Report by Dr. Talal Osman
Elliot Anderson scored a late equaliser against his former club as Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Newcastle United to claim a vital point in their relegation battle.
The former Newcastle academy product, who never scored a senior goal for the Magpies, beat goalkeeper Nick Pope from a tight angle in the 88th minute to snatch a valuable point.
Vitor Pereira had shuffled his pack in response to Forest’s disappointing UEFA Europa League exit at the hands of Aston Villa on Thursday, and they sorely missed the creativity of injured talisman Morgan Gibbs-White.
Harvey Barnes came off the bench to put Newcastle in front in the 74th minute, but Anderson’s strike sent the City Ground faithful wild with his dramatic late leveller.
Newcastle remain 13th in the Premier League, while Forest are three points below them in 15th and are mathematically certain of their top-flight status for 2026/27 following West Ham United’s loss to Arsenal later on Sunday.
How the match unfolded
William Osula hooked wide from Sandro Tonali’s cross as Newcastle started well, with Forest not threatening until Pereira ditched his three-man backline.
Pope scrambled to thwart Jair Cunha, but Forest were indebted to goalkeeper Matz Sels late in the first half, as he made himself big to block Osula’s drive.
Bruno Guimarães was not too far away for Newcastle with a dipping strike early in the second half, and at the other end, Pope denied Taiwo Awoniyi with his feet after the Forest striker bustled past two defenders.
Newcastle then started to carve out chances with regularity as two more efforts from Guimarães were kept out by Sels, while Osula’s audacious free-kick rattled the woodwork.
Two Newcastle substitutes looked to have combined for the decisive goal when Jacob Ramsey slipped in Barnes, who lifted his finish over Sels, but Anderson had other ideas.
The England international took in James McAtee’s pass and crashed his shot across Pope and into the top-right corner, sustaining a knock in the process, though he recovered to see out seven minutes of stoppage time.
