Forest skipper Steve Chettle kept his nerve to force the result no-one wanted
in the battle of the bottom two at the City Ground.
Chettle strode forward to smash home the 54th penalty which earned his side a
draw for the fourth home match running after Southampton keeper Paul Jones had
brought down Dougie Freedman.
It was tough luck on Southampton, who had created most of the chances only to
be denied by a string of sensational saves from veteran old-boy Dave Beasant.
But Beasant could do nothing about the woeful Forest defending which led to
Hassan Kachloul's opener six minutes before Chettle's strike.
The home defence were sleeping as Matthew Oakley played a one-two with Jason
Dodd at a Saints corner, then delivered the perfect cross to the Moroccan
striker, who glanced home a header as the Forest defence stood and watched.
Both sides were missing key men, with Pierre van Hooijdonk suspended and Matt
Le Tissier failing to recover from a calf injury sustained in the Boxing Day
defeat against Chelsea.
And, with so much at stake, there was little surprise at the tension sweeping
up from the River Trent at kick-off.
Jones opted to send his troops into battle with an enterprising three-man
attacking formation, clearly acknowledging the implications, not just of a
Southampton victory, but the demoralising effect defeat would have on the home
side.
And it was the visitors who forced the early pace, with James Beattie a
constant menace at the far post where he was causing problems in the air for
diminutive full-back Alan Rogers.
Angled crosses twice picked out the visitors' striker, whose cushioned headers
back into the penalty area should have brought Southampton the opening goal.
Beasant did well to parry Matthew Oakley's penalty area drive and claim at the
second attempt on the quarter hour but should have been given little chance by
Egil Ostenstad five minutes earlier.
The Norwegian controlled Beattie's headed pass with his back to goal,
swivelled away from Chettle but then could only smash an eight-yard shot
straight at a grateful Beasant when anywhere else would have broken the
deadlock.
In these troubled times, Steve Stone remains Forest's most potent attacking
weapon, but even the former England man was a muted force as the first cries of
dissent descended from the stands.
But, almost from nothing, Freedman nearly put them in front.
The former Wolves man could only watch in anguish as his snap header flew past
Jones, rebounded back off a post, straight to Patrick Colleter, who hacked
clear.
A Forest goal would have been harsh on Southampton but a visitors' strike
would have been equally hard on Beasant, who defied advancing years to make two
blinding stops at the end of the first half.
He initially raced the edge of his area to deny Ostenstad with a flying stop
after the Norwegian had split the home defence, then plunged to his left to save
from Kachloul, the grateful recipient of another Beattie header.
Not to be outdone, Jones replied at the other end with two superb saves of his
own, first to block an Andy Johnson effort after a mad goalmouth scramble, then
with a pointblank stop from Shipperley, which kept the sides goalless at the
interval.
It took Southampton barely two minutes to change that statistic in their
favour as Forest enjoyed their extended half-time break, manager Dave Bassett
scarcely able to believe the ineptitude on such a crucial day.
Jones' monumental error of judgment allowed Chettle to level, the Saints
keeper fortunate to escape with just a yellow card for his foul on Freedman.
The double strike warmed the fans and the contest gained an extra yard a pace
and an extra pound of strength. The quality remained woeful but passions had
been raised - not just on the pitch.
Both managers were spoken to by referee Mike Reed following an unseemly
touchline battle as the visitors vainly tried to snatch the ball from reserve
keeper Mark Crossley in a bid to take a quick throw-in.
Stone saw yellow for flattening Colleter off the ball but amid the general
frenzy, Kachloul produced a rising drive from the edge of the box which whistled
over Beasant's bar.
At the other end, Colleter cleared Jon Olav Hjelde's header off the line as
Forest introduced golden boy Marlon Harewood from the bench for a concerted
attempt to snatch all three points.
The 19-year-old Londoner did create one opening for himself - but his shot was
deflected and rebounded to safety.
It will take more than a fortunate bounce of the ball to save Forest from
their present plight.
Teams:
Nottm Forest: Beasant, Rogers, Chettle, Hjelde, Stone, Gemmill,
Shipperley, Johnson, Bart-Williams, Freedman (Harewood 76),
Bonalair.
Subs Not Used: Louis-Jean, Crossley, Armstrong, Gray.
Booked: Freedman, Stone.
Goals: Chettle 54 pen.
Southampton: Jones, Hiley, Dodd, Oakley, Palmer, Monkou,
Kachloul, Colleter, Beattie, Ostenstad, Lundekvam.
Subs Not Used: Stensgaard, Bridge, Monk, Dryden, Basham.
Booked: Jones, Palmer, Kachloul.
Goals: Kachloul 48.
Att: 23,456
Ref: M Reed (Birmingham).
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