By Conor Hogan

West Ham lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night in what was a truly disheartening encounter.

It all started so well for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side, who took the lead on 13 minutes when Crysencio Summerville’s corner was converted by Murillo into his own net. 

Following the opener, Forest applied pressure, but West Ham just about dealt with it. Alphonse Areola produced a couple of excellent stops before the woodwork denied a superb curled effort by Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The Hammers took their lead into half-time, and unlike recent matches, they looked solid at the start of the second half. So much so, that the Irons doubled their lead on 51 minutes, when Summerville drilled the ball home for his first goal of the season – but of course, it was not to be.

The goal was ruled out by VAR following a controversial offside against new striker Taty Castellanos in the buildup to the goal. Although it looked as though Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic may have played the ball to the striker rather than West Ham’s Summerville, the Hammers’ jubilance was short-lived.

And it was only four minutes later when Forest were back on level terms. From a corner, Nicolás Domínguez’s header looped over Areola and Kyle Walker-Peters to equalise for Sean Dyche’s side.

The closing exchanges of the game were nervy for both sides. New signing Pablo Felipe replaced Lucas Paquetá and looked promising, despite a couple of wayward attempts at goal. 

Taty Castellanos and Kyle-Walker Peters both had chances in quick succession, but the Hammers couldn’t break the deadlock and a draw looked imminent.

However, on 85 minutes, following a Forest free-kick, a VAR call was made that could change the landscape of West Ham United Football Club for years to come.

Alphonse Areola was judged to have taken out Morgan Gibbs-White from a free-kick, and after an on-field review, a penalty was given. Gibbs-White stepped up and dispatched the spot-kick, as a teary-eyed Nuno watched on from the sidelines in disbelief.

In one of their most important games since moving to London Stadium, West Ham lost in one of the most heartbreaking ways. Seven points now seperate them from Forest, who remain in 17th place. 

Hammers fans remarked that their side needed six points from games against Wolves and Forest. To come away with zero is bleak. I would ask “Where do we go from here?”, but I fear that the answer is becoming clearer and clearer.