OLA Aina was on the winning side against his Super Eagles of Nigeria teammates Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey as his Nottingham Forest secured a crucial 3-1 victory over Fulham in an English Premier League clash at the City Ground tonight.
Although Forest were without the talismanic Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi who is nursing a knock, Aina was in the starting line-up as they scored three first half goals.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White all struck in a first half blitz that stunned Fulham, who pulled one back through Tosin Adarabioyo, the centre-back with Nigerian heritage, early in the second half.
While the versatile Aina, who played left-back, lasted for 83 minutes, Iwobi was withdrawn in the 33rd minute for Fulham apparently as a result of poor performance.
Bassey and his centre-back partner Adarabioyo played the full game as Fulham stay in 13th place and Forest moved three points clear of the relegation zone.
In another Premier League clash tonight, Tottenham Hotspur’s top four bid suffered a blow as they played a 1-1 draw at West Ham United.
Brennan Johnson gave the visitors the lead in the fifth minute but captain Kurt Zouma restored parity for West Ham in the 19th minute as Spurs remain in fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
Also tonight in the Premier League, Bournemouth edged past Crystal Palace 1-0, while there were 1-1 draws between Burnley and Wolves as well as Newcastle United and Everton.
