Alan Shearer has raved about Nottingham Forest star Taiwo Awoniyi after the Reds defeated Southampton 4-3.
The City Ground was rocking throughout the clash as Steve Cooper’s men claimed a big three points.
Awoniyi lifted the roof with two goals in three first-half minutes and that set the tone for the evening.
Forest actually led on three occasions during the contest and they did deserve to claim all three points.
Further goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Danilo compounded the Saints to a damaging defeat which all but confirms their relegation.
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Forest live to fight another day. They’ve moved to 16th in the Premier League and now have their destiny in their own hands.
Cooper has worked wonders already this season having been forced to blend together a wealth of new players.
One of those newbies is Awoniyi and last night he found the way to goal to help his team.
Shearer was massively impressed with the striker signed from Union Berlin and named him in his Team of the Week.
He told the Premier League’s website: “Showed strength and poise to score two goals that could just save Forest from relegation.”
Shearer raved about Awoniyi after 4-3 win for Forest
This was a bit of a coming of age for Awoniyi who stepped up when it truly mattered.
He’s had some critics since returning to the side but Forest do look more dogged in attack when he plays.
Awoniyi is an absolute nightmare for defenders to contend with and he gave the Saints the runaround last night.
He took his goal tremendously well and the 25-year-old has even more to give to the cause.
Awoniyi has taken his goal tally to seven for the campaign now and he will be eyeing more goals for the team.
The player can sometimes frustrate on a technical level but his tenacity, determination and physicality are all very useful attributes.