Nigeria international Paul Onuachu finally ended his lengthy 658-day goal drought in a dramatic 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest, a match that featured four Super Eagles players.
Onuachu scored in stoppage time, but despite his efforts, Southampton couldn’t complete their comeback.
The game kicked off with Forest taking an early lead. In the 11th minute, Elliot Anderson fired a near-post strike after receiving a pass from Morgan Gibbs-White.
Callum Hudson-Odoi doubled Forest’s advantage with a brilliant long-range effort just before the half-hour mark. Four minutes before the break, Ola Aina assisted Chris Wood’s third goal for Forest, making it 3-0 at halftime.
Southampton responded after the interval, with Jan Bednarek pulling one back early in the second half. Onuachu, who had started on the bench, came on in the 58th minute and headed home a Mateus Fernandes cross in the 90+2 minute, giving his side a glimmer of hope.
Despite a late surge from Southampton, including Aina’s crucial clearance off the line in stoppage time, Forest held firm to secure all three points.
Meanwhile, Taiwo Awoniyi featured as a substitute for Forest, while Joe Aribo played the full match for Southampton.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
