Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has weighed in on his side's draw against Fulham at the City Ground yesterday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The game featured five Nigerian players, three on Fulham's side, and two on the home team. Calvin Bassey came closest to breaking the deadlock just after the 20th-minute mark, but his attempt fell directly to Mats Sels, an eventual regret for the strong defender.
Aina's attempt came in the second half, he took on Bassey and his left-footed attempt was denied by the woodwork.
Forest came close again, twice when Taiwo Awoniyi came off the bench; one of his shots went wide while the other was blocked by Kenny Tete.
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Nottingham Forest boss bemoans Aina and Awoniyi's missed chances in Fulham draw
The game was a vital one for both teams at different ends of the table. Fulham needed maximum points to press on in their pursuit of European football, while Forest are hanging on for air at the bottom of the Premier League table.
Speaking after the game, Forest coach Vitor Pereira admitted the game could've gone either way, citing the missed opportunities from Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi.
“What I retain in my mind about this game is the spirit of the team. They tried everything to win this game. The players from the bench tried to help win the game.
“This is the spirit we need to keep until the end of the season,” the former Wolverhampton Wanderers coach said in his post-game interview.
“It would be a mistake if we got three points today and thought we didn’t need more points. We need to compete and keep the mentality and the spirit. We need to compete for full points until the end.”
“When Ola shot (against the bar), it was a very good shot,” Pereira said. “The way Dan Ndoye finished was quality; he had technical quality. But in the end, we were missing something.
“Taiwo went on the pitch and was fighting for every ball and trying to create problems. Omari created problems.
“They are trying. A clean sheet was important because if we don’t concede goals, we get points.
“We created many chances to score. We had many chances in the first half. They are trying and are working hard to try to win games. We did everything possible to win the game.
“We were unlucky, but they are trying and are working hard to try to get points,” the Nottingham Forest boss concluded.
Nottingham Forest are 17th on the English Premier League table, only outside of the relegation spots by goal difference.
