Jay DaSilva fired Coventry City to their first Premier League win in 25 years as they beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 in another game mired by VAR controversy.
Frank Lampard’s side have endured a tough return to the top flight, with four defeats and no goals, but they put that right at the fifth attempt at the City Ground on a memorable night.
DaSilva’s second-half strike ended their drought and proved enough for a first three points in the top division since the Sky Blues beat Sunderland back in April 2001.
Forest thought they had found a late leveller when Igor Jesus slotted home, but referee Jared Gillett was sent to the monitor by VAR and ruled there was a foul on Caleb Yirenkyi, despite his original on-field decision being a goal.
It left Forest with a burning sense of injustice but, in truth, they did not do enough to take anything from the game.
They are having trouble at the City Ground, having won there just once in the league in front of their own fans since December last year.
The VAR decision means Oliver Glasner’s men have yet to score in their first three home games, and it is undermining promising away form where they have taken four points from trips to Liverpool and Aston Villa.
After winning at Villa Park last week, Forest were full of confidence and were straight on the attack, with James McAtee shooting straight at Carl Rushworth from distance after just 50 seconds.
McAtee had another goalbound shot blocked as the Forest attacks kept on coming, with Dan Ndoye unable to finish a nice move by curling just over from 18 yards in the 18th minute. Liam Delap also had an effort from distance that hit the side-netting as Forest probed without creating anything.
Glasner’s side were on the front foot again early in the second half as McAtee had a third effort of the day. Ndoye and Delap combined down the left, with the striker teeing up the former Manchester City midfielder, but his shot was superbly blocked by Ethan Pinnock.
That proved pivotal as Coventry got a foothold in the game, with Loum Tchaouna shooting straight at Matz Sels.
But Coventry’s patient fans finally got their moment 10 minutes into the second half as DaSilva broke their duck. He raced on to Carl Rushworth’s long kick, beat Daniel Munoz, and then fired home in front of the jubilant supporters.
Forest had little in the way of an immediate response as frustrations began to grow.
They began to up the ante in the final 15 minutes and almost levelled when substitute Jesus was denied by Bobby Thomas’ acrobatic clearance off the line.
They had the ball in the back of the net in the 86th minute as Jesus took advantage of a slip by Yirenkyi to roll home.
But for the second home match in a row VAR got involved, with Gillett changing his decision after viewing the monitor and ruling Jesus had clipped the Coventry defender’s ankle.
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