Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi highlighted the importance of Nottingham Forest team once again when they scored a crucial goal that saw the team beat Southampton 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Besides helping Forest to their first away win of the season, Awoniyi’s goal, his fourth of the season, also lifted Forest out of the relegation zone in the Premier League table.
Wednesday’s basement game between Forest and Saints was 18th and 20th in the game, but it was Awoniyi’s first-half goal that made the difference.
Steve Cooper’s side have failed to score in their last six Premier League games but looked in good shape early on as Awoniyi and Ryan Yates combined before Brennan Johnson hit the crossbar.
Awoniyi then found the back of the net in the 27th minute, and Forest controlled the remainder of the match as Southampton failed to find the target.
It is worth noting that three of Awoniyi’s four goals this season have come in 1-0 wins for the returning Premier League players.
Forest are currently in 15th, just below Leeds United.
But as Awoniyi slowly dragged his team to safety, things turned bleak for Southampton’s Joe Aribo who was now rooted to the bottom of the log.
Defeat against Forest was the sixth in a row under new management Nathan Jones, who replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl last November.
Despite not being in action on Wednesday, Everton’s Alex Iwobi has also been dragged into the relegation zone with the result recorded.
Elsewhere, Leeds play a thriller at Elland Road against West Ham.
Leeds went ahead thanks to Wilfred Gnonto’s strike in the 27th minute, but VAR drama saw the visitors awarded a penalty when Pascal Struijk was adjudged to have tackled Jarrod Bowen.
Lucas Paqueta converted from the spot kick before half-time and in the second half, a loose ball from Brenden Aaronson allowed Gianluca Scamacca to fire home the ball and put the Hammers 2-1 up.
Leeds got back into the game in the 70th minute when Rodrigo connected with Jack Harrison’s pass to the delight of the raucous fans.
Both sides had chances in the final 20 minutes to claim the maximum three points, but both teams were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, Wolves remain in the bottom three after a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Daniel Podence put Wolves ahead in the 12th minute at Villa Park after some good play with Joao Moutinho but substitute Danny Ings rescued a point for Villa with a goal with 12 minutes remaining.
Unai Emery’s side had a great chance to win late on, but Leon Bailey put the ball away as he crossed the goal.
With a single point, Villa are now 11th in the table with 22 points.
In Wednesday’s last game, Harry Kane grabbed a brace as Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace 4-0.
Support journalism integrity and credibility PREMIUM TIMES
Good journalism costs a lot of money. But only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, responsible democracy, and transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider making a modest contribution to this noble effort.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help keep journalism relevant and ensure it remains free and available to all.
contribute
AD TEXT: Call Willie – +2348098788999
