Taiwo Awoniyi was on the pitch for less than 15 minutes but made a bigger impact than his fellow Nigerian, Emmanuel Dennis, who played 78 minutes.
Awoniyi was a late substitute for Nottingham Forest, coming in for Dennis with 12 minutes remaining, but it was from his movement that the home side managed to rescue a 2-2 draw against Brentford.
Dennis missed a close-range header before Morgan Gibbs-White delivered a belter from just outside the box following some silky dribbling skills to inflict the visitors’ 50th conceded goal on the road in just 23 away games.
However, Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumbo’s well-taken spot-kick restored parity on the stroke of half-time after Ryan Yates went down in the box. A defensive mishap that started with the ball striking Awoniyi before it rebounded in off unlucky Brentford defender Zanka saw Gibbs-White slam it home to make it 2-2.
The former Watford striker, however, struggled in an unfamiliar wide role and managed just one attempt on target before he was taken off for his compatriot Awoniyi with 12 minutes remaining.
Awoniyi’s presence was immediately felt by the Brentford defence as he caused them problems with his movement and he could have equalised in injury time had he not headed just wide after out jumping everyone in the box.
It, was, however from his presence in the box that he prevented Brentford goalkeeper David Raya from claiming a cross which fell into the path of Gibbs-White and the forward’s shot deflected off Zanka to equalise.
The Bees failed to put an end to their dreadful winless streak on the road, narrowly missing out on a first away win at the death. Nottingham, on the other hand, will take inspiration from their last-minute equaliser going forward, as they avoided a ninth defeat this season but they remain bottom of the table.
(Written with report from goal.com)