Neil Warnock was quite happy to accept Onel Hernandez getting booked for his celebrations after the Norwich City loanee sealed a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest for Middlesbrough.

The Cuban winger was only making his second appearance since joining Boro, retaining his starting role after playing the opening hour of a 2-0 defeat at Coventry on Saturday.

He pounced on a heavy touch from Forest keeper Joe Lumley in the 72nd minute and sped to an unguarded net to finish calmly in front of 1,400 away supporters, whipping off his shirt and celebrating wildly with his new fans.

It proved to be the goal that sealed the fate of former Canaries boss Chris Hughton, who was dismissed after a seventh match without a win left his team bottom of the Championship with just one point.

It was a significant moment for Hernandez though, having not scored a goal in 21 games for Norwich last season due to injury issues, scoring his first goal at club level since City's 4-2 win at Preston in the FA Cup in January 2020.

“I was glad for Onel to score that goal," Boro boss Neil Warnock told Teesside Live.

"To score in front of the crowd as well, I think I’d have got booked if I were him tonight. Great feeling.”

Hernandez only played 45 minutes of pre-season for Norwich before being one of the players forced into isolation by a Covid-19 outbreak, having started later than most players after summer international action.

He took to Instagram after the game to say: "What a night. Great team performance and happy about my first goal for Boro. Thanks to all the supporters."

- You can watch his goal in the video at the top of this article

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