Awoniyi Goal Could Not Save Forest As West Ham Grab Late Winner
Tomas Soucek grabbed a late winner as West Ham came from behind to secure an entertaining Premier League win against Nottingham Forest.
Jarrod Bowen struck a second-half equaliser for the hosts before Soucek’s late winner at London Stadium.
Bowen also scored from a Ward-Prowse corner, rising highest to head home as the Hammers came back into the match soon after falling behind.
The home side went ahead early in the first half through Lucas Paqueta’s driven finish.
The Brazil midfielder scored after just three minutes when Forest defender Nicolas Dominguez gave the ball away and it bounced perfectly for Paqueta to power into the bottom corner.
Taiwo Awoniyi equalised just before the break, following up from close range after Morgan Gibbs-White’s initial shot was parried into his path by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
Forest were in front for the first time in the contest when Ola Aina’s cutback into the box was pounced on by Anthony Elanga, who fired into the bottom corner, but Bowen equalised for the Hammers almost immediately before Soucek took the points.
The result sees West Ham climb up to ninth in the table, while Forest remain in 15th.
The Hammers had been on a three-match losing streak in the Premier League before this dramatic victory.
After going ahead early on, they were controlling the contest before being pegged back by Awoniyi’s equaliser just before the break.
Forest then took the lead and it seemed the Hammers were in for another frustrating afternoon.
However, David Moyes’ side showed resilience to come from behind, winning a game in which they conceded more than once for the first time since January 2022.
Shortly before he scored the winner, Soucek dived to get his head to a Ward-Prowse free-kick but Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos tipped it over the bar.
Two pin-point corners from the England midfielder turned the contest around for the home side.
Both Bowen and Soucek were in the right place to head home as the dead-ball expert’s excellent deliveries found their men, with Ward-Prowse up to five assists in the league this season.
Unhappy milestone for Cooper as away blues strike again
Steve Cooper became the second manager to take charge of 50 Premier League games as Forest manager and will be disappointed not to have got at least a draw to mark the milestone.
The away side tried to use their aerial ability with Gibbs-White swinging crosses into the box but the West Ham defence held firm.
Cooper’s side created some good chances, with Areola making a sensational save to deny Awoniyi, clawing a powerful header away from goal.
Awoniyi was unlucky not to score a second after some excellent one-touch passes with Elanga straight from Vlachodimos’ goal-kick, but Areola once again came to the rescue.
Elanga was Forest’s main attacking outlet and his clinical finishing inside the box gave the away side the lead.
However, just 123 seconds later, West Ham had equalised as Forest switched off from a set-piece and relinquished their lead.
Along with Rotherham United, Forest have the joint-fewest away league victories of any side in England’s top four tiers since the start of last season, playing 26 matches and losing 18 of them.
