Wolves 1-0 Nottingham Forest: Nouha Dicko nets winner

Wolves striker Nouha Dicko fired his side to a fifth successive Sky Bet Championship victory as they secured a 1-0 win against Nottingham Forest at Molineux.

Dicko was only called into the side at the last minute when 12-goal leading scorer Helder Costa was forced to withdraw from the team after appearing to damage his ankle during the warm-up.

Dicko's 62nd-minute goal ensured that Wolves picked up five straight wins in the Championship for the first time since 2008. It also increased Forest's relegation worries as their poor run of form away from home continued. They have now collected only three points from the last 11 games on their travels.

The defeat was also the first that Forest have suffered under new manager Mark Warburton, who had drawn his first two games in charge and to add to his problems defender Danny Fox was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card.

Despite the blow of losing Costa, Wolves were still quickly on the front foot with Matt Doherty creating an opening for Ivan Cavaleiro only for his weak shot to be comfortably saved by Jordan Smith.

Forest striker Britt Assombalonga showed a lot more venom when he fashioned an opening in the 17th minute, forcing goalkeeper Andy Lonergan into a smart low save at his near post.

It was a rare moment of menace from Forest with Wolves holding the attacking edge and they were inches away from breaking the deadlock after 23 minutes.

Cavaleiro's right-wing cross was deflected inches wide of his own post by Forest midfielder David Vaughan with Wolves' Dave Edwards waiting to pounce. Forest had another let-off six minutes before half-time when Doherty's left-wing centre fell kindly for Dicko who fired his shot into the side netting.

Smith was left relieved again in the 48th minute when Ben Marshall's free-kick from 25 yards floated wide after Edwards had been fouled by Fox.

Having ridden their luck to stay on level terms, Forest then threatened to stun Wolves when a quick breakaway saw Assombalonga with only Wolves full-back Conor Coady to beat. But Assombalonga's shot was cleared off the line by Coady.

While Forest were coming to terms with that miss, Wolves immediately surged upfield with Andreas Weimann crossing from the right wing to tee up Dicko, who made no mistake from close range.

Forest sent on striker Jamie Ward to try and find a way back into the game and he almost had an instant impact, forcing Lonergan into action only 15 seconds after his introduction.

Wolves boss Paul Lambert:

"I know that Nouha is a threat but he needs a pre-season in him. The guy has had a really hard time over the last year or so with his knee but he is an absolute threat if you get him up to top speed. The goal will be great for him because it was a big injury. After a cruciate knee ligament injury you never know how people will come back from it.

"We are in a good moment, good form and it is a good feeling. We look a threat every time that we go forward and the level that they have shown in the last month or so has been incredibly high. This is a club with incredible potential as the support is here to really take off. To go on this run is fantastic."

Nottingham Forest boss Mark Warburton:

"They are fine margins and goals change games as basic as that may sound. We did not play at our best. We were at 65 per cent tonight. We have got to be brave at the back and we went long too early and gave the ball away too cheaply which is unlike them. We didn't take care of the ball enough.

"It is a bitter pill to swallow as, despite not being at our best, I thought we did enough to get a point. It has to be about us, we have to focus on us. With a little bit more belief in how good they can be we will be all right.

"There are no easy games in this division and that is why everyone loves it so much. It is a relentless league and you have to embrace it and move forward. We can't control what has gone on in the past. All we can do is focus on the future."