Nottingham Forest 1-0 Millwall

Barrie McKay was Forest's main threat throughout and marked his full debut with the winner

Barrie McKay's spectacular debut strike earned Nottingham Forest an opening-day win against a Millwall side who wasted numerous chances.

The Lions dominated, with Steve Morison crashing an effort against the bar and Aiden O'Brien and Lee Gregory missing glorious first-half opportunities.

But McKay's long-range shot put the Reds ahead at half-time.

And although Millwall's direct approach continued to pose problems, the Reds somehow held on for victory.

• Relive Friday's opening night action in the EFL

Forest's fifth first-day win in their past six seasons looked highly unlikely as last season's League One play-off winners created chance after chance before the break.

Morison should have scored with a close-range shot, O'Brien wasted three headed chances while Reds keeper Jordan Smith was in superb form, notably when he kept out Gregory's low shot.

After the equally outstanding McKay, one of three of six Forest summer signings to start, fired in the opener Forest continued to lead a charmed life.

Morison found the back of the net in the second period, but his strike was ruled out by referee Peter Bankes for a foul by Gregory on keeper Smith in the build-up, while substitute Fred Onyedinma missed the final chance of the evening in injury time.

Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton told BBC Radio Nottingham:

"Millwall were very good. They deserved something from the game.

"They were direct, they were effective. They won the first ball and created chances. Too many times we were loose in possession.

"To play like that and get three points, we are very relieved. We had some good points but were way below our normal level.

"Barrie McKay is a real talent. He is an outstanding player who can be anything he wants to be. He has real technical ability and class."

Millwall manager Neil Harris said:

"The ref said it was a foul from Gregory on the keeper. But I felt it was momentum. All we ask for is consistency as managers. Most people have said it is a goal, when they have seen it back. They cannot all be wrong.

"We dominated the game against a really good Forest side. The players executed the gameplan perfectly. We worked into good positions and created good chances. It was a top performance.

"You have to be clinical when you get your chances at this level. It was a good performance, but we have to be more ruthless.

"There were encouraging things to take from this. It is about how we react to this now."

• Line-ups
• Match Stats
• Live Text

Line-ups

Nottm Forest

• 43Smith
• 27Darikwa
• 42Worrall
• 4Mancienne
• 6Traore
• 24Vaughan
• 17BreretonSubstituted forDowellat 59'minutes
• 16Clough
• 11OsbornSubstituted forCohenat 59'minutes
• 10McKay
• 9MurphySubstituted forMillsat 77'minutes

Substitutes

• 2Lichaj
• 5Mills
• 8Cohen
• 20Dowell
• 26Evtimov
• 35Cummings
• 39Vellios

Millwall

• 1Archer
• 2McLaughlin
• 4Hutchinson
• 35Cooper
• 3Meredith
• 14Wallace
• 6WilliamsSubstituted forElliottat 83'minutes
• 23SavilleBooked at 89mins
• 22O'BrienSubstituted forOnyedinmaat 67'minutes
• 20Morison
• 9GregorySubstituted forFergusonat 78'minutes

Substitutes

• 5Craig
• 8Thompson
• 10Onyedinma
• 11Ferguson
• 13King
• 17Webster
• 19Elliott

Referee:

Peter Bankes

Attendance:

28,065

Match Stats

Home TeamNottm ForestAway TeamMillwall

Possession

Home68%

Away32%

Shots

Home11

Away23

Shots on Target

Home2

Away6

Corners

Home5

Away4

Fouls

Home13

Away15

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, Nottingham Forest 1, Millwall 0.

Full Time

Posted at 90'+6'

Second Half ends, Nottingham Forest 1, Millwall 0.

Posted at 90'+5'

Offside, Millwall. Jordan Archer tries a through ball, but Jake Cooper is caught offside.

Posted at 90'+5'

Offside, Nottingham Forest. Kieran Dowell tries a through ball, but Barrie McKay is caught offside.

Posted at 90'+5'

Attempt saved. Steve Morison (Millwall) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Shane Ferguson with a cross.

Posted at 90'+4'

Attempt blocked. Tom Elliott (Millwall) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by James Meredith with a cross.

Posted at 90'+3'

Attempt missed. Fred Onyedinma (Millwall) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jake Cooper with a headed pass.

Posted at 89'

Foul by Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest).

Posted at 89'

Tom Elliott (Millwall) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Booking

Posted at 89'

George Saville (Millwall) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 86'

Delay over. They are ready to continue.

Posted at 85'

Delay in match Matt Mills (Nottingham Forest) because of an injury.

Posted at 84'

Attempt saved. Jed Wallace (Millwall) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.

Posted at 84'

Attempt missed. Kieran Dowell (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by David Vaughan.

Substitution

Posted at 83'

Substitution, Millwall. Tom Elliott replaces Shaun Williams.

Posted at 83'

Zach Clough (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 83'

Foul by George Saville (Millwall).

Posted at 81'

Offside, Nottingham Forest. Kieran Dowell tries a through ball, but Zach Clough is caught offside.

Posted at 81'

Corner, Nottingham Forest. Conceded by Jake Cooper.

Posted at 81'

Attempt blocked. Barrie McKay (Nottingham Forest) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Armand Traore.

Posted at 80'

Armand Traore (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 80'

Foul by Conor McLaughlin (Millwall).

Posted at 79'

Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 79'

Foul by Jake Cooper (Millwall).

Posted at 78'

Corner, Millwall. Conceded by Jordan Smith.

Substitution

Posted at 78'

Substitution, Millwall. Shane Ferguson replaces Lee Gregory.

Substitution

Posted at 77'

Substitution, Nottingham Forest. Matt Mills replaces Daryl Murphy.

Posted at 77'

Offside, Nottingham Forest. Jordan Smith tries a through ball, but Daryl Murphy is caught offside.

Posted at 76'

Jordan Smith (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 76'

Foul by Lee Gregory (Millwall).

Posted at 75'

Attempt blocked. Zach Clough (Nottingham Forest) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kieran Dowell.

Posted at 71'

Corner, Millwall. Conceded by Barrie McKay.

Posted at 70'

Chris Cohen (Nottingham Forest) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Posted at 70'

Foul by Shaun Williams (Millwall).

Posted at 69'

Attempt missed. Lee Gregory (Millwall) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Steve Morison.

Substitution

Posted at 67'

Substitution, Millwall. Fred Onyedinma replaces Aiden O'Brien.

Posted at 67'

Attempt missed. George Saville (Millwall) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.

Posted at 66'

Foul by David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest).

Posted at 66'

George Saville (Millwall) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 66'

Attempt blocked. Jed Wallace (Millwall) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lee Gregory.

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