Taiwo Awoniyi scored his fourth English Premier League goal of the season for Nottingham Forest to help them record their first away win of the season in a 1-0 win over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday but it was a day of mixed feelings for the Nigerian who limped off the pitch in the 71st minute. 

Awoniyi scored the only goal of the encounter in the 27th minute from close range after being expertly played in by Brennan Johnson. Johnson played a huge role in the goal picking the ball just after the centre circle after an error by the Southampton defender and running several meters before releasing the crucial pass. 

The Nigeria international who was named Man of the Match in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea over the weekend was lively in the entire match before being replaced by Sam Surridge in the 71st minute as a precautionary move by manager Steve Cooper.

The 25-year-old’s goal put an end to Forest’s run of 576 minutes (9 hours and 36 mins) without a Premier League away goal. The goal is their second away from home in league this season, 137 days since their previous away goal at Everton in August.

The Super Eagles forward was also named Man of the Match in a poll conducted by the club on Twitter. He beat Brennan Johnson, Renan Lodi and Joe Worrall to the gong after picking up 45% of votes from a total of 3,780 fans. 

The victory sees Forest move out of the relegation zone to the 15th spot. They have 17 points from 18 league games.