By MATT BARLOW

These East Anglian outposts will not the be the limit of Nottingham Forest’s travel plans next season.

They are bound for Europe and quite possibly the Champions League as their three thousand travelling fans declared in song as they filed out of Portman Road.

Nuno’s team are prolific on the road, and they swatted Ipswich aside in confident style after scoring the first three goals in six first-half minute.

Nikola Milenkovic grabbed the first before two by Anthony Elanga, before a late flurry of three more goals as the contest meandered to a close. Forest’s fourth was scored by Jota Silva and created by Morgan Gibs-White, to the delight of those in the away end.

They had spent the afternoon singing about Gibbs-White as ‘England’s number 10’ in protest at his omission from Thomas Tuchel’s first selection.

The contest was quiet and cagey until the opening goal, scored from a corner needlessly conceded and poorly defended by Ipswich. Jacob Greaves headed the initial set piece out but only to Callum Hudson-Odoi who clipped the ball beyond the back post.

Nicolas Dominguez headed it square and Liam Delap’s attempt to head clear only served to nod the ball down for Milenkovic, who took a touch to control and volleyed his fourth of the season high into the net.

Once ahead, Forest stretched clear. The second was a wonderful finish by Elanga, collecting a pass from Elliot Anderson, advancing into the penalty area, jinking inside onto his left foot and shaping a low shot around Greaves and beyond Palmer.

It was his first goal since Boxing Day, and he soon had another. Again, there was nothing remotely sophisticated about the build-up. Ipswich simply failed to deal with a long ball down the middle of the pitch. Elanga sped clear of Greaves and found the net with ease.

Ipswich improved in the second half. Omari Hutchison registered their first effort on target and Delap should have done better with a chance, a free header planted wide. Leif Davis whistled one past the posts from distance.

MATCH FACTS AND RATINGS

Ipswich 4231: Palmer 5; O’Shea 5.5, Woolfenden 5.5, Greaves 4.5 (Burgess 46, 6), Davis 5; Phillips 6.5 (J.Taylor 86), Cajuste 6.5; Philogene 5 (J.Clarke 80), Hutchinson 6.5, Enciso 5 (Broadhead 80); Delap 6 (Hirst 80).

Subs: Walton, Johnson, Burgess, Townsend, Morsy, Taylor, Broadhead, J.Clarke, Hirst.

Goals: Cajuste 82, Hirst 90+3

Bookings: Phillips,

Manager: Kieran McKenna 6

Forest 442: Sels 6; Aina 6, Milenkovic 7, Murillo 6, Williams 6.5; Dominguez 6 (Yates 67, 6.5), Gibbs-White 7.5 (Danilo 89), Anderson 7.5; Hudson-Odoi 7 (Jota 80), Elanga 8 (Morata 67, 6); Wood 6 (Awoniyi 80).

Subs: Hennessey, Sangare, Moreno, Boly.

Goals: Milenkovic 35, Elanga 37, 41, Jota 87

Bookings: Dominguez,

Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 7

Ref: Michael Salisbury 6

Att: 29,878

Forest moved down through the gears. Chris Wood was denied by a Palmer save and Forest boss Nuno responded to the extra threat by taking off his goal hero Elanga and switching to a back three, although it did not make them watertight.

Jens Cajuste pulled a goal back for Ipswich. Cajuste rolled away from Ryan Yates and beat Matz Sels with a curler into the top corner. Then Forest hit them with another classic counter strike finished by substitute Jota Silva but George Hirst headed in the sixth of the game.

Scant consolation for the home side.

 

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Ipswich 2-4 Nottingham Forest: Anthony Elanga’s quick-fire first half brace strengthens visitors’ Champions League dream at Portman Road

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