Sam Surridge received a round of applause in the Nottingham Forest dressing room for his first goal in the Premier League, which earned his team a point against Bournemouth.
The striker came off the bench to find the back of the net against his former club, rescuing a 1-1 draw for the Reds after they had fallen behind to Jaidon Anthony’s opener at the Vitality Stadium. It was a memorable moment for Surridge - having been booed by the home fans - and it was an important one, too, for Cooper’s side.
They remain 13th in the table, four points above the relegation zone. And the Forest head coach was keen to ensure Surridge got the recognition he deserved.
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“We’re really fond of Sam. He’s been excellent since he came in about 12 months ago. I can only say positive things about him,” Cooper said.
“First and foremost, he works so hard. He’s a really popular lad, really well thought of, a brilliant teammate and has never let us down. Last year, in our promotion push, he scored some really important goals and put in some really important performances for us.
“At the moment - albeit he’s coming off the bench, and I know that’s not what any player wants to do - he’s having a good impact. We’re really pleased, because he’s helping, but also, we’re really pleased for him.
“I just pointed him out in the dressing room to everybody else; there was a round of applause for his first Premier League goal - and that’s because everybody is so fond of him.
“The most pleasing thing for me was when he scored, he got the ball and took it back to the centre spot. That tells you a great thing about our character and our togetherness, and the team we want to be. A point away from home in the Premier League will never be a disaster, but the fact we were then trying to win is a really good sign.
“I’ve got to look a little bit beyond the result and see how well we played in the second half and how superior we were to Bournemouth in the second half. And also, the fact we’ve shown great resilience to try to win games and take them to the death.”
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