez make a mistake in the week he was named the world's best goalkeeper.
The Argentine shot stopper won the Yashin trophy at Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, but was brought back down to earth with a second-half error that allowed Forest to double their lead.
Martinez poorly palmed Orel Mangala's swerving long-range shot into his own net two minutes after half-time after Ola Aina had given Forest a fifth-minute lead with a superb low effort from outside the box.
Villa failed to properly test Martinez's opposite number Odysseas Vlachodimos on his Forest debut as Unai Emery's side put in a frustrating display in the East Midlands to spoil his one-year anniversary in charge.
The defeat saw fifth-placed Villa miss the chance to move third and ended a six-game unbeaten Premier League run.
Forest, meanwhile, climbed up to 12th and maintained their strong home record having now only lost two of their last 20 Premier League games at the City Ground.
Forest are typically fast starters in the Premier League this season and caught Villa cold early on as Aina arrowed a fine opener from Harry Toffolo's pull-back into the bottom corner in the fifth minute.
The full-back's first goal for Forest was the club's fourth goal in the opening five minutes of this campaign, which is more than any other Premier League team.
Villa responded with plenty of possession and eventually had their first shot on target in the 36th minute as Nicolo Zaniolo saw his low effort pushed behind by Vlachodimos.
That proved to be Zaniolo's last real involvement in the game as Emery brought off the Italy international at half-time for Leon Bailey.
But just two minutes into the second half the tactical change suffered a setback as Forest doubled their lead following Martinez's mistake.
The 31-year-old failed to deal with Mangala's 20-yard shot as he got a weak hand to it palming the ball upwards with the spin carrying it over the line.
The City Ground's jubilation was then immediately tempered by a minute's applause for Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player Adam Johnson, who died while playing last Saturday.
Villa did step things up as they searched for a route back into the game but they failed to take their chances as Ollie Watkins miscued his header wide, Moussa Diaby was denied by Vlachadimos and Lucas Digne fired over.
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper told Sky Sports: "It's a really good win. We came up against an in-form Aston Villa side with really good players.
"We were committed to the plan and we've scored two goals from where we could create chances. Villa had a lot of the ball and we were okay with it because I never felt like we conceded any chances. Odysseas Vlachodimos made saves that he should be making. I never felt we were in danger of conceding.
"We could have managed the ball a bit better. Villa play with such a high line and an opportunity to attack quickly. We had to get the balance right between taking the opportunity and staying on the ball a bit more.
"Great start to the second half and a good goal. There is a little bit of good fortune. It was a good move and it's an area we looked at in terms of where we could get in and then attack the box. We created our own luck. There is a lot going on tactically when facing Aston Villa. A lot of gratitude for the players to stick with the plan. We were worthy winners."
Nottingham Forest full-back Ola Aina told Sky Sports: "It's a massive win. We were disappointed last week but today we are happy, we fought for each other and got the win.
"My goal was one to remember. I am happy to get off the mark and help the team.
"We can all be proud, we stuck to the game plan, we dug in and fought for each other."
Harry Toffolo, who created both goals, said: "We played games where we should have won before today. To be able to get the three points and a clean sheet against a team like Aston Villa is magical.
"We showed you the resilience of this group and the mentality going into this game was perfect today from start to finish."
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery told Sky Sports: "It is very hard to accept the result. We made some mistakes. We conceded early, but for another 80 minutes, we played with a good mentality, to try and score.
"The second half they scored another early goal. After this, we were controlling the game, creating chances and getting corners. It is very difficult when the other team scores first. They defended deeply.
"We are fifth in the league, we have 22 points, of course, if we could achieve the three points we would be better. I am proud of the players, before this match I was very proud of the players.
"We took this match as a challenge to get the top four teams, we didn't achieve it and there is still work to do to try and correct the things we did today with some mistakes."
Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa told Sky Sports: "It's a very disappointing day. We've been doing really well and we can't let this result affect us. We knew this would be a tough game. They had two chances and they scored both.
"We didn't create anything meaningful. We got in the right positions but that final pass let us down."
Nottingham Forest travel to West Ham live on Sky Sports on November 12 next up, kick-off at 2pm. After the international break they return with a home game against Brighton on November 25, kick-off 3pm.
Aston Villa welcome AZ Alkmaar to Villa Park in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, kick-off 8pm. They then host Fulham as they look to register a 13th home league win in a row on November 12, kick-off 2pm.
