By Wale Mustapha
Nigeria and Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina has described his team’s 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park as a positive result, emphasizing the difficulty of securing points on the road in the Premier League.
The Tricky Trees shared the spoils with Palace on Monday night after a hard-fought encounter.
Eberechi Eze gave the hosts the lead from the penalty spot on the hour mark, but Forest responded quickly through a deflected effort by Murillo just four minutes later.
Aina, who returned to the starting lineup after a brief injury layoff, said the team should take encouragement from the result.
“I think it’s a good point away from home. Tough to come here — they are a good side,” Aina told Sky Sports.
“And you know, with the level that we hit recently, a point is a good result.”
Forest have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, collecting just five points from their last five games. The dip in form has put their UEFA Champions League hopes under threat, as they currently sit sixth in the table.
“It just happens. This is football — sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” Aina added.
“Unfortunately for us, it hasn’t gone our way recently, but the hard work continues. We try to get three points every game, but we couldn’t get that today.”
Forest will look to bounce back in their next fixture as the season enters a critical phase.
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.
