The coach of English Premier League side Nottingham Forest Nuno Espirito Santo says Nigeria international striker Taiwo Awoniyi is slowly getting back to his best after his performance in their Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle United, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Awoniyi played the entire duration of the game which ended in a 1-1 draw in regulation time, leaving both sides to be divided by the lottery of penalty kicks which the Nigerian unfortunately skied his effort wide.
His missed kick handed Newcastle the win and progression to the next round, but the coach is pleased with the fact that Awoniyi lasted the entire duration of the game as he continues to work his way back to full fitness after battling with niggling injuries in the past few months.
He however said the Nigerian was guilty of so many missed chances in the game,.even before it went to penalty kicks but said it’s expected as he is yet to reach full speed.
On Awoniyi playing 90 minutes…
“It was good. In the end it was clear he was lacking some energy but he worked very hard until the end.
“He had two or three good chances to finish. We want to give Taiwo this opportunity to raise his levels of fitness because the talent is there.”
On whether the penalty miss will affect Awoniyi’s confidence…
“Always. You cannot ignore the (penalty) moment for all of us, especially for the player involved in that situation. But we are here to support him and we don’t have too much time for sorrow because we go again on Saturday.”
