Ryan Yates could not hide his satisfaction with the performance of Taiwo Awoniyi in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 win over Liverpool while describing the Nigerian as a big game player.
Yates was also exceptional against Liverpool while acknowledging the support of fans during the vital victory against Liverpool.
Yates played an instrumental role in the game as Awoniyi’s second-half goal proved to be the difference at The City Ground, with Yates himself almost adding a second late on only for a superb Alisson save.
“The lads are all bedding in and we want more of the same. I’m so pleased for Taiwo Awoniyi because he’s scored some big goals and he’s a great team player and the lads who came on were fantastic,” Yates said.
With belief among the squad beginning to grow, Yates is keen to use this as the benchmark to continue building positive performances and results ahead of next weekend’s trip to Arsenal.
“We have to take confidence from the win and the clean sheet and we’re itching to get back into the training ground. I can sense the belief in the lads and we’re looking forward to next Sunday,” he added.
Meanwhile, Premier League pundit Garth Crooks has named Awoniyi in his Premier League team of the week after the Nottingham Forest centre-forward scored the winning goal against his former club Liverpool.
On Awoniyi, the pundit said: “Being employed by a top professional club without ever making the grade can take some getting over. Taiwo Awoniyi must have dreamt about scoring for Liverpool as a youngster but left without playing a single game.
“He could never have imagined that one day he would inflict one of the club’s most embarrassing defeats. Only football can throw up these strange events.”