Forest boss speaks on Awoniyi horror penalty miss

Nottingham Forest boss has spoken on the penalty miss by Taiwo Awoniyi that knocked them out of the League Cup in England.

Awoniyi blasted his decisive kick in a penalty shootout to the stands against Newcastle.

Forest fell 4-3 on penalties after they were tied with fellow Premier League club Newcastle at 1-1 after full time.

Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said he was happy Awoniyi got more game time to raise his fitness, but the penalty miss will hurt his confidence.

“It was good. In the end it was clear he was lacking some energy but he worked very hard until the end,” he said.

“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.

 “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.”

Awoniyi, back from injury again, has fallen down the pecking order of strikers at Forest.

He has been named in the Super Eagles squad for 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda next month.