In a nerve-jangling clash at City Ground, Nottingham Forest secured a 4-3 home win over bottom-placed Southampton, giving them a huge boost in their quest for Premier League survival. The match, played on Monday, saw Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi score two goals within four minutes of the game’s start, giving Forest control. However, Carlos Alcaraz hit back for the visitors soon after.
Both sides showed defensive frailties in the match, with a Morgan Gibbs-White penalty restoring Forest’s two-goal lead in the 44th minute. Southampton continued to threaten an equalizer, but Forest’s Danilo finished off a flowing move, scoring their fourth goal in the 73rd minute. Despite a stoppage-time penalty by Southampton’s captain James Ward-Prowse, Forest held out for the win, lifting them out of the relegation zone to 16th, with 33 points from 35 games.
On the other hand, Southampton is eight points below the safety zone with just three games remaining. Failure to beat Fulham in their next match will seal their fate and condemn them to the drop. The game was crucial for Forest, whose first season back in the top-flight has been challenging. However, they can finally see light at the end of the tunnel with this critical victory.
Awoniyi’s brace, his first goals since January, and excellent displays by Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson were instrumental in Forest’s victory. Johnson’s sizzling pace caused problems for Southampton all night, and his superb low cross was struck home by Awoniyi in the 18th minute. Three minutes later, Forest doubled their lead when Danilo flicked the ball towards Awoniyi, who swiveled to smash a superb volley past Alex McCarthy.
Despite Southampton looking like the better side until Awoniyi’s quick-fire double, they got back into the game when Stuart Armstrong set up Alcaraz to fire past Keylor Navas. Chances went begging at both ends before Johnson was quick to a loose ball in the area and was tripped by Ainsley Maitland-Niles, leading to Gibbs-White thumping home the penalty. Ward-Prowse’s delivery was headed in by Lyanco, and Forest was hanging on before a sensational flick by Gibbs-White played in Danilo to beat McCarthy with a clinical finish.
While it was a joyous night for Forest, with the win securing their much-needed three points, manager Steve Cooper’s fingernails, along with the club’s vociferous fans, would have taken a battering. Cooper said, “The most important thing was the win. I just felt we showed some good attacking moments and recovered from mistakes because, at times, we didn’t cover ourselves in glory. But we stuck together and got over the line.”
