Nottingham Forest vs. West Ham result, highlights, manager reaction from dream Premier League homecoming

Abraham Smith

THE CITY GROUND, NOTTINGHAM – After 23 years without Premier League football in this corner of the East Midlands, Nottingham Forest marked their homecoming with a 1-0 win over West Ham United.

A quartet of summer signings proved to be the heroes of the forest on a muggy afternoon: Dean Henderson with a saved penalty, Jesse Lingard and Neco Williams with outstanding performances and Taiwo Awoniyi with the winning goal.

“Catch up 23 years in six weeks” was the motto of the club this week, and that was also reflected in the starting XI with eight newcomers. The minor updates to the 124-year-old stadium were also evident, with a refresh of facilities to bring it up to speed for the big time, having spent a generation in English Football League.

Luckily, the changes didn’t affect the structure of the ground, as the noise echoed beautifully off the steel surrounding this old-school stadium. Forest fans enjoyed their day, even with temperatures reaching 32C, making for a bustling town and at times deafening atmosphere during the 90 minutes leading up to it. The Premier League is certainly a better place for that.

Despite the heat, the first half had a nice pace, with Forest making up for the lack of a finish with plenty of effort. They started with the lighter of the two sides, with former Liverpool man Williams creating a couple of half-chances for Awoniyi, with the No9 unable to catch up.

At times a threat down the right in Steve Cooper’s 3-5-2, Williams offered a level of attacking quality that surpassed the men before him but one that was surpassed by Lingard. The England international excelled in the first half and was central to Forest’s entire game.

Lingard was constantly in the room, played a few dangerous high balls, initiated counterattacks and always helped back to help defensively, especially on the left wing. He also caused an early yellow card for one of his former Irons teammates in Declan Rice, but the visitors’ captain was undeterred.

From about the 20th minute, Rice and Pablo Fornals in particular began to get the ball and dictate the midfield battle a little more. Forest’s central pair began to settle, allowing West Ham to create half-chances of their own.

Mikhail Antonio was a man struggling to even get into the game, at times visibly frustrated as the game was ten yards ahead and his few touches didn’t materialize. During the mid-half drinks break, David Moyes was deep in conversation with him to rejuvenate his game.

It didn’t work – and the ex-Forest center forward then had a particularly costly contribution. West Ham had an opener for Said Benrahma – who had started the move himself with an excellent solo run across the field that picked apart two chasing Forest players – who was ruled out on a foul by Antonio in the build-up.

Forest got away with one, Lewis O’Brien lost Benrahma rather lazily. On the other end, Awoniyi was a man who was far from lazy, showing a lot of rush and making the runs, albeit without the quality required. He also faced Kurt Zouma in an actual physical fight, although he should have shown the nous to take the easier route by forcing himself on the shakier Ben Johnson instead.

However, the £18million striker’s efforts were rewarded with a goal he didn’t know much about. Not that it bothers him: he’s the scorer of Forest’s first Premier League goal in over two decades.

Harry Toffolo entered the stall from the left where Forest had made hay a couple of times and found Lingard in the middle. His ball bounced off Ben Johnson into the run of Awoniyi, whose stride had enough power to deflect the ball past Lukasz Fabianski in first-half injury time.

Just after the break, Fornals hit the bar with a sensational long-range shot that bounced off the line before Henderson parried the rebound. After that Forest thought they had taken a 2-0 lead only for a second goal of the afternoon brought back by VAR. Brennan Johnson – who struggled in the opening stages without finishing – lifted the ball well over Fabianski after being teed up by Orel Mangala but was slightly offside.

West Ham then hit the woodwork a second time from a Benrahma free-kick before the shrewd winger – his urgency the perfect antidote to the Irons’ general patience and composure at The City Ground – broke through with a brilliant counterattack moments later and squared for Tomás Soukek . The Czech’s try was handled by Scott McKenna – unnecessarily as Henderson would have saved him anyway – and a penalty was awarded after a VAR check.

Henderson – with a big point to prove after speaking about how unfairly he believed he had been treated by Manchester United last season – stepped forward to spare McKenna’s blush but saved Rice’s penalty. One of the division’s best midfielders, who is now taking charge following the retirement of Mark Noble, telegraphed his effort to the right of the goalkeeper. Alongside Lingard, the ex-Red Devils proved to be the heroes for Forest.

Williams provided a few more inspirational moments in the second half too – first creating a great opportunity for Moussa Niakhate at the back post and then denying Zouma at the other end with a goal-line clearance.

West Ham had the lion’s share of the attacking third but never really looked like turning the screw as the sleeping East Midlands giants held on despite an agonizing seven minutes of added time. New signings Gianluca Scamacca and Maxwell Cornet came off the bench without much effect for the visitors and the Moyes boys have dropped zero points in their first two games.

For Forest, meanwhile, it’s a dream house where he returns to the big days. As well as handling the incoming wire transfers – of which more are to come – their form in this cauldron will be absolutely crucial to any survival offering.

Score Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

1H 2H final
Nottingham Forest 1 0 1
west ham 0 0 0

Goals: Taiwo Awoniyi (45th minute)

Steve Cooper’s reaction after the game

“In the first half we were the much better team, we took the game to West Ham. There was the occasion and the football. The atmosphere was great anyway, but that made it even better.

“We should have done more. We were by far the better team. They had a few outliers. We could have been better on the road.

“In the second half there wasn’t much of a plan to sit down and watch the game, but I understand why the team had to play a little more carefully. We had to show passion, with good technical and tactical defence. We should have scored from set pieces in the second half.

“We knew [the squad overhaul] came. We were prepared for it. We have a way of working.

“We didn’t play very well against Newcastle and lost, we played very well today and won. Training this week has been brilliant. I really liked the identity of how we worked this week. We go back to work tomorrow and prepare for the next game.

“[Henderson] was excellent. He looked like a really good goalkeeper. His distribution was good, his decision making was good. He was tactically good with his formation.

“He did well last week, he did well this week. For big moments you need goalkeepers. He had some today. That’s his job, he did it well. What he will do is review the game properly and work even harder this week to keep improving. This is how we work.

“We knew today was a very important day – I told the players that there are three generations of fans here today. I want to dedicate the win to all the supporters who couldn’t come here today. We could have quadrupled that [attendance].

“This image of the Brian Clough stand, the two levels, is a sight that the older generation will see [recognise]. This is a floor that can help you win games. We will try to win every game, especially here.

“[Lingard] showed really good moments today – his movement, his tactical work. He balanced his game between midfielders and the two forwards. There are so many of our guys who are not 100% fit. [Mangala] made his first start today and has only been in training for a few weeks. It’s another step forward to becoming a full-fledged team.

“I would like [make a couple more signings], Yes. I hope everyone examines why we need to make these commitments. It’s a real necessity, we had no choice. There will definitely be some ins and outs.

“[Awoniyi was] Well. He was a real handful with his tenacity, his general movement. He had a real impact on how we played so high up on the pitch. He has also settled in well off the pitch. It immediately felt like home.”

David Moye’s reaction after the game

“Very frustrating. The first 20 minutes frustrated me. We were really poor. We grew into the game.

“We didn’t deserve the result, that’s for sure. Wald was powerful, strong, wanted to take the first ball under pressure and the second ball.

David Moyes Sunderland Premier League

“The ball should have gone in. We created enough chances and didn’t take them. We were a bit slow [in preseason]we are a bit behind.

“[Cornet and Scamacca] could have started today. They come closer. Both lack minutes in the preseason. We’re not worried. Maybe they are not ready to play 90 minutes.

“Manuel Lanzini took and scored penalties last season. We had Declan in mind today.

“No, that doesn’t mean [he’ll be on them] all seasons. Declan was in a penalty shootout today.”

Highlights Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

*Only available in UK:

*Only available in the US:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *