Morgan Gibbs-White revealed he “can finally breathe” as he scored from the spot in Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win over FC Porto in the Europa League.
The Briton had struggled so far this season, with many questioning what was wrong with the forward, but in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge, the 25-year-old was back to his old self.
With Chris Wood still out of the Forest side, the responsibility fell to Gibbs-White to take the spot kick, which he slotted home and sent the City Ground into chaos.
After the match, he revealed: “I can finally breathe tonight. It has been a difficult couple of months with all the changes and the bad performances, so it was good to get our first win in eight or nine games.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored his first goal of the season against FC Porto
|REUTERS
“We are delighted to get the three points and I want to thank the fans for sticking by us.
“The gaffer said when he came in that last season we had a real identity, and he wants to build on top of that. I am just delighted that the boys got the three points and the win.
“You can feel the morale. It feels a lot more positive and it needs to stay like that. That's credit to the manager. He has instilled that in us, and we have to keep up that mentality.”
Forest's victory over Porto was their first win since the opening day of the season and, in his first home game, Dyche could not have got off to a better start.
Ange Postecoglou was brutally sacked just 18 minutes after the 3-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, with Dyche brought in as his replacement.
Igor Jesus scored the second goal to secure the points for Nottingham Forest
|REUTERS
He had failed to win any of the games in his 39-day period in charge of Nottingham Forest, and in the Chelsea game, they looked lost and confused, a far cry from the team that got them into Europa League football.
Dyche has changed the system that the team plays with and gone to his trademark four at the back that helped Forest feel secure in their defence on a cold and windy night in Nottingham.
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Porto had come to England unbeaten so far this season, but Gibbs-White’s penalty put them behind for the first time all season.
They thought they had snuck their way back into the game from a set piece, but Jan Bednarek had bundled in his goal offside.
Sean Dyche got life at Nottingham Forest off to the perfect start
|REUTERS
Another penalty gifted to Forest by a sloppy Porto defence allowed Igor Jesus to score his first goal at the City Ground and cement Dyche’s perfect first night as manager.
Forest will now face Bournemouth on Sunday as they look to take the good performance into the Premier League.