English side Nottingham Forest were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace at The City Ground on Saturday with Super Eagles defender Ola Aina returning to the side.
Forest also retained their unbeaten record in head to heads against the Eagles since returning to the Premier League, increasing their chances of staying in the division after the final outcome.
It was Aina's first game for the team since he returned from the AFCON held in Ivory Coast. He helped his side climb out of the relegation zone with a decent performance for the Reds against Crystal Palace.
Consistent Ola Aina's return excites the City Ground
Since joining the Forest side last summer, Aina has been one of the most consistent players for the side so far this season. He might not be the star player who will go get all the goals but his displays have always got fans rubbing their hands together in excitement.
Aina has fit in nicely at Forest and has even looked at home in that starting XI except for a couple of injuries.
The 27-year-old who was in action for 84 minutes against Palace has not featured for Nottingham Forest since December 30, when he starred in the club’s important 2-1 home victory over Manchester United.
After the United game, Aina spent January and early February with the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations held in Ivory Coast, where the Super Eagles secured a runners-up medal after losing to the hosts in the final.
The former Chelsea full-back earned his place in the team of the tournament after his exploits in all seven games.
Since playing with an injury in the semi-final and final matches of the AFCON against South Africa and Ivory Coast respectively, the exciting wingback has been out of action up until his return today against Crystal Palace. He was recently left out of the Super Eagles squad that prosecuted international friendlies games against Ghana and Mali.
Forest needed a result as relegation reality surfaces
Heading into Saturday's clash, Forest found themselves in the relegation zone due to a four-point deduction by the FA.
They fell behind inside 11 minutes when Eberechi Eze squared for Jean-Philippe Mateta who finished briliantly past Matz Sels in goal to give the visitors the lead, registering his third goal in four Premier League games.
The English midfielder then caused more problems and nearly doubled Palace's lead just before the end of the first half but Sels stood his ground to deny the midfielder from a very close range.
Forest improved in the second half as Coach Nuno Espírito Santo replaced Ibrahim Sangaré with Anthony Elanga, and after both team had missed chances, the City Ground came to life as Forest found a leveller shortly after the hour mark.
Morgan Gibbs-White floated the ball into the area, and with his back to goal, Chris Wood impressively guided a header over Dean Henderson for his eighth goal in his last 11 matches.
The Reds looked to pounce again after grabbing an equaliser, with Reyna's dangerous effort parried away by Henderson. Also, Gibbs-White fired a vicious shot just over the crossbar from the edge of the area.
What next for Aina and Forest?
The Reds under Nuno will be banking on some home advantage at the City Ground when they host in-form Fulham on April 2 in the Premier League.
A victory in that clash would be valuable, as it would put Forest further away from the drop zone as we hit the business end of the season.
Aina will hope to stay injury-free as he aims to help his side avoid a return to the Championship. The experienced full-back has only scored one goal for Forest all season, in a deserved 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
