Nottingham Forest recovered from an early setback and snatched a crucial success with a stoppage-time penalty, deepening the problems of relegation rivals West Ham United.
Nottingham Forest recovered from an early setback and snatched a crucial success with a stoppage-time penalty, deepening the problems of relegation rivals West Ham United.
The decisive moment arrived after a VAR review, when goalkeeper Alphonse Areola mistimed his attempt to punch clear and instead made contact with Morgan Gibbs-White inside the area.
Gibbs-White kept his nerve from 12 yards to end Forest’s run of four league defeats and extend the Hammers’ winless sequence to 10 matches, a slide that has dragged them into the bottom three.
West Ham made a positive start and was rewarded in the 13th minute when Crysencio Summerville’s curling corner from the left was glanced on by Tomas Soucek, with Murillo diverting the ball into his own net under pressure.
Forest responded with purpose and went close before the interval, Callum Hudson-Odoi striking the crossbar after beating Areola with a rising effort.
The home side briefly believed they had doubled their advantage when Summerville found the net, but the goal was chalked off after VAR judged debutant Valentin Castellanos to have strayed offside in the build-up.
That reprieve proved costly, as Forest levelled soon after half-time, again from a corner, Elliot Anderson’s delivery being met by a looping header from Nicolas Dominguez that dropped beyond the goalkeeper.
West Ham continued to push forward, Jarrod Bowen sending one attempt narrowly over, while Castellanos worked tirelessly on his first Premier League appearance following his move from Lazio.
Despite introducing January signing Pablo Felipe, whose deflected strike flew over the bar, the hosts were unable to find a second goal to restore control.
As the match edged towards a draw, Forest earned a lifeline when VAR intervened to award a penalty for Areola’s challenge, allowing Gibbs-White to seal a vital turnaround.
The final whistle was met by celebrations from the visitors, who move seven points clear of West Ham and gain breathing space after a difficult spell under Sean Dyche.
For the Hammers, now 18th and booed by sections of the crowd, the tension around Nuno Espirito Santo grows after another match in which a promising position yielded nothing.
