West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest: Danny Ings’ quick-fire brace ignites Hammers goalscoring rout

All of a sudden, David Moyes was on the pitch, Declan Rice and Lucas Paqueta were in the crowd, Danny Ings was lost among a pile of bodies, bubbles were blowing and, overhead, the storms clouds had made way for sunshine at last. 

My, oh my. How West Ham needed this. How Moyes needed this. There had been whispers that yesterday’s visit of Nottingham Forest could mark his final day in the job. 

There had been murmurings of fear and frustration as the clock ticked deep into the second half and another costly afternoon beckoned in West Ham’s fight for survival. And then everything changed in three minutes. 

Moyes can’t say he hadn’t been warned. Supporters had told him to throw caution to the wind. They had pleaded with him to start Danny Ings. Maybe they knew what they were talking about, after all. 

Because in three breathless minutes, with this game finally poised, the striker scored two vital goals, his first for the club, the second of which drew Moyes over the white line and sparked bedlam in East London. 

Danny Ings opened the scoring at the London Stadium with two quick strikes

West Ham captain Declan Rice added a third goal with a stunning curling effort

Hammers boss David Moyes was jubilant at full-time after his side’s free-flowing second-half performance

By the time the London Stadium rose again to salute the match winner, it was three and a party was underway. Declan Rice had clipped a beautiful goal to cement this victory. 

A fourth goal in 15 minutes came shortly after, when Michail Antonio – on for Ings – headed in a fourth. Until then, Ings had taken three minutes to score as many Premier League goals as Antonio had managed all season. 

On Saturday, they combined to secure West Ham’s biggest win of the season, which takes them out of the bottom three and, who knows, towards brighter days? It must be said that Nottingham Forest deserved nothing from this game. 

They took until stoppage time to force either Lukasz Fabianski or his replacement Alphonse Areola into a meaningful save. And by then West Ham had secured their second win in 12 Premier League matches – and a 250th victory for Moyes that takes him alongside Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. 

They couldn’t really afford to pass up this chance. Despite Forest’s impressive start to 2023, no team has picked up fewer away points this season than Steve Cooper’s side. Now the challenge for Moyes and his players? To build on this. 

The manager had conceded that accusations of over-caution were not totally without foundation. Turns out he doesn’t enjoy watching West Ham’s weekly visit to the barn door, either. So he made four changes, he reverted to a back four, he handed Ings a first start. 

And then he watched as, within two minutes, the striker sniffed a first sight of goal. The chance came courtesy of an error from Felipe. It was then snuffed out by the Forest defender as Ings bore down on goal. 

But an early pattern had been set – West Ham pinned the visitors back and reached for their banjo. Some of the football was vibrant and inventive. Some was more agricultural but no less effective. In fact, several openings came from crosses and corners launched towards a throng gathered around Keylor Navas. 

West Ham striker Michail Antonio (right) scored just a minute after coming on off the bench

Antonio (right) added a fourth goal of the afternoon with a looping header over Forest goalkeeper Keylor Navas (grey)

David Moyes (left) was delighted with his side’s attacking performance that saw them unhinge Steve Cooper’s (right) Forest defence with ease in the second-half

More than once, the goalkeeper was forced to claw balls from underneath his crossbar and from the rubble of one aerial assault, Paqueta’s cross-cum-shot was diverted on to his own post by Felipe. 

That, in turned out, was the closest either side came before half-time. Not that West Ham’s pressure didn’t bring more chances. Their problem? Crossed wires. First, Angelo Ogbonna and Jarrod Bowen converged as a loose ball dropped on the edge of the box. 

Rather than leave it for his forward, Ogbonna took responsibility and sent the ball ballooning away from goal. It went out for a throw-in. Then, when Vladimir Coufal curled an inviting cross towards the head of Ings, six yards out, the striker succeeded only in sending it back towards the corner flag. 

The striker was briefly unsighted by the run of Tomas Soucek across the front post. At times like this, spurning chances really can become an art form. The consolation for Moyes? Forest didn’t look like making them pay. 

The visitors carried flashes of threat on the counter but created precious little. The issue for West Ham? In 11 fixtures before this, they had scored just one second-half goal. Perhaps that’s why Moyes made his move early – throwing on Aaron Cresswell at the break. 

West Ham captain Declan Rice passed on instructions as the Hammers sought to force a breakthrough

Jesse Lingard was all smiles as he returned to face West Ham with Nottingham Forest

Hammers shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski (middle) was forced off through injury in the second-half

The full back’s first contribution was a corner, glanced over by Soucek at the front post. But Forest had emerged with more purpose, too. That didn’t take much, admittedly. Nor did it take many wobbles from West Ham to send the first grumbles shooting around this place. 

All of a sudden, the heavens opened, the mood began to darken we had a game on. Bowen dragged a shot on to the post, Paqueta fired over. At the other end, Brennan Johnson wasted a glorious chance on the counter. Soon West Ham had lost their goalkeeper, too, when Fabianski was taken off. 

For much of this 20-minute cameo, however, Areola had a watching brief. He could stand and admire as Bowen crossed for Ings, who dragged a shot beyond Navas. A VAR check for offside delayed the celebrations – and the striker’s second, which was created brilliantly by Said Benrahma. 

The third was all Rice – the captain collecting the ball and curling home from outside the area. By then, Forest were on the knees. But Antonio ensured the party was not over quite yet.