Taiwo Awoniyi hailed after scoring in FA Cup game

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has praised Taiwo Awoniyi’s performance in their FA Cup match against Exeter City.

The Nigerian striker, who has not played regularly due to Chris Wood being the preferred choice in attack, took his chance in the FA Cup by scoring and playing well.

In the 37th minute, Ibrahim Sangare passed to Awoniyi, who struck a powerful shot from outside the box to give Forest a bigger lead.

However, Awoniyi’s night ended early after he broke his nose in a clash with Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth.

Speaking to talkSPORT after the match, Nuno praised Awoniyi’s performance:

“I think he broke his nose, but he’s walking around smiling. He did an amazing job, he did really well today.”

Earlier in January, there were rumours that Awoniyi might leave Forest to get more playing time, but no deal happened.

Despite this, Nuno had said he was happy with his squad, including Awoniyi.

“I think we are in a good place as a squad. As long as we stay healthy and keep working well, we can compete until the end of the season,” Nuno said before the FA Cup match.

“It was a quiet window for all clubs. It’s always hard to make moves, and we knew that. Our goal was to keep the core of the squad. All the players are here and available. We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we keep going.”

With Awoniyi impressing in his rare start, Nuno may have a tough decision to make in the coming weeks if Awoniyi recovers quickly.