Taiwo Awoniyi bags assist in Nottingham Forest win

Taiwo Awoniyi provided a late assist as Nottingham Forest hammered Sunderland 5-0 in their Matchday 34 fixture on Friday, easing themselves further clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

​Awoniyi was introduced with just two minutes of regulation time remaining and made an immediate impact, recording his first Premier League assist of the season.

 

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In the fifth minute of added time, the Nigerian striker set up Elliot Anderson, who slotted home to make it 5-0. The result allows Forest to establish a crucial eight-point gap over 18th-placed Tottenham, who have only five games left to play.

​Forest thrive at the Stadium of Light

​Aided by a shambolic defensive performance from Regis Le Bris’ men, Forest effectively put the game to bed before the half-time interval.

Trai Hume’s unfortunate own goal in the 17th minute sparked a spectacular collapse; Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Igor Jesus all found the net within a frantic six-minute window before Anderson added the fifth at the death.

​Also featuring for Forest was Ola Aina, who played the full 90 minutes to mark his 17th top-flight appearance of the campaign.

​With this victory, Nottingham Forest extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to eight matches.

Conversely, they inflicted the Black Cats’ heaviest home defeat in decades, marking a low point for Sunderland as they conceded four or more goals in successive fixtures.