Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk was jeered by Nottingham Forest fans on his return to the City Ground.

Pat Murphy: Wimbledon pinched points midway through the first half

But the end of his strike did not provide Forest with much-needed points as Wimbledon took all three from the game.

Marcus Gayle scored the only goal as Forest suffered a seventh defeat of the season.

It could have been very different as the Dutch striker almost scored in the very first minute.

He had other chances, but failed to convert them, and it was Gayle who provided the killer finish midway through the first half.

Out on his own: Van Hooijdonk applauds his few fans

Van Hooijdonk was playing his first competitive match since appearing for Holland against Croatia in the World Cup on 11 July.

Neil Shipperley, who started at Middlesbrough last Sunday, was dropped to make way for the Dutchman, but teenager striker Marlon Harewood kept his place after scoring last week.

Forest manager Dave Bassett made three other changes from last Sunday's side and Gareth Ainsworth was handed his Wimbledon debut after £2m move from Port Vale.

Van Hooijdonk received a favourable reception from the majority of Forest fans when he came out to warm up with his team-mates, though a sizeable number of supporters in the Trent End booed the Dutchman.

Forest manager Dave Bassett talks to BBC Radio 5 Live

And the announcement of van Hooijdonk's name over the public address system was greeted with more jeers than cheers from the City Ground faithful.

He almost enjoyed a dream start to life back in Forest colours, narrowly failing to direct Harewood's low cross home inside the first 25 seconds.

The Dutchman then nodded Des Lyttle's free-kick down to Andy Gray and the former Leeds midfielder saw his smart shot well saved by Neil Sullivan.

But Wimbledon were dangerous opponents - and Forest fell behind to Gayle's fifth goal of the season.

Hughes whipped over a superb left-wing cross from the byline and Gayle rose unchallenged at the back post to steer his header past Beasant from six yards.

The boos for van Hooijdonk seemed to grow louder after the goal on 23 minutes.

Van Hooijdonk: Jeered by Forest fans

Forest fans were seemingly using the Dutchman as a scapegoat for their current malaise.

Before half-time their team enjoyed a brief period on top and Harewood had an excellent opportunity to level on 35 minutes.

The home side also had a shout for a penalty turned down.

Then a minute before the break, van Hooijdonk let fly with one of his trademark free-kicks, but Sullivan got down well to his right to save.

Van Hooijdonk's next chance came within two minutes of the restart but his shot from a tight angle flew into the side-netting.

However Wimbledon were rarely ruffled, especially in a second-half which was almost devoid of clear goalscoring opportunities.

Stone and Gemmill both saw ambitious efforts fly straight into Sullivan's safe hands, and it was the Dons who went closest to scoring, Gayle firing narrowly over following a neat one-two with the lively Ainsworth.

The Dons were happy to sit back and contain their opponents, and Forest are looking increasingly like the relegation candidates van Hooijdonk predicted they would be.

Nott'm Forest:

Beasant, Rogers, Chettle, Stone, Gemmill, Bart-Williams, Armstrong, Lyttle, Gray, Harewood, Van Hooijdonk. Subs: Shipperley, Crossley, Freedman, Bonalair, Edwards.

Wimbledon:

Sullivan, Cunningham, Kimble, Perry, Thatcher, Earle, Gayle, Leaburn, Hughes, Euell, Ainsworth. Subs: Blackwell, Roberts, Ardley, Heald, Kennedy.