Super Eagles defender Ola Aina was delighted after helping Nottingham Forest reach the semi-finals of this season’s UEFA Europa League competition at the expense of FC Porto, Footynaija.com reports.
Forest faced the Portuguese giants at The City Ground on Thursday night after initially playing out a 1-1 draw in the first leg last week and Morgan Gibbs-White’s 12th minute opener was enough to secure the win and ensure progression into the last four.
Speaking after the game, Aina, who played all ninety minutes and helped to keep Porto at bay expressed happiness with the hard-fought win, insisting that it was no more than Nottingham Forest deserve.
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“We never made it easy for ourselves, but I cannot complain. We’re into the semifinals of the Europa League, so I’m happy with it,” he told Forest TV.
“It feels amazing after the season we’ve been having. Sometimes these rewards feel phenomenal, so I’m just happy to get into a semi-final with these boys, this club. Everybody deserves it.”
He also praised his teammates for their hard work and dedication towards securing victory despite facing some minor hiccups during the course of the game.
“The character of the boys, and the quality as well, to be honest. We have the quality to do these types of things, so it’s definitely a testament to ourselves and the club.
“There was a bit of confusion. Some of us wanted to settle the play, some wanted to get more goals, so it was just a bit of confusion. But the core thing was to work hard and sort it out — and that’s what we did.
“The rest of the games are must-wins. Sunday, we are going in with full focus, and we’ll play just as tough and hard as we did tonight.”
Nottingham Forest’s reward for reaching the Europa League semi-finals is a huge clash against English rivals Aston Villa. Before that though, they must quickly return focus to the Premier League ahead of a crucial bottom of the table clash against Burnley.
