Forest picked up their second league win of the season with a shock 2-1 win over play-off chasing Aveley.
It was only a few weeks ago when the two clubs met in the FA Cup, with Aveley handing out a humiliating 7-0 thrashing.
There were new faces for Forest side, with Daniel Laurent, Rak Hudson, Patrick Med Nelo and Stephane Koffi all making debuts.
From the opening five minutes of the match, it seemed as if Forest were in for another long afternoon as Nesbitt, Twum and Leader all going close for the home side.
However, Forest weathered the storm and after a quarter of an hour, were beginning to look dangerous on the counter attack.
Danger man Tunji Oyewale was looking to be Forest’s biggest threat, as he and Emmanuel Bella linked up well down the left flank.
With 39 minutes played, Forest were awarded a penalty as former Stag Rachid Kamara brought down Med Nelo in the box. Top scorer Richard Worrell stepped up, but saw his penalty saved by Jack Giddens, diving low to his right.
Forest continued to attack though, and were rewarded just before half time as L’Hereaux Menga got his first goal for the club. Hulusi Mustafa’s cross was diverted into the path of the rangy forward who headed in at the back post.
The home side would have been looking to come out and put Forest under pressure straight from the re-start, but it was Oyewale who doubled the advantage. His initial attempt at a through pass was blocked, but the winger took one touch before firing an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
Junior Appiah reduced the arrears from the home side with a neat one-on-one finish after coming on from the substitute’s bench.
This caused Aveley to step up their game further, and good saves from David Myers and a last-ditch tackle from Hudson kept Forest in front.
Into six minutes of injury time and Menga had the chance to secure the points for Forest, but his one-on-one effort was scuffed and dealt with by Giddens.
Right at the death, Aveley had a penalty appeal for hand-ball turned down, and claimed that Myers had carried the ball over the line. But in the end, Forest stood tall, and went home with a deserved three points.
