Taiwo Awoniyi’s moment of joy and a rare sense of relief for Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Taiwo Awoniyi crowned his comeback with a cathartic goal that eased Nottingham Forest nerves at Brentford, nine months after a life-threatening injury. According to NY Times, he was placed in an induced coma last May after a ruptured intestine from colliding with a post against Leicester City.

Collecting possession on the right just inside the Brentford half, he surged past two defenders and nutmegged Caoimhin Kelleher to confirm victory, sparking the 1,700 away end and keeping a five-point cushion to the bottom three. Earlier, Igor Jesus had chested and finished low to open the scoring.

Jesus, the only summer signing to start, now has eight away goals in all competitions since a £16m move from Botafogo. Chris Wood remains sidelined with a knee issue, yet Awoniyi’s impact, amid the arrival of loan striker Lorenzo Lucca, underlines Forest’s existing options.

Sean Dyche said he urged Awoniyi to play with freedom and that new competition can jolt strikers, though Lucca was not registered in time to feature. He added he has not dwelt on the severity of the injury with the player and feels the forward looks sharper.

The same XI that drew 0-0 with Arsenal made this an ideal away win after Braga. Brentford controlled spells around half-time and Forest went more direct after the break as accuracy dipped from 79.6 percent to 63.5. Next up are Crystal Palace, Leeds and Wolves, starting 1 February.

Source: NY Times