Elliot Anderson scored an 88th-minute equaliser against his former club as Nottingham Forest fought back in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United at the City Ground. 

Anderson never scored a senior goal for the Magpies after coming through their youth system, but he fired past Nick Pope from a tight angle to snatch a potentially valuable point for Forest, inching them closer to securing their Premier League status.

Forest had started slowly, with Vitor Pereira shuffling his pack in response to Thursday's Europa League exit against Aston Villa and Morgan Gibbs-White still out injured.

The best chance of the first half saw Matz Sels spread himself to block William Osula's drive, and Newcastle started to create chances more regularly after the interval.
Bruno Guimaraes fired off three attempts – one wayward and two saved by Sels – before Osula's free-kick clattered off the crossbar.

It looked like Newcastle had won it in the 74th minute as Jacob Ramsey slipped a throughball into fellow substitute Harvey Barnes, who lifted his finish over Sels, but Anderson had the final say.

He 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 the England international recovered to see out seven minutes of stoppage time. 

Forest will be mathematically certain of survival if West Ham lose to Arsenal later on Sunday, while Newcastle can no longer make the top seven, with even their chances of finishing eighth – which could be enough for European football – extremely slim.

Data Debrief: Anderson strikes as Newcastle let another lead slip

Eddie Howe has been cursing Newcastle's inability to hold onto leads all season, and they have now dropped a remarkable 27 points from winning positions this term.

Only in 2004-05 (31) have they ever dropped more in a Premier League campaign. 

The identity of Forest's goalscorer will be even more frustrating, given that Anderson never found the net in 55 matches for Newcastle across all competitions. 

Newcastle had one fewer shot than Forest (16 to 17) but won the expected goals (xG) battle by 1.55 to 1.19, with Sels making five saves to frustrate the visitors.