Super Eagles defender Ola Aina played the entire 90 minutes as Nottingham Forest were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers at the City Ground, a result that does little to ease their Premier League relegation concerns.
Forest entered the match under pressure and looking to end a poor run of home form, having failed to win any of their last four league games at the City Ground. Facing the league’s bottom side appeared to present a good opportunity to return to winning ways, but wastefulness in front of goal proved costly.
The hosts dominated large spells of the first half and created several clear chances. Callum Hudson Odoi came close early on when he fired narrowly wide of the far post. Morgan Gibbs White then missed a golden opportunity against his former club, heading wide from close range after meeting Elliot Anderson’s inviting cross.
January signing Lorenzo Lucca was handed his first Premier League start and had a chance to justify his inclusion, but he blazed over from a promising position. The striker later found the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Forest registered 16 shots before the break but failed to convert any of them.
After the restart, the pattern remained the same. Forest continued to push forward, yet their finishing let them down. Hudson Odoi directed a weak effort straight at Jose Sa, while Neco Williams saw a long range strike deflect onto the roof of the net.
Wolves gradually grew in confidence as Forest squandered more opportunities. Mateus Mane nearly stole the points for the visitors when he forced Stefan Ortega into a sharp save at the near post. At the other end, Sa produced an outstanding double save to deny Igor Jesus and Morato from close range, capping a superb individual performance that saw him make 10 saves in total.
Ola Aina delivered a solid defensive display despite the disappointing result. He recorded one interception, five clearances and four recoveries, while completing 46 of his 51 passes. The Nigerian also registered 73 touches and lost possession nine times.
The goalless draw leaves Forest just three points above the relegation zone and extends their winless home run to five league matches. Wolves remain bottom of the table but extended their unbeaten away run in this fixture to 10 matches.
