Awoniyi’s Forest winless run goes on after Palace stalemate

Nottingham Forest’s winless run stretched to four Premier League games after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Nigeria’s duo of Taiwo Awoniyi and Ola Aina were not in action. Both players are nursing different injuries.

Forest had much the better of the play in the first half, with a superb first-time volley from Morgan Gibbs-White hiting the post and a solo run and strike from Murillo kept out by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

Jean-Philippe Mateta slipped and missed Palace’s best chance in the second half but the hosts otherwise offered very little in attack, surviving late pressure from the visitors to see out the draw.

With two defeats from eight games this term, Palace sit ninth in the standings on 12 points, above Manchester United and Chelsea, while Forest are three points further back in 13th.

Forest attempted 16 shots in the match; only once have they recorded more in a Premier League fixture in which they failed to score since returning to the top flight in 2022.

“We had the better moments in the game, the more clear cut chances,” Gibbs-White told Sky Sports. “We were unlucky not to get the three points but compared to where we were last season, this is a step forward.”

“We will take the point but we know deep down if we had taken our chances, we would be going away with the three points.

Palace have recorded more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than any other side, with the Eagles’ four shutouts their most from their opening eight matches of a league season since 1993-94 in the second tier and most at this stage in a top-flight campaign since 1979-80.

“Twelve points from eight games at this stage of the season is a very good return” Palace boss Roy Hodgson said.

“Each game has had a story, the story of today was not what we dreamed of but we dealt with the story, we will take the point and move on.”

-Reuters