Pre Season: Forest ease to win over Chesterfield

Chesterfield 0 - 3 Nottingham Forest 

Nottingham Forest kicked off their pre-season with a 3-0 win against Chesterfield, courtesy of goals from Chris Wood, Josh Bowler, and Ibrahim Sangare.

The visitors could have taken a 3-0 lead within the first 15 minutes, having created a trio of excellent chances. Emmanuel Dennis and Anthony Elanga both forced saves from Chesterfield's goalkeeper, Ryan Boot, while Nicolas Dominguez hit the post with a shot from the edge of the area.

Forest believed they had taken the lead just before the half-hour mark, but Dennis was adjudged to have fouled Boot when heading in a free-kick, and the goal was disallowed. Despite creating several more chances, including efforts from Ryan Yates and Elanga, they couldn't find a way past Boot before half-time.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo made wholesale changes during the break, replacing all ten outfield players and switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation from the first half's back-three. The changes paid off in the second half when Wood scored from a tight angle to finally break the deadlock.

Bowler doubled the lead with 15 minutes remaining, and Sangare added a third late on to secure the victory.

Match highlights

You can watch highlights of the match in the video below. The footage is from the official Chesterfield YouTube account. 

How are these sides preparing for the new campaign?

Forest are waiting to start their third successive campaign back in the Premier League. Fans will be hoping for some improvements from last season after they had some nerves about relegation. 

For Chesterfield, 2024/2025 represents the first campaign back in the English Football League. Promotion from the National League last season represented a huge moment in the club's recent history.