Kurt Zouma, Taiwo Getty

Awoniyi: Two shots, one goal - How Nigeria star propelled Nottingham Forest past West Ham United

Taiwo Awoniyi was Nottingham Forest’s hero in Sunday’s 1-0 Premier League triumph over West Ham United.

Making his first start for the Reds, the former Nigeria international scored the fixture’s only goal against David Moyes’ men at the City Ground.

Not only did he score Forest’s first English top-flight goal in 23 years and 90 days (Chris Bart-Williams vs Leicester City in May 1999) – the longest gap between a team scoring consecutive goals in the competition’s history, but he also becomes the 37th Nigerian to score in the competition.

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Overall, he put up an awe-inspiring performance as Steve Cooper’s men picked their first win of the 2022-23 campaign.

For Awoniyi’s contributions in 72 minutes of action, he accrued two shots with his only shot on target finding the net against the Londoners.

Although the 25-year-old made no key passes, he contributed a cross, 30 touches, 16 passes and a passing accuracy of 75%.

Also, the only value he added to Forest defensively saw him make one clearance with statistics showing he scored zero judging by top tackles, interceptions, and blocked shots.

Awoniyi was caught offside twice, dispossessed twice and fouled on three occasions. With 12 minutes left on the clock, he was subbed off for Sam Surridge.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski reflected on a frustrating afternoon for West Ham United, especially with the goal he conceded.

“We’re very frustrated,” he told the West Ham website.

“We knew before the game that it would be tough and there would be a lot of energy in the crowd, because obviously, it was the first home game for them in the Premier League for a while.

“So we were expecting a big battle and that’s how it was from the first minute. I would say they were better than us in the first half, but once the second half started we had the much better chances.

“We hit the bar twice, we had a penalty saved by their keeper, so we’re very disappointed that we didn’t take anything from the game.”

Following Forest’s result, they climbed to ninth on the log having accrued just three points from two outings so far.

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