LONDON — Jamal Lowe's first goal for Wigan sealed a 1-0 win that ended Nottingham Forest's 10-match unbeaten run in the Championship on Sunday.

Lowe, signed from Portsmouth in the close-season, struck late in the first half at the DW Stadium as Wigan climbed away from the relegation zone with their fourth win of the campaign.

Forest remain in fourth place, three points behind leaders West Bromwich Albion, after losing for just the second time in the league this season.

With Forest under pressure from the start, their manager Sabri Lamouchi was given a yellow card by referee Matt Donohue for speaking out of turn to the fourth official.

It got worse for Lamouchi as Wigan took the lead with 10 minutes of the first half remaining.

Lowe started and finished the move, winning possession from Ben Watson in midfield and advancing on goal.

Instead of shooting, Lowe played the ball out to Gavin Massey, then slotted home the return ball from six yards.

It was almost 2-0 five minutes later, with Charlie Mulgrew's free-kick hitting the woodwork.

Forest substitute Lewis Grabban, squandered a golden opportunity to equalise when Wigan's Mulgrew could only flick a cross into his path.

With the goal at his mercy, Grabban nodded tamely at Wigan keeper David Marshall.

Lamouchi made five changes for the game but denied that was a factor in the below-par performance.

"Absolutely not. When I made the decision, I was thinking of the best line-up for this game," he said.

"If you analyze the game, especially the first half hour, we started in the right way, but we made one mistake and they scored.

"After that, we created a lot of opportunities, but we missed them all. If you don't score a goal then you have no chance of winning a game." — AFP