by Mark Denham, from Cardiff City Stadium.

Snapshot

Lewis McGugan's 91st minute strike salvaged a point for Forest in a hard fought battle at Cardiff City Stadium.

The Bluebirds had much of the better of the first half ,though Forest were hard-working and resilient and denied the hosts many clear cut chances on goal. City's best efforts both came from the in form Peter Whittingham, though Lee Camp was equal to the midfielder in the Forest goal.

City started the second half well and were rewarded for their persistence on 63 minutes when Jay Bothroyd finished a superbly worked move. City looked good for a win that would have taken them to the top of the table, though McGugan's quick thinking on the edge of the area during injury time meant that the travelling Nottingham contingent would return to the City Ground with a deserved point.

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Chronological Report

The Bluebirds kicked off in front of the BBC cameras in a 5pm Sunday evening kick-off at Cardiff City Stadium.

Forest's David McGoldrick had the first chance of the game after six minutes, breaking through the heart of the City defence before being forced in to shooting from a tight angle by Anthony Gerrard; Gerrard did just enough to scupper McGoldrick's chance, the former Southampton man firing wide when he perhaps could have done better.

A lovely touch by Jay Bothroyd midway inside the Forest half set Michael Chopra free for City's first chance of the game. The Championship's top-scorer took advantage of the space given to him by Bothroyd, running directly at the Forest back line before finally being denied by Wes Morgan.

Forest looked the sharper of the two sides in the opening fifteen minutes, Paul Anderson in particular finding himself countless opportunities in and around the left hand side of the City area. Loose defending allowed the Forest wide-man a shot on goal with sixteen minutes played, his effort missing David Marshall's far post by mere centimetres.

From the very next attack, Cardiff arguably should have taken the lead. Neat play by Bothroyd and Chris Burke freed the free-scoring Peter Whittingham inside the Forest area; Whittingham's shot was superbly struck, though was well saved by Lee Camp before Joe Ledley struck over from the rebound.

Whittingham was denied again by Camp on twenty minutes in spectacular fashion. Bothroyd and Chopra did well to out-smart the Forest defence from a long Marshall clearance, allowing Whittingham to compose himself from twenty-five yards out and hit a fizzing half-volley goalwards. Camp's stretching save brought about a standing ovation from the crowd, though Whittingham was desperately unlucky not to break the deadlock.

Substitution Cardiff City: Gavin Rae on for Stephen McPhail (26 minutes).

City forced a corner on the half hour mark following some persistence by Whittingham and no little skill from Burke. Joe Ledley cut inside the area before drilling a low cross towards Bothroyd, Wes Morgan's hopeful swing at the ball taking it over Camp's goal to relative safety.

Forest were somewhat fortunate to keep their quota of eleven men on the field with ten minutes of the half remaining. Chopra set a racing Bothroyd down the right flank before the striker was sent sprawling by the chasing Kelvin Wilson. Wilson had arguably been Forest's last man and therefore Referee Salisbury was rather lenient in awarding nothing more than a yellow card.

The game took a turn for the worse in the closing ten minutes of the half. A late Whittingham tackle on former Bluebird Chris Gunter sparked a melee on the far touchline which preceded a frenetic closing period of play. Little action of note took place in either penalty area leading up to the interval, though Paul McKenna's free-kick from twenty yards out almost found it's way in to Marshall's top left corner prior to the Referee's half-time whistle.

HALF TIME: CARDIFF CITY 0-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST

A torrential rain shower during half time had subsided before the two teams re-appeared for the second half. Fortunately, the game retained the element of spice that had seeped in during the closing stages of the first period; it was a physical affair, though played in the correct spirit.

Chris Burke's winding run down the right touchline allowed Bothroyd Cardiff's first true effort of the second half. Bothroyd dropped off his marker from around twenty-five yards out before striking hard and true just past Camp's near post. A neat move between Ledley, Rae and Whittingham gave Chopra a half chance moments later, though his effort was deflected wide. City had an effort cleared off the line from the resulting corner after Anthony Gerrard looked to have bundled the ball home.

Substitution Nottingham Forest: Dele Adebola on for Radoslaw Majewski (62 minutes).

On sixty-three minutes the Bluebirds took the lead. Whittingham picked the ball up in the left back position before finding Ledley in midfield. Ledley played in Gavin Rae who in turn found Chopra; the striker put Ledley clear through on goal, allowing him to feed through Bothroyd to slide the ball home. It was a wonderfully crafted Cardiff goal, thoroughly deserved on the second half's balance of play.

GOAL: CARDIFF CITY 1-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST (Bothroyd, 63 minutes).

Substitution Nottingham Forest: Gareth McCleary on for Joe Garner (67 minutes).

Forest looked dangerous after conceding, not allowing City any time on the ball as they looked to push for a second. McGoldrick had a superb chance to equalise after seventy minutes; McCleary made space for himself on the right flank before playing McGoldrick in on the edge of the area - the striker however, was unable to get any purchase on his strike.

Substitution Nottingham Forest: Lewis McGugan on for Guy Moussi (77 minutes).

With three minutes left of normal time, indecision between Marshall and Mark Kennedy led to a Forest corner. Whipped in by Anderson, the curling ball evaded everyone, though McGoldrick hit the loose ball on the half volley in to the side netting when he so easily could have scored.

The rain returned in the closing minutes, setting up a nervous end to a very tight affair. Joe Ledley had a superb second half and was often key to the Bluebirds holding out against a willing and rampaging Forest midfield for as long as they did.

The referee's assistant indicated there would be four minutes of added time and with the Forest side encouraged they scored a superb goal that they arguably deserved. Indecisive defending on the part of Gerrard and Hudson allowed substitute McGugan to swivel on the edge of the area and strike past a helpless Marshall. It was sickening for the home support, though with City unable to kill the game off it was a goal that for large parts of the closing twenty minutes looked like coming.

GOAL: CARDIFF CITY 1-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST (McGugan, 90+1 minutes).

FULL TIME: CARDIFF CITY 1-1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST