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9 August, 2014

Antonio debut goal vs Blackpool

On this day in 2014 Michail Antonio scores on his Forest league debut against Blackpool.

Player legacies

Senior debut
Michail Antonio, former Forest player.
Michail Antonio, former Forest player. Image: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Michail Antonio made an immediate impact on his Forest league debut, scoring in a 2-0 Championship win over Blackpool at the City Ground.

The match was Stuart Pearce’s first league game at home as Forest manager, and the crowd had plenty to watch. Antonio and Britt Assombalonga had both arrived only days earlier, bringing pace, power and a fresh attacking edge.

Michail Antonio, former Forest player.
Michail Antonio, former Forest player. Image: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Antonio scored the opener after 25 minutes. Andy Reid struck the post from around 25 yards after Blackpool gave the ball away cheaply, and Antonio reacted quickly to turn in the rebound. Five minutes later, Chris Burke made it 2-0 with a left-footed strike from around 25 yards.

Antonio’s debut offered an early sign of what he would bring: direct running, strength and a constant threat in wide areas. He quickly became one of Forest’s standout players that season.

His stay at the City Ground was not especially long, but it was productive. The Blackpool goal was the first league marker of a Forest spell remembered for energy, goals and a player already looking too powerful for many Championship defences.

Sources

ESPN; The Guardian; Nottingham Forest official site

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