By Monsurah Olatunji
Ola Aina has expressed his delight after scoring his second Premier League goal of the season, equaling his tally of two goals in 31 games during his loan spell at Fulham three years ago.
Nottingham Forest will celebrate Christmas in the Premier League’s top four after securing an impressive 2-0 victory over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday, handing the Bees their first home defeat of the season.
Aina broke the deadlock in the 38th minute when a cross from Neco Williams found its way through Brentford’s defense.
With the centre-backs focused on marking Chris Wood, the ball fell to the unmarked Aina, who calmly fired it into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Reflecting on his performance after the match, the 27-year-old Nigerian international expressed both his joy and determination.
“It’s a bit of a dream to be in the top four, but we’re taking it one game at a time,” Aina said. “We’re working well as a group, and the manager has brought a new philosophy to the club.”
He added, “When I was younger, I used to score goals left, right, and centre. I’m just happy I got one today and helped the team get the three points.”
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.
