Chris Wood hits superb hat-trick as Nottingham Forest add to Newcastle woes

Chris Wood scored a superb hat-trick against his former club as Nottingham Forest added to Newcastle United's miserable December by winning 3-1 at St James' Park.

Newcastle had taken the lead courtesy of an Alexander Isak penalty in the 23rd minute but Forest deservedly levelled when Wood tapped home an Antony Elanga cross in first-half injury-time.

Minutes earlier, Forest has missed a chance to level when Elanga decided to shoot instead of squaring the ball to his teammate.

Forest made it 2-1 in the 53rd minute after a magnificent run and finish from Wood who only left Tyneside during the summer in a £15 million deal following a loan spell at the City Ground.

And the 32-year-old New Zealand international completed his treble seven minutes later when he rounded Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka before finishing calmly to seal the team's first win under new manager Nuno.

“We needed three points and it was fantastic for the side to get it,” said Wood, whose team moved up to 16th in the table after ending a seven-game winless run in what was manager Nuno Espirito Santo's second game in charge.

“This is a tough place to come. The boys did extremely well. We felt like we did well in the second half, we felt like we were the better side. Nice to get the three points," said Wood.

“We showed we have quality in this team and a team that will work hard.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!