Tomas Soucek’s persistence paid off as his late header secured a 3-2 win for West Ham against Nottingham Forest.
In the closing stages, the Czech midfielder hit the crossbar and had a header miraculously saved by Forest keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
But Soucek made it third time lucky when he nodded home James Ward-Prowse’s corner to finally see off the visitors.
Goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Anthony Elanga had put Forest into the lead after Lucas Paqueta fired the Hammers ahead in the third minute.
But Jarrod Bowen’s eighth Premier League goal of the season hauled West Ham level before Soucek’s late heroics.
Paqueta struck after Nicolas Dominguez’s stray pass across the pitch cannoned off Ibrahim Sangare’s backside.
The Brazilian still had plenty to do but his low, accurate finish from the edge of the area comfortably beat the dive of Vlachodimos.
Forest were denied an equaliser by a stunning save from Alphonse Areola, who got a powerful hand on a point-blank header from Awoniyi.
Moments later Mohammed Kudus led a counter-attack and squared the ball for Paqueta, only this time his control let him down and his tame shot was straight at Vlachodimos.
But Forest gradually regained their shape and set about frustrating West Ham, who seemed to rapidly run out of ideas.
The crowd began to get restless as sideways pass after sideways pass came to nothing.
Even Forest got bored of it eventually, and they hauled themselves level on the stroke of half-time when Sangare won the ball in a congested midfield.
Sangare, with probably the first forward pass of the match from either side, played Morgan Gibbs-White through on goal.
Gibbs-White’s angled drive was kept out by Areola but Awoniyi was on hand to tap the rebound into and empty net.
West Ham came out with more impetus after the break and Kudus had a shot deflected over before Emerson Palmieri fired narrowly wide.
Forest should have gone ahead when Awoniyi played a one-two with Elanga only to slice his shot way off target.
Instead they got their noses in front just after the hour when Elanga tucked in a low cross from Ola Aina.
But West Ham hit back immediately, Bowen meeting Ward-Prowse’s corner with a powerful header past Vlachodimos.
Then Soucek took centre stage, first lifting the ball over Vlachodimos only to see it come back off the crossbar before the Greek keeper somehow tipped his downward header over the top.
But Soucek struck with two minutes remaining, leaping over team-mate Bowen to meet another Ward-Prowse corner at the far post to seal West Ham’s first Premier League win since September.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Dewsbury-Hall: Maresca will surprise people at Chelsea
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes new Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will "surprise a lot of people" when they watch the Blues this season.
The Italian led Leicester City straight back to the Premier League as Championship winners in his only season in charge and succeeds Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.
The Foxes topped the second division table with 98 points, with Dewsbury-Hall a key figure in his squad as he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists last season – his best tally in a single campaign.
Dewsbury-Hall was also named Leicester's Player and Players' Player of the Year.
The midfielder made the switch to West London earlier this month for £30million and is confident that Maresca will have Chelsea challenging for trophies in no time.
"The manager was a big catalyst in wanting me to come," Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Sport.
"I knew from Leicester, a club that went down and had a lot of problems, how he managed to galvanise that if everyone manages to buy into the system.
"I genuinely think in a short space of time we can be pushing for minimum top four - but more than that.
"He may be unknown for a lot of people, but he is top, top level. He will surprise a lot of people."
Chelsea's pre-season got off to a frustrating start as they were held to a 2-2 draw by League One side Wrexham in Maresca's first game in charge on Wednesday.
Dewsbury-Hall did not play in that match but is training with the squad in the United States and could feature in their next outing against Celtic on Saturday.
The 25-year-old is confident the manager's tactics will come across soon, with the players buying into his style.
"We've only been doing it for two or three weeks, but the combination plays are really quick and tidy," he added.
"That's after two weeks. I remember he said to us at Leicester after six months or a year, there might be teething problems at the start, but it will improve.
"Within the first week at Leicester, I was convinced this was top, top level. I felt a bit stupid; I thought I knew a lot about football, but he was teaching me things on a daily basis that I didn't really know before. He has an aura, he can be strict, or gentle and soft - he has both sides.
"I am getting the same feedback here with the lads. They've bought into it here from minute one which is exciting. With a system and philosophy, you need everyone to buy in because, if they do, you can really achieve something."
Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega
Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham.
Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later.
Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.
However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.
"I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote.
"The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.
"At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title.
"But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."
Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.
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