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Awoniyi makes Premier League debut as Nottingham Forest fall to Newcastle United

Two second-half goals from Schar and Wilson decided the tie at the St. James Park.
Newcastle United 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Newcastle United 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Nigeria's Taiwo Awoniyi was nowhere to be found as newly promoted Nottingham Forest lost 2-0 to Newcastle United in their opening game of the Premier League season.

Second-half goals from Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson meant that Steve Cooper's side started their campaign on a sour note.

Awoniyi came on as a 63rd-minute substitute to make his Premier League debut following his summer arrival from Bundesliga side Union Berlin but was unable to make any meaningful impact.

Newcastle's goalkeeper Nick Pope, couldn't have asked for a quieter debut as the hosts had complete control of the first half, pressing hard enough to make it difficult for Steve Cooper's team to play.

For all of their dominance, Eddie Howe’s men struggled to work Dean Henderson in the Forest goal with the first half ending in a goalless deadlock.

The visitors' attack was relying on scraps, but Jesse Lingard alerted Newcastle of his talent by receiving a pass from Lewis O'Brien and sprinting toward the goal before Fabian Schar blocked his attempt.

Newcastle finally broke the deadlock in the second half, though no other than Schar. Forest thought they had cleared the danger, but Schar was allowed to drift unchallenged to the edge of the box, sending a monstrous strike, which flew beyond Henderson into the top corner.

Now Forest needed to launch a comeback, but it was extremely unlikely given that they had not registered a single shot on target in the first 70 minutes.

New signings Orel Mangala and Taiwo Awoniyi, came off the bench for the visitors but were overpowered by Newcastle's defence. 

Newcastle doubled their lead and sealed the game as Joelinton show a great vision to find Callum Wilson whose first-time shot was precise enough to beat Henderson.

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