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Forest are a very different side from the one that played its football under Paul Hart and rather than play the ball nicely around and on the ground they now choose to get the balls into position quickly to put a series of high balls into the box.
With Gareth Taylor up front that meant it was going to be a tough and very physical game for the Clarets defence and Stan sprung a major surprise by dropping Mark McGregor and playing Graham Branch alongside David May.
The expected changes were made down the left hand side with Alan Moore and Paul Weller dropping out to be replaced by Mo Camara, like Branchy returning from suspension, and Neil Wood. There was no sign of either Alan Moore or the distinctly out of favour Luke Chadwick on the bench.
In the opening exchanges on team scored and the other one clearly should have done. It was Forest who found the net with a Gareth Taylor header but the home celebrations were quickly silenced with the assistant’s flag waving with Taylor some yards offside.
Down at the far end Neil Wood presented Ian Moore with a clear chance but incredibly Mooro couldn’t even hit the target, we should have been 1-0 up.
In our next move forward though we did just that, went a goal up, and again Wood was involved. This time he shot from distance and when goalkeeper Barry Roche couldn’t hold it Richard Chaplow was in to hit in the rebound.
Forest did get into the game but it was mainly hitting balls in to our box from deep positions and overall we dealt well enough with it. Taylor won enough headers as he beat the Burnley defenders on occasions by fair means or foul but they never really looked threatening.
Down at the other end though Burnley were threatening, particularly on the break and more than once came close to doubling the lead.
The best chance again fell to Moore and he again missed the target, hitting over, when he really should have been testing the keeper.
A goal up at half time, here of all places, was good enough and we had played well and were worth the lead. It had been a cracking first half and so far removed from the debacle four days earlier.
The second half started a lot more quietly and the home side were rarely putting us under any pressure. We were doing well and getting a lot of possession but things were to change just after the hour when Joe Kinnear played his final hand and brought on his last two subs.
One of them was David Johnson, who apparently will always be a Claret. Despite this allegiance to all things Claret & Blue he lifted the home crowd and then proceeded to do just what he could to stop us winning.
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We made a couple of substitutions replacing Wood and then Tony Grant, who was worryingly injured, with Paul Weller and Mark McGregor and then things went wrong.
There is no doubt that Johnson was the catalyst and in a three minute spell all our good work could have been for nothing.
It started with an 80th minute equaliser from the strangest of places, Gareth Taylor’s foot. Forest’s best player Andy Reid put him in on the left hand side of the box and for once he had time and space to rifle the ball home.
Almost immediately Forest had the ball in the net again through Johnson but the assistant on the right wing had been flagging for offside for some time. Having initially disallowed the goal we the game was then held up for some time as referee Ray Olivier went on a tour of Nottingham.
He first run all the way to the said assistant (at around 4ft 6ins tall he doesn’t have the longest of strides). After some discussion with him he then set off again (Run, Forrest Run) all the way across to the other side of the pitch to speak with the 4th official. Whatever was said changed nothing and the game restarted with a free kick to the Clarets.
In the very next attack we came close to going behind as Johnson headed against the bar – always be a Claret my **** – and it looked as though we were in for a torrid last few minutes.
Thankfully that wasn’t the case and we got ourselves back on top and could so easily have won it. Glen, he hadn’t had a good game, suddenly came into his own and in the very last minute of normal time he conjured up a chance for Chappy but he midfielder could only deflect his header wide.
Then in stoppage time Glen again turned on the magic to create a chance for himself but he delayed his shot and gave Dawson the chance to get back and block.
That was the last piece of action and after being in front again we had to settle for a point, it is a worry that this has been the case so often this season and is the third time in three weeks we have led 1-0 and ended with a 1-1 draw.
But this was a good point from a good performance and more than anything else has restored the faith after the appalling shambles on Saturday. Make no mistake about it, if we play like this in the remaining nine games we will stop up with points to spare.
But we need to play like that and the supporters also need to turn in some performances alongside it. Last night it was one of the best from the stands as every single Claret got behind the side from start to finish.
It is a team game and both teams gave it all they had for Burnley Football Club last night and that really does need to continue until the end of the season.
There’s no man of the match from me – I’m not sure how I can pick one out on a night when we worked so hard and everyone gave virtually all they had.
Now we must, and I mean must, build on that with a good win against Franchise on Saturday. Let’s get away from the bottom of this damn league.
Come on you Clarets.
Last night’s teams were:
Nottm. Forest: Barry Roche, Matthieu Louis-Jean (Andy Impey 61), Michael Dawson, Wes Morgan, Des Walker (John Thompson 24), Eoin Jess, Danny Sonner, Gareth Williams, Andy Reid, Gareth Taylor, Nick Barmby (David Johnson 61). Subs not used: Pascal Formann, Craig Westcarr.
Burnley: Brian Jensen, Dean West, David May, Graham Branch, Mo Camara, Glen Little, Richard Chaplow, Tony Grant (Mark McGregor 78), Neil Wood (Paul Weller 76), Robbie Blake, Ian Moore. Subs not used: Nathan Abbey, Ryan Townsend, Paul Scott.
Referee: Ray Olivier (West Midlands).