After more than a year of waiting, injury setbacks and silence in front of goal, Taiwo Awoniyi finally rediscovered the scoresheet in emphatic fashion on Saturday.
The Nigeria striker came off the bench to score late and seal a 2–0 Premier League victory for Nottingham Forest away at Brentford, ending a 385-day goal drought in competitive action.
Awoniyi’s last goal had come on 6 January 2025 against Wolves, before a series of injuries kept him sidelined for long spells and disrupted his momentum. His late strike at the Gtech Community Stadium was a powerful reminder of his resilience and proven quality at the top level.
Forest had taken the lead earlier in the first half through Igor Jesus, with fellow Nigerian Ola Aina playing a key role. The defender’s deflected cross caused problems in the Brentford box, allowing Jesus to finish and give the visitors control of the contest.
Introduced as the game wore on, Awoniyi provided the decisive moment, calmly finishing to put the result beyond doubt and spark celebrations among the travelling Forest supporters.
The goal marked Awoniyi’s first of the season and capped an encouraging weekend for Nigerian players in Europe, with both he and Aina making decisive contributions to Forest’s impressive away victory.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey 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.
