Chris Wood scored his fifth goal of the season as Nottingham Forest defeated Crystal Palace 1-0, moving into the top half of the English Premier League on Monday.
The New Zealand player was a constant threat and came close before he netted the only goal 19 minutes into the second half.
His right-foot shot from outside the box slipped inside the post, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson will be frustrated that he couldn’t get a stronger hand to deflect it for a corner.
The goal capped an active performance by Wood, but Forest also relied on keeper Matz Sels, who made two great saves: first from an Eberechi Eze free kick after an hour and then from Jeffrey Schlupp with nine minutes left.
“We needed a home win and thankfully we got it,” Wood said. “We did the consistent things that we have always been doing. We showed tonight that we have a full squad that we can compete with. It’s vitally important, but we’ve got to keep going.”
This result ended Forest’s stretch of seven games without a win at the City Ground.
Palace stayed in the third-to-last position with no wins in eight matches.
