Super Eagles stars Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina shone for Nottingham Forest in their ruthless 5-0 drubbing of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.
The two Super Eagles stars continued their club's fight against relegation in a tricky tie against the Black Cats, who held the home advantage.
Awoniyi started on the bench, as coach Vitor Pereira opted for a two-pronged frontline featuring Igor Jesus and Chris Wood. However, Aina retained his place in the starting XI, lining up at right-back.
The game was expected to be a real cracker, given Sunderland’s brilliant form in the Premier League this year. While Nottingham Forest have picked up the pace recently, they still have significant work to do to avoid relegation from the English top flight.
However, the match turned out to be a whitewash. By the 37th minute, the Black Cats were already four goals down, courtesy of strikes from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Chris Wood, alongside an own goal from Trai Hume.
Aina was superb in the first half. He remained rock-solid defensively and successfully kept the Sunderland attackers at bay.
In the second half, the home team picked up the pace slightly as Nottingham Forest shifted into game-management mode. In the 61st minute, Sunderland thought they had pulled one back after Daniel Ballard put the ball in the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Awoniyi was introduced in the 88th minute, replacing Wood. The Super Eagles star looked very lively upon his introduction and provided the assist for Nottingham Forest's fifth goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time. He played a clever pass to Elliot Anderson in the box, and the Englishman finished with aplomb to complete the 5-0 rout.
Aina did not record a goal or an assist, but he was excellent throughout the night. He finished with an impressive nine defensive contributions, 70 percent passing accuracy, and 56 touches.
Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina Edge Closer To Safety With Nottingham Forest
, Copyright: ImagoxChrisxFoxwellx
Following Nottingham Forest's 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Friday, the Trickey Trees have almost confirmed their place in the Premier League next season.
They have been serious candidates for the drop. But with this win, they have now climbed to 16th on the table, eight points above the relegation zone, albeit they have played one more game than the teams below them asides from Burnley.
With four games left in the survival push, the Tricky Trees will need to win two of their games at most to be sure that they will play Premier League football next season.
Their two Super Eagles stars have proven to be key this season, with Aina often shining at the back, while Awoniyi regularly gets off the bench to close games. They will be hoping to continue that run soon.
