VAR Pain Deepens West Ham Relegation Fears
Defeat leaves Hammers staring into trouble
West Ham’s Premier League survival hopes suffered another damaging blow after a 2-1 home defeat to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest. In a match filled with tension, controversy and costly moments, the Hammers once again found themselves on the wrong end of VAR decisions and defensive lapses.
With a win, West Ham could have closed the gap to safety to just one point. Instead, the loss leaves them seven points adrift and facing a bleak battle to avoid the drop. After already handing bottom side Wolves their first win of the season at the weekend, this latest defeat felt like another step towards the Championship.
Fast start but familiar problems
West Ham began brightly despite being without Callum Wilson, who had been removed from the squad amid an expected departure. New signing Taty Castellanos was thrown straight into the starting lineup just a day after arriving from Lazio and was quickly involved, seeing an early effort blocked after good work from Crysencio Summerville.
Forest carried a threat of their own, with Neco Williams forcing Alphonse Areola into an acrobatic save from distance. The hosts took the lead after 13 minutes, though it came in fortunate circumstances. Omari Hutchinson’s failed trick near his own corner led to a set piece, and when Tomáš Souček flicked on Summerville’s delivery, Murillo inadvertently headed past his own goalkeeper.
VAR swings the momentum
Forest came close to levelling before half-time as Callum Hudson-Odoi rattled the crossbar with a dipping strike. Early in the second half, West Ham thought they had doubled their lead when Summerville smashed home from close range, only for VAR to rule the goal out after spotting Castellanos offside earlier in the move.
The decision proved decisive. Moments later, Forest equalised when Nicolás Domínguez rose to meet Elliot Anderson’s corner, his looping header dropping in at the far post.
Late heartbreak seals the result
West Ham pushed for a winner, with Matz Sels producing excellent saves to deny Kyle Walker-Peters and Castellanos, while Jarrod Bowen saw a goal-bound effort blocked. However, the decisive moment came late on when Areola collided with Morgan Gibbs-White while attempting to clear a corner.
After a lengthy delay, the referee pointed to the spot. Gibbs-White made no mistake, firing home the penalty to seal victory for Forest and leave West Ham’s Premier League future hanging by a thread.
