By the time Nottingham Forest's fourth 'goal' had been ruled out by VAR, the Bridgford End hosting West Ham United's travelling fans had already begun to empty.
Having witnessed Julen Lopetegui's ten-men outfought, outclassed and outnumbered - and forced to face the entire second half with only ten men due to Edson Alvarez's ludicrous, unnecessary challenge as the half time interval approached - they registered their collective disappointment by making their way home from the moment Ola Aina fired home Forest's third from distance.And around a quarter of those who had been present at kick off were not in the ground to see VAR rule out what would've been a fourth for the Tricky Trees as the final whistle approached.
While Lopetegui may point to the first half added-on time dismissal of the errant Mexican as reason for yet another concerning performance, prior to that incident there had been no evidence that West Ham were threatening to seriously trouble Forest with 11 players on the field.
Despite "enjoying" some 60 per cent of possession in the opening period, home goalkeeper Sels was barely - if at all - troubled as Lopetegui's side threaded the ball from side to side with great regularity before promptly ceding possession any time they dare threaten to invade Forest's well-protected 18-yard box.
Therefore it was no surprise when Forest opened the scoring on 27 minutes when Konstantinos Mavropanos - arms behind his back as if being restrained by an imaginary assailant - failed to prevent Alex Moreno's cross which the in-form Chris Woods, unchallenged, couldn't miss from six yards out.
Given West Ham's recent penchant for improving in the second half 1-0 wasn't the worst way to be entering the break. Entering the break 1-0 behind and with only ten men, on the other hand...
The impetuous Alvarez, already booked for an earlier infringement was dismissed with the interval mere seconds away after bringing down Anthony Elanga as the Forest man chased a ball that was already going wide of goal.
The situation demanded Alvarez simply shepherded his man out wide, wasting valuable seconds, but a rash - and quite frankly, stupid - challenge resulted in the midfielder being given his marching orders - meaning he will join Mo Kudus on the suspended list for next week's visit of Everton.
With Michail Antonio introduced for Crysencio Summerville at half time it appeared initially as if the Jamaican international would be the focal point of the attack - the forward being one half of a two-man switch in addition to Carlos Soler, whose disjointed performances suggest the Spaniard posses a similar understanding of his role in the team as most fans presently.
Yet curiously perhaps, Antonio - a former Forest player - instead spent most of his time wide on the right, a position he last played some years ago, to little effect.
As Forest began to take control of the game, encouraged by at-times thunderous backing from the home support, West Ham notably began to creak, misplacing passes, ceding possession unnecessarily and looking generally fragile.
And with 65 on the clock Callum Hudson-Odoi doubled the home side's advantage with a cross that evaded all, including Lukasz Fabianski, before nestling into the back of the net.
13 minutes later Aina scored the goal which prompted the earlier-than-planned departure for some Hammers fans with a belter from distance - a goal which delighted Forest fans but only added to the increasing concerns of Hammers supporters, witnessing yet another abject display devoid of any penetration, invention, or defensive cohesion from Lopetegui's, lop-sided team.
West Ham Utd: Fabiański, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Kilman, Emerson (Irving 79), Rodríguez (Soler 46), Alvarez, Paquetá, Summerville (Antonio 46), Bowen
Subs not used: Foderingham, Coufal, Cresswell, Casey, Luis Guilherme, Ings
Booked: Rodríguez, Alvarez, Paquetá
Sent-off: Alvarez (45+2)
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenković, Murillo, Moreno, Yates, Domínguez, Gibbs-White (Anderson 63), Elanga (Jota Silva 63), Hudson-Odoi (Sosa 89), Wood (Awoniyi 79)
Subs not used: Carlos Miguel, Williams, Toffolo, Boly, da Silva Moreira
Goals: Wood (27), Hudson-Odoi (65), Aina (78)
Booked: Anderson
Referee: Peter Bankes
Attendance: TBC
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