Nigeria’s Taiwo Awoniyi scores a brace as Nottingham Forest secured a vital win in a seven-goal thriller against Southampton at the City Ground on a rain-soaked night that had fans on the edge of their seats until the very last second. The match was full of drama, with each side fighting to climb out of the relegation zone.
Forest established a two-goal cushion on three occasions, and each time Southampton responded to pull themselves back into the contest, setting up an electrifying encounter for the spectators. However, Southampton couldn’t find the equaliser, and now they face the possibility of relegation unless they win all their remaining matches and hope for other results to go their way. On the other hand, Forest have their fate in their own hands and can avoid relegation if they continue to perform well, and if Taiwo Awoniyi keeps up his spectacular form.
Taiwo Awoniyi was the hero for Forest, scoring a first-half brace in the space of three minutes. He profited first from Danilo’s superb cross-field pass that allowed Brennan Johnson to set him up to volley home from close range after a goalmouth scramble. Awoniyi’s second goal was a poacher’s finish after goalkeeper Fraser Forster spilled the ball following a save.
Southampton tried to fight back and Carlos Alcaraz pulled one back, only for Morgan Gibbs-White to restore Forest’s two-goal cushion from the penalty spot a minute before the break. Lyanco’s header gave Southampton fresh hope at 3-2, but Gibbs-White was instrumental in Forest’s fourth, flicking Johnson’s cross into an unmarked Danilo’s path for a cool finish.
The match wasn’t over yet, and James Ward-Prowse’s injury-time penalty ensured nerves were being shredded right to the very last seconds of a staggering day of Premier League action.
At kick-off, both these sides occupied the bottom two places and ended with Forest scrambling up to 16th, three points clear of third-bottom Leicester, and with rising hopes of preserving their top-flight status.