By Korede James
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has praised Super Eagles defender Ola Aina for his late goal-line clearance that helped Nottingham Forest secure a 3-2 win over Southampton.
Forest continued their impressive run with a hard-fought victory against relegation-threatened Southampton in Sunday’s English Premier League fixture at the City Ground.
Nuno’s side raced to a 3-0 first half lead thanks to goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood.
But it became a nervy end to the game after Jan Bednarek (60th minute) and Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu (91st minute) scored.
Southampton almost drew level deep in stoppage time but Aina denied Bednarek on the line to heroically preserve three points for his team.
The Nigeria international was also the hero as his goal-line clearance denied Mohamed Salah the winner in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the penultimate fixture.
“I think he (Aina) did the same in a previous game,” Nuno said after Sunday’s win.
“It is one of his tasks. I hope it doesn’t become a problem for us, set pieces.
“We have to work on that. You have to look back and see how demanding the game before was (against Liverpool).
“The high intensity required from our players in terms of focus and we knew this could happen. It was a warning for everybody to realise this league is very tough.”
Forest are third in the Premier League table, tied on points with second-placed Arsenal, who a superior goal difference.
Their next league fixture is a tricky trip to high-flying Bournemouth on Saturday.
