Wonderful, blessed relief was the overriding emotion at the London Stadium as Nottingham Forest secured a victory that left them seven points clear of the bottom three and a West Ham side managed by Nuno Espírito Santo.
After four consecutive defeats, what mattered most was finding a way to win against their beleaguered former manager. Morgan Gibbs-White’s late penalty gave them the victory they craved after West Ham had taken the lead early in the first half and Nico Dominguez equalised for Forest after half-time.
“It can’t always be beautiful, you have to find different ways of winning sometimes,” was the accurate assessment from the Forest manager Sean Dyche.
But with a crucial period approaching — including a difficult FA Cup clash at Wrexham, a visit from the league leaders Arsenal and a vital Europa League game away to Braga — there is room for improvement.
With little time to enjoy their success before heading to Wales on Friday, The Athletic takes a look at where Dyche’s side can still improve as they look to progress in two cup competitions and fend off the threat of relegation…
Isolated Igor Jesus needs greater support
There was a picture doing the rounds on social media of Jesus trying to control a ball deep in West Ham territory during the first half.
In the image, the West Ham manager Nuno was closer to Jesus — from his technical area on the edge of the pitch — than any Forest player. Seven West Ham players were in frame but nobody else in a cream coloured shirt.
It was an exaggerated example of one of Forest’s biggest problems. It was to Jesus’ credit that 16 of his 21 passes in the opposition half were accurate, because too often he was left trying to control a long ball down field, while looking for a team-mate to help him out. In the first half, neither of the two Forest wingers, Callum Hudson-Odoi or Omari Hutchinson, offered him regular support.
The substitute Dilane Bakwa played a part in one positive moment early in the second half,when he and Jesus exchanged passes to get Forest moving in a way that had not happened enough and they did improve as the game wore on.
Stop making silly individual mistakes
At the start of Dyche’s reign, Forest seemed to cut out the errors that had been a feature under Ange Postecoglou. But here we are again.
West Ham’s opening goal came after Omari Hutchinson tried some needlessly clever footwork in a dangerous area, allowing Ollie Scarles to nick the ball and force a corner. From the set piece the unfortunate Murillo had little time to react as he deflected Tomas Soucek’s header into his own net.
It was more bad luck than an error from the Brazil defender but it was still a corner that Forest should not have been defending in the first place.
Soucek’s header deflects off Murillo and into the Forest goal to put West Ham ahead (Ben STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
At 22, Hutchinson is a young player still learning his trade, and he is also definitely not alone when it comes to costly mistakes. The goalkeeper John Victor gifted Aston Villa a goal when he went walkabout at the weekend. Hutchinson was hooked at half-time by Dyche and you hope it is a hard lesson, learnt quickly.
They have made six errors that have led to goals this season, which is the fourth most in the division, behind Wolves (nine), Villa (seven) and Burnley (seven). Four of those have come under Dyche. They have also made 23 errors that have led to shooting chances, with only Tottenham (24) having a worse record.
It is clear this Forest team need to find their focus again collectively.
Forest need to be about more than just set pieces
Forest might not have matched the remarkable 52 crosses they mustered against Everton, but there was one stat that stood out: Only five of the 27 balls delivered into the box were successful.
Without the physical presence of a forward like Chris Wood, they do not have a focal point. That dynamic changes from set-pieces, when the likes of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic can add aerial power, and Forest’s goals came from Nico Dominguez looping a header over Alphonse Areola from a corner and the West Ham goalkeeper conceding a penalty when attempting to punch a cross.
But, in open play, their most promising opportunities came when they carried the ball into dangerous areas. When Neco Williams, Forest’s best player, cut in from the left side and progressed to the edge of the box, Areola had to produce a fine save to prevent him from finding the corner. When Hudson-Odoi made a similar move, it was the crossbar that denied him.
Forest need to find more creativity and more inventiveness in the final third. The 27 big chances they have created in 21 games is below the divisional average of 31.35 — and way behind Manchester City, with 57.
Rediscover some of their old spark
Dyche, with some justification, continues to point to the inexperience of players like Jesus, Bakwa and Hutchinson in the top flight. The two young wingers have both shown their naivety, as well as their potential.
But nine of the starting XI at the London Stadium were a core part of the squad that, this time last year, were sitting third in the table and level on 40 points with Arsenal after 20 games.
Yes, Forest overachieved under Nuno. But at times at the London Stadium it was like watching last season’s side in standard definition, rather than HD. They are lacking sharpness and clarity.
What matters more than anything is that Forest got the job done. But this felt a little like the 2022 Championship play-off final against Huddersfield down the road at Wembley. Forest were not at their best but they did enough.
Again there were two VAR decisions that their opposition might have felt were contentious, but both were correct. West Ham had a Crysencio Summerville goal ruled out for offside and an unusual, but justifiable, penalty decision went Forest’s way when Areola attempted to punch clear but instead clattered Gibbs-White.
Areola crashes into Gibbs-White, resulting in Forest’s penalty (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Perhaps last season’s push for Champions League football was a glitch in the matrix that may not be repeated for some time.
But there is still a core of players at Forest who have shown they are capable of providing far more quality and consistency than they have done lately.