Brighton 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Kazenga LuaLua celebrated his winning goal with his trademark somersault celebration

Kazenga LuaLua scored the only goal as Brighton beat Nottingham Forest in the opening Championship game of the 2015-16 Football League season.

Winger LuaLua beat Forest goalkeeper Dorus de Vries with a low angled shot five minutes after half-time.

De Vries clawed out Tomer Hemed's first-half header, while Forest's Henri Lansbury and Brighton's Beram Kayal both hit the post from outside the box.

Brighton's win was their first on the opening day of a season since 2011-12.

The Seagulls were good value for their victory, although they survived an early scare when midfielder Lansbury's 30-yard free-kick clipped the post and flew wide.

Kayal hit the woodwork with a shot from 20 yards midway through the first half, as Brighton began to seize control.

A stunning one-handed stop from de Vries denied Israel international striker Hemed a debut goal in first-half stoppage time, but the Dutchman was unable to keep out LuaLua's low drive just after the interval.

Forest, who lost midfielder Robert Tesche to a broken foot in the first period, threatened an equaliser late on, particularly after the introduction of teenage substitute Tyler Walker.

Their best opportunity to level came when the hosts failed to deal with a quickly-taken long throw, but Walker could not turn the ball into the net from the resulting scramble.

Bobby Zamora, who re-signed for Brighton earlier this week after 12 years away, was not included in Chris Hughton's squad.

Brighton manager Chris Hughton: "It is a nice way in which to start the season. It was a typical Championship game, being fairly tight, but we deserved to win it.

"Kazenga is a winner and had a good all-round game. You want to see that from your wide players.

"I am happy with the performance in general. Forest are a good side, with pace in wide areas. They may have players out injured now, but with that 11 I can see them winning a lot of games this season."

Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman: "Unfortunately Robert has broken his foot and it's a big blow. It's the last thing we need right now but it'll give opportunities to others.

"I felt we were unfortunate to come in at half-time 0-0 but our concentration let us down soon after the break. After that our response was fantastic.

"We worked their keeper and on another night we would have got something out of the game. We went down to a sucker punch and it's important for us to stay focused now."

Kazenga LuaLua (l) scored four goals in all competitions for Brighton last season

Dorus de Vries made a stunning save to keep out Tomer Hemed's first-half header

Solly March, along with LuaLua, was a constant danger to Nottingham Forest's defence

Tyler Walker is the son for ex-England defender and Forest legend Des Walker

Brighton fans will have to wait a little longer to see returning striker Bobby Zamora - the former England international is not yet match-fit and was not selected by manager Chris Hughton