Football Review | Nottingham Forest 0 - 3 West Ham

A superb away performance from West Ham

They struck three times in the closing stages to ease the pressure on Graham Potter, sealing a deserved victory over Nottingham Forest.

Author | Jamie Pugh

Stadium | The City Ground

Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring before Lucas Paquetá converted from the penalty spot and Callum Wilson added his first goal for the club to wrap up the Hammers’ first win of the campaign, after what had threatened to become a bruising start.

Potter will have taken comfort from a solid if uneventful first half, particularly given West Ham’s recent defensive fragility. Forest, laboured and short of ideas, rarely threatened, with Paquetá testing Matz Sels in the only real opening of the half.

After the break, Sels kept Forest in contention, denying Niclas Füllkrug and Wilson. But Bowen’s breakthrough and Paquetá’s penalty, awarded after Crysencio Summerville was fouled, finally broke their resistance before Wilson put the result beyond doubt.

Nuno Espírito Santo, Forest’s manager, is now expected to hold discussions with the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, after voicing his frustrations over a lack of progress in the transfer market. Visit Super Local Sports News for the Forest reaction to this match.

A great away day for West Ham fans

There was a great atmosphere in the away end after the match.

Relief for Potter

Potter’s restrained double fist pump after Wilson’s late goal spoke to the pressure he has been under. The win was just his sixth in 24 matches since taking over in January, a record that has left his position under scrutiny.

Before the trip to the City Ground, back-to-back defeats to Sunderland and Chelsea had heightened the sense of jeopardy. His tally now stands at 23 points from 21 matches, the same number of points Julen Lopetegui collected in one fewer game before being dismissed.

There is precedent at West Ham for decisive action but this performance offered evidence of progress. Bowen once again led by example and, for the first time this season, Potter’s side looked both organised and purposeful. The result may not resolve every doubt but it showed there is resilience and quality in this team.