Nottingham Forest rode its luck before marking its first home game in the Premier League in 23 years with a 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.

A scrappy goal by offseason signing Taiwo Awoniyi in first-half stoppage time settled a match played in a party atmosphere at the City Ground, earning Forest its first points since returning to the top flight.

However, West Ham’s players will wonder how they left without at least a point.

Declan Rice had a 65th-minute penalty saved by on-loan Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma both hit the underside of the crossbar with long-range shots in the second half, and Benrahma had a goal ruled out after video review late in the first half.

Then there was the stunning save by Henderson to deny Tomas Soucek and the goal-line clearance by the scrambling Neco Williams to keep out Kurt Zouma’s header in the 83rd minute as West Ham pressed relentlessly for an equalizer.

While West Ham has now opened with back-to-back losses, Forest is off the mark after starting its first season in the Premier League since 1999 with a 2-0 loss at Newcastle last weekend.