Paul Taylor praised Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood after his brilliant winning goal against Sheffield United. The 31-year-old pounced to score his second goal for the club and his first since his move became permanent from Newcastle.
Forest toiled for some of the game on Friday night. After firing home after just three minutes, this should have been more comfortable, but after the break, the Blades came at the Reds and on another night they might have claimed something.
Wood was introduced in the closing stages of the game. He replaced Taiwo Awoniyi who had opened the scoring and there were some disgruntled groans coming from the stands when his number came on the board.
In Wood, Forest have a player who has evidently worked hard over the summer. He looked leaner, stronger and quite clearly, he was keen to prove a point to those who have doubted him.
His only goal before Friday night came against Manchester City last season. Remarkably, the Reds got out of their home clash with the champions with a 1-1 draw much to the delight of the fan base.
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Wood scored with a stereotypical finish from his repertoire. You don’t score over 50 goals in the Premier League without have a strong attribute and this header was magnificent.
After another delightful ball from Serge Aurier, Wood stooped to float a header into the corner of the net and leave Wes Foderingham with no chance.
Taylor praise for Forest striker Wood
It’s good to see the player getting some praise after his winning goal on Friday night. Wood comes across as a player who cares about his profession and someone who always gives his all.
The Reds need options in their attack. Awoniyi will clearly remain the main man but he will need competition for his place and Wood could provide that.
All that the Forest man can do to keep silencing his critics is score goals. If he gets into the right areas of the pitch, there is no reason why he can’t add to his tally this season.
Wood is now a permanent Forest player. As a result, the club will have to persist with him this season and the hope will be that he can keep showcasing his worth.