Chris Wood hat-trick inspires Forest to win at Newcastle in Premier League

NEWCASTLE (Agencies): Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored a superb hat-trick against his former club Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Tuesday to give his struggling side a much-needed 3-1 victory in the Premier League. Forest’s first win under new coach Nuno Espirito Santo lifted them to 16th in the table on 17 points, five above the relegation zone, while Newcastle’s fourth defeat in their last five league games left them seventh on 29 points. It was another dull, disjointed performance from a Magpies side who had only conceded four goals at home this season, only to allow a striker deemed surplus to requirements to score three times in one game. Newcastle took the lead in the 23rd minute when Alexander Isak won a penalty as he tried to spin away from Forest full back Ola Aina, and the Swedish striker stepped up to stroke home the spot-kick low to left of keeper Matt Turner. by Newcastle in January before being signed permanently, brought his side level just before the break with a close-range tap-in from Anthony Elanga’s centre.

Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White flashed a header just wide and Elanga should have put the visitors ahead six minutes after the break, but his weak effort with the goal at his mercy was easily dealt with by Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka. Newcastle’s defence failed to heed those warnings, however, and Wood put them ahead in the 53rd minute with a brilliant solo effort from another counter-attack, dinking the ball past Dubravka with his left foot after a clever run.

Newcastle enjoyed plenty of possession but once again their attack struggled to gel. Only Isak looked dangerous when he got hold of the ball around the Forest box, and the visitors were always ready to pounce once the attacks broke down. New Zealand international Wood completed his hat-trick on the hour mark with another well-taken goal on the counter, rounding Dubravka and coolly slotting home to secure a well-deserved win. Wood’s goal celebrations during were muted, but he couldn’t hide his delight as he took the applause of the Forest fans at the final whistle. “It is nice coming back to Newcastle, I really enjoyed my time here, it is a great bunch of lads and staff,” he told the BBC. “We needed three points and it was fantastic for the side to get it. This is a tough place to come, the boys did extremely well.”

Luton force two late own goals to win at Sheffield United:

SHEFFIELD (Agencies): Jack Robinson and Anis Ben Slimane scored own goals in the final 13 minutes as Sheffield United let a late lead slip and lost 3-2 to fellow Premier League strugglers Luton Town at Bramall Lane on Tuesday. Luton took the lead in the first half through Alfie Doughty, but a strong second-half showing from the home side turned the game on its head as Oli McBurnie netted and Anel Ahmedhodzic scored his first Premier League goal. Having worked so hard to get in front, however, United surrendered their lead in cruel fashion as Robinson flicked a cross into his own net and Slimane deflected a shot past his goalkeeper. Luton stayed in 18th position but moved to 15 points from 18 games, one point from safety, while United remained rooted to the bottom of the standings with nine points from 19 matches. The match was officiated by Sam Allison, who became the first black referee in the Premier League for 15 years and only the second ever after Uriah Rennie.

Bournemouth overpower Fulham to move into top half:

BOURNEMOUTH (Agencies): A resurgent Bournemouth moved into the top half of the Premier League standings with a 3-0 home win over Fulham on Tuesday thanks to goals by Justin Kluivert, Dominic Solanke and Luis Sinisterra. Andoni Iraola’s side were winless in their first nine league games of the season, but the suspended Spaniard watching the contest from the stands was all smiles as they sealed their sixth win in seven matches. The result moved Bournemouth up to 10th with 25 points from 18 matches while Fulham are 13th following their third straight defeat without scoring. “Now we are flying. The whole squad, we’ve got a great team, great spirit,” Kluivert told Amazon Prime. “It’s wonderful. We’ve got to know each other. I’m new, the coach is new. At the beginning we were struggling, we were losing but we’ve found our feet.”