Southampton’s first home game since their return to the Premier League ended in a meek 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest as Morgan Gibbs-White’s goal 20 minutes from time settled a forgettable meeting at St Mary’s.
The Forest captain crashed the ball home after the hosts’ defence had failed to deal with a corner to hand Nuno Espirito Santo’s side a first win of the season and leave Saints without a point after their first two games.
The result reflected an insipid attacking display from Russell Martin’s side, who registered a single shot on target and whose general lack of urgency turned a buoyant atmosphere before kick-off on the south coast into one of audible frustration amongst home fans, some of whom booed their team off at the end.
The closest either side came to scoring during a drab opening 25 minutes was when Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis failed to check the position of his goalkeeper before attempting a back pass, sending Alex McCarthy scampering after the ball as it rolled inches wide.
Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare rifled a 30-yard strike that required fingertips from McCarthy to help it over the bar, then from the resulting corner Nikola Milenkovic stole to the near post and saw his glancing header deflected away.
Forest were by now comfortably on top and they spurned a golden chance to go in front after 33 minutes. Chris Wood found space as the ball was lofted to the back post and fizzed a cross low across the six-yard box to where Milenkovic was arriving. McCarthy was stranded, but the defender’s composure deserted him as he knocked the ball wide with the goal gaping.
Saints fans threw up ironic cheers when a single minute of stoppage time was announced at the end of the half.
Their team emerged in a less passive guise after the interval, penning Forest into their own half and holding onto the ball when it was won, but still another 20 minutes passed without either side creating a chance worthy of the name.
Finally a breakthrough arrived and the goal to win it for Forest was appropriately scrappy. Saints failed to clear from a corner giving Callum Hudson-Odoi room on the edge of the box to cross.
His ball landed with Gibbs-White at the back post, and after his initial header was cleared away from in front of the goal-line it broke back to Gibbs-White who produced the game’s only moment of precision with his second attempt to crack the ball in for 1-0.
Thereafter Forest looked likelier to add a second than Southampton did to recover.
McCarthy reinforced his status as Saints’ best player on the day by producing a fine stop to his left to deny Hudson-Odoi as Forest held on with relative comfort.
