ALBION 1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0

Albion exorcised a few bad memories on a nervy afternoon at the Amex.

And that explained the celebrations among their coaching staff at the end of this hard-fought, often ugly but precious win.

At home this season they have seen single-goal leads slip away, they have seen red cards given for fouls they felt deserved yellow.

Those more recent memories still annoy Roberto De Zerbi.

Plenty of us have also seen Chris Wood come back to haunt the club he once served on loan.

But this time it wasn’t 1-0 and it wasn’t Wood’s day (thanks to Bart Verbruggen).

And, to Forest fury, it wasn’t red for Jakub Moder in the way it had been for Mahmoud Dahoud and Billy Gilmour after their late challenges on the same pitch this term.

That was all reason to cheer at end of a tough week.

Albion do not win many tight games.

Not in the Premier League, anyway. The Europa League has been different.

Victories like this will take them back to Europe just as much as the five-star, four-goal supershows to which we are periodically treated.

De Zerbi made seven changes to the side which started in Rome and got his substitutions right, too, to see the game through.

He used Moder as an advanced midfielder and gave deeper-lying duties to Carlos Baleba, who responded with his best game yet for the club.

We know the highs Baleba can reach but this time there were hardly any lows.

It was consistency across 90 minutes and that was the key.

And there was a goal, somehow or other.

A run of three successive blanks was ended by an own goal which was a personal catastrophe for Andrew Omobamidele.

The Forest defender, already on a yellow card, took away Ansu Fati’s standing foot over by the corner flag and was maybe fortunate to stay on the pitch,

As it turned out, Albion were maybe glad he was NOT dismissed.

Pascal Gross curled over the free-kick and it flicked in off Omobamidele’s head as Mats Sels came and Moder challenged.

Lewis Dunk ended up on the ground in all that and there were a few moments of confusion.

But referee Mihael Salisbury and VAR Craig Pawson confirmed the (own) goal.

Moder had been the target for the set-piece and no wonder.

Sels had earlier dived to parry his glancing header from a Gross free-kick curled in from the other side.

Ansu saw his far-post header deflect over via Neco Williams and Albion, with Simon Adingra bright, were the better side.

But there was a warning straight after the own goal.

A diagonal pass caught Pervis Estupinan well out of position and Divock Origi advanced on goal before his low shot was blocked by Verbruggen’s foot.

Forest were suddenly a different side in the second half.

They attacked and pressed with more tempo and belief and got Williams into dangerous areas down their right.

Origi lashed a shot high and wide and a hard-to-watch second half from the hosts ensued.

There would have been flashbacks to the Dahoud red card which cost them dear against Sheffield United when Moder slid in to tackle and caught Williams on the right ankle.

Salisbury’s verdict of a yellow card was reviewed closely by Pawson, who opted against an upgrade.

Wood’s big chance came when he was released to the left of goal and saw his angled shot superbly diverted wide by Verbruggen.

Albion were panicky at times. Even experienced players.

Estupinan conceded a crazy free-kick and Joel Veltman tripped Callum Hudson-Odoi just outside the box after his own misjudgement of a pass which skipped off the wet turf.

But Verbruggen held two firmly struck free-kicks as the hosts, similarly, held firm.

De Zerbi sent on his experienced heads – and his potential game-changer Julio Enciso.

He switched to a back three as Igor joined the battle and looked for Adam Lallana to help Gross maintain order in possession.

Tariq Lamptey was bright on the left and some trademark passing led to what might have been the killer moment late on when Enciso arrowed a shot from at least 25 yards narrowly past the top corner.

That would have been a beautiful goal.

But beauty was in the eye of the beholder at the end for the Seagulls.

Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan (Igor 76); Gross, Baleba; Adingra (Lallana 80), Moder (Enciso 75), Ansu Fati (Lamptey 60); Ferguson (Welbeck 60). Subs: Steele, Webster, Barco, Buonanotte.

Goal: Omabamidele own goal 29.

Yellow card: Ansu Fati 41, Moder 67, Veltman 78, Lallana 90+6.

Nottingham Forest: Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo; Dominguez (Hudson-Odoi 72), Danilo (Sangare 60), Yates (Awoniyi 72); Gibbs-White (Kouyate 87), Wood, Origi (Elanga 60). Subs: Turner, Felipe, Niakhate, Boly.

Goals: None.

Yellow Card: Dominguez 14, Omobamidele 19, Williams 55, Sangare 90+5.

Referee: Michael Salisbury.