Burnley displayed no signs of a relegation hangover as they saw off Nottingham Forest 1-0 at Turf Moor.
Iwelumo bags winning goal on his Burnley debut
Burnley displayed no signs of a relegation hangover as they saw off Nottingham Forest 1-0 at Turf Moor in their season opener.
Summer signing Chris Iwelumo bagged the only goal of the game for the Clarets, who gave as good as they got in a physical encounter.
Both sides are tipped to be among the promotion candidates come the end of the campaign, but it is Brian Laws' men who have safely negotiated the first hurdle and have points on the board.
It was just the start that Laws will have been looking for after last season's slump out of the Premier League and he will be hoping that it kick-starts Burnley's season.
Billy Davies will be keen for his Forest side not to repeat their disappointing away form that dogged the latter part of last season, where they did not win any of their final 11 fixtures on the road.
Laws handed debuts to Ross Wallace, Iwelumo and Dean Marney, though goalkeeper Lee Grant had to be content with a place on the bench.
Forest named loan signing Ryan Bertrand in their starting line-up and they made the better start as they knocked the ball around confidently.
Rebounded
Striker Rob Earnshaw had already gone close with a long-distance effort before he went even closer to giving his side the lead in the 23rd minute.
The Wales international picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and created space for himself before unleashing a low shot which beat Brian Jensen, but rebounded back off the upright.
Forest were on top and they wasted another opportunity when Nathan Tyson broke clear, but with two team-mates well placed in the centre, the striker over-hit his pass.
The hosts finally stirred as the first half wore on and created a couple of decent chances.
Wallace whipped in a dangerous across which just evaded Iwelumo and Andre Bikey had a header hacked away by Forest's Chris Cohen.
And the momentum which Burnley had built paid dividends on the stroke of half-time as they took the lead with a fine goal.
Dangerous
The dangerous Wade Elliott advanced down the right and after a neat interchange with Martin Paterson he delivered an inviting cross for Iwelumo, who finished in emphatic style with a diving header.
Laws' men began the second half as they had ended the first and could have doubled their lead but Clarke Carlisle's header was kept out by Lee Camp.
Forest searched for a way back into the game and Tyson was guilty of wasting a glorious chance to level.
Earnshaw did well to create space and slip his strike partner in, but with the goal at his mercy, Tyson could only fire high and wide.
The game became an end-to-end affair and Burnley continued to look dangerous, with Marney heading over Wallace's cross.
Davies' men continued to push, though, and Dexter Blackstock should have done better when he headed Chris Gunter's cross over the bar.
But it was Burnley that created the better chances in the latter stages with Iwelumo and Marney again going close, but Iwelumo's first-half strike proved the decisive moment.
