Chris Wood scored a hat-trick against his former club as Nottingham Forest earned their first win under Nuno Espírito Santo by beating Newcastle United 3-1 at St.James’ Park in the Premier League.Forest were hurt after losing late on against Bournemouth last time out, and almost took the lead inside three minutes, as Morgan Gibbs-White dragged his shot just wide from inside the box. That was their first effort on goal, and Newcastle scored with theirs midway through the half, as Alexander Isak maintained his 100% penalty record at the club by stroking the ball into the bottom corner from the spot, after being clipped in the box – putting the hosts in front for the 10th consecutive home game.However, the visitors were always dangerous on the counter-attack, and Anthony Elanga saw his shot saved by Martin Dúbravka on the angle, when Wood was in a better position to score. A repeat of this same situation in added time saw Elanga cross to Wood this time, and the ex-Magpies striker tapped in his fifth Premier League goal this season to square the match. The chances did not stop there though, as Isak was then denied a brace when Matt Turner saved his close-range header, before scrapping the ball away from a determined Miguel Almirón.The equaliser gave Forest belief going into the second half, and they should have scored again just seconds in, as Gibbs-White flicked a header from point-blank range wide after a wonderful Elanga cross. The winger was the creative heartbeat of the team, and his perfect through ball set Wood away minutes later to nudge his team ahead, as the New Zealand international doubled his tally for the afternoon by delicately dinking over Dúbravka.Wood would not have believed his luck when he was put through again on the hour-mark, this time by defender Murillo, and full of confidence, he rounded Dúbravka before scoring into an empty net for a memorable hat-trick. Newcastle tried to get back in the game as quickly as possible, as 17-year-old Lewis Miley fired just wide, before Isak was denied again by Turner just a few yards from goal.Forest held out in the end for what is a valuable three points in their relegation battle, as Nuno maintained his incredible unbeaten record against both Newcastle and Eddie Howe. As for the Magpies, that is now six defeats in seven in all competitions – concerning form if they have ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League again next season.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 19TuesdayNewcastle – Nott.Forest 1-3 (1-1)/Isak 24 pen – Wood 45+1, 53, 60/18:00: (2.15) Bournemouth (3.50) Fulham (3.60)18:00: (2.50) Sheffield Utd (3.25) Luton (3.15)20:30: (8.00) Burnley (5.00) Liverpool (1.42)23:00: (2.50) Man.Utd. (3.60) Aston Villa (2.90)Wednesday22:30: (2.05) Brentford (3.50) Wolverhampton (3.90)22:30: (1.80) Chelsea (3.70) Crystal Palace (5.00)23:15: (6.25) Everton (4.10) Man.City (1.62)Thursday22:30: (2.75) Brighton (3.60) Tottenham (2.60)23:15: (1.37) Arsenal (5.20) West Ham (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
