Forest boss Dyche ‘buzzing’ for Awoniyi

Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche said he was “buzzing” after striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored for the first time in a year in a 2-0 win at Brentford.

Forest were hanging on to Igor Jesus’ first-half opener when Awoniyi, on as a substitute, chased Morgan Gibbs-White’s long ball down the line.

The 28-year-old stepped inside Michael Kayode’s tackle and slipped the ball beyond Caoimhin Kelleher.

It was Awoniyi’s first goal since last January and his first since requiring emergency abdominal surgery after colliding with a post against Leicester in May.

“We are absolutely buzzing,” Dyche said. “He works hard for us and he’s trained well. Funnily enough, I chatted with him last week and reminded him to be free, and he looked free when he came on.

“It was a very good finish. He’s been knocking on the door, he’s been working hard for the team and he gets a reward with a really good bit of play and a really fine finish.

“I’ve not gone too deeply with him. That’s by the by, you don’t keep reflecting back, or I certainly don’t. I wasn’t here when that went on.

“I know it was very serious. But just generally, get on with it, just come and enjoy yourself.

“He had a bit of a soft spell a couple of weeks ago and then he’s come out of it the last week.

“He’s looked sharper and come back to life, let’s say. I had absolutely no doubt in putting him on. I thought, ‘Yeah, absolutely, go and play’.”

The victory eased Forest’s relegation fears, restoring their five-point cushion over 18th-placed West Ham.

Brentford could have climbed into the top five with a win, but instead slipped to only their second home defeat of the campaign.

“Really frustrating, is the honest answer,” was the assessment of boss Keith Andrews.

“We can’t be content with a good performance, we have to be ruthless. They had two shots on target and scored.

“We can’t just pat ourselves on the back and say, ‘Haven’t we done well the last few weeks?’. We need to evolve as a team and solve those problems.”