Guimaraes and Woltemade strike as Newcastle subdue Forest and intensify pressure on Postecoglou

Second-half finishes from Bruno Guimaraes and Nick Woltemade earned Newcastle United a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest that deepened the scrutiny surrounding Ange Postecoglou’s winless start. Newcastle, the Premier League’s lowest scorers before kick-off, finally found their cutting edge after the break at St James’ Park to record only their second league win of the season.

Forest’s pragmatic gameplan and an inspired Matz Sels kept the contest tight until Guimaraes curled in from just outside the box shortly before the hour. Referee Peter Bankes waved away visiting protests over an alleged foul on Morgan Gibbs-White after a VAR check, and Woltemade later sealed the points from the spot when Elliot Anderson felled the Newcastle captain. Forest remain 17th and winless under Postecoglou after seven matches.

Pragmatism meets persistence

With back-to-back setbacks and 15 goals conceded in recent weeks, Postecoglou set aside expansive ideals for a back five and freshened his back line, handing first Premier League starts of the season to captain Ryan Yates, Nicolo Savona and Jair Cunha. The approach made Forest far more compact, with Nikola Milenkovic tightly tracking Woltemade and Savona troubling Dan Burn on Newcastle’s left.

Newcastle, unchanged after their 4-0 Champions League win over Union Saint-Gilloise, lacked thrust before the interval. Sels, a former Newcastle goalkeeper, sprang to his right to claw away a Joelinton header, while Morato’s full-blooded block on Woltemade at 0-0 typified Forest’s resolve. The home side’s lack of incision was summed up by a speculative Joelinton effort from near halfway drifting well wide.

Captain’s spark and a turning tide

The game pivoted when Guimaraes pinched the ball from Gibbs-White in midfield, received a return from Burn on the edge of the area and shaped a curling right-foot shot beyond Sels into the top corner. Forest players surrounded Bankes, adamant a foul had occurred in the build-up, but after a VAR review it was ruled the Brazilian had played enough of the ball and the goal stood.

The breakthrough shifted the mood. Sandro Tonali began to dictate and Newcastle started to stretch Forest’s shape. Although the hosts were far from their ferocious best, they were growing into their season; Forest, by contrast, rarely looked like fashioning a clear route back once behind.

Sels resists, Woltemade decides

Sels kept Forest in touch, first tipping over Tonali’s cushioned volley and then watching Woltemade crash a half-volley off the underside of the bar from the resulting corner. The Belgian stopper later produced an excellent double save, thwarting Malick Thiaw and Harvey Barnes in quick succession as Newcastle pressed for the cushion goal.

It arrived when Anderson mistimed a challenge on Guimaraes inside the area. Bankes pointed to the spot and Woltemade, Newcastle’s club-record signing, beat Sels with an audacious strike into the top left corner. The Germany forward maintained his run of scoring in each of his first three Premier League home games for the club, underlining why doubts over his £70m summer arrival from Stuttgart are fading fast.

The bigger picture

For Newcastle, this was a restorative afternoon: a second league victory, a sixth clean sheet in 10 games this season, and signs of momentum after the midweek rout in Europe. Eddie Howe hailed Guimaraes as the "difference-maker," calling the opener "a moment of magic" and praising his side’s patience and control after the interval.

For Forest, the debate around Postecoglou’s future will persist through the international break. He was met with chants of "you’re getting sacked in the morning" from home supporters, yet remained defiant afterwards: "It’s a struggle, it’s a fight… I prefer to be right in the middle of it, where I can have an effect. And I believe I will."

What next

Newcastle visit Brighton on Saturday, 18 October, before hosting Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday, 21 October.

Nottingham Forest face Chelsea at the City Ground on Saturday, 18 October and then welcome Porto in the Europa League on Thursday, 23 October.