Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has revealed that he was impressed by the performance of Taiwo Awoniyi in their 3-1 win over Leeds United on Sunday, SportPremi reports.
The Tricky Trees recorded a first win under their new manager and a second league win of the season, since a 3-1 win over Brentford on the opening weekend.
Awoniyi, who was not included in Eric Chelle’s squad for Nigeria’s crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Gabon later this week, came on in the second half of the tie and was influential as his side came back from a goal down to seal the win.
It marked the Super Eagles striker’s fourth league appearance of the season, as he continues to work his way back to full fitness after suffering a horror injury towards the end of last season.
What Sean Dyche said
Speaking after the game, Sean Dyche who remains unbeaten since taking charge of the club after a dismal spell by Ange Postecoglou, shared words of admiration about Taiwo Awoniyi.
“Tee {Taiwo Awoniyi} was excellent. Tee seemed a little bit lost when we got here but he knows he’s got a part to play for us. I thought he was excellent,” Dyche said.
The former Burnley manager also expressed satisfaction with the team’s overall display and singled out Morgan Gibbs-White for praise, as they ended their winless streak in the league.
“He did well to get in it [the England squad]. People forget that. People say, ‘Oh well, he must be really disappointed’, but he got in it.
“So it doesn’t mean he can’t get in it again”, Sean Dyche revealed.
“Getting himself back to the basics of what he does, that energy, I call it infectious – the on-pitch presence and being infectious around the group and then going and relaxing and scoring goals.
“He’s had unfair question marks, and fairly or unfairly is irrelevant. We all know what makes a story”, he concluded.
How it happened
Nottingham Forest went into the clash without a win since the opening weekend of the 2025-26 EPL season, while Leeds United were searching for a first away win in three matches.
Lukas Nmecha opened the scoring for the visitors early on in the encounter, before the hosts equalized two minutes later through Ibrahim Sangare, who netted his first goal for the club.
Sean Dyche turned to his bench and made a couple of substitutions and it was one of those players who proved decisive in the latter stages of the game.
Omari Hutchinson first provided the cross for Morgan Gibbs-White to head home and put Forest 2-1 ahead, before the winger was fouled in the box, allowing Elliot Anderson to increase the lead from the penalty spot.
Forest remain 19th on the standings with nine points, while Leeds United drop down to 16th with just 11 points so far.
