Leeds United 1 Nottingham Forest 1

Last updated : 06 April 2008 By Footymad Previewer
Leeds United are still awaiting their first win under manager Gary McAllister but it could have been worse as Jermaine Beckford's 83rd-minute penalty rescued a point against fellow promotion chasers Forest at Elland Road.

Julian Bennett's 69th-minute header had given high-flying Forest the lead but, after United had two penalties rejected, but it was third time lucky as Beckford drilled home his 17th goal of the season.

McAllister, who rejected a move to Forest in his playing days before joining Leeds, kept an unchanged team despite the 1-1 draw at Northampton.

Forest, who returned to winning ways against Millwall last week after a five-match victory famine, still lacked leading scorer Junior Agogo, on African Cup of Nations duty with Ghana.

But Colin Calderwood's side were almost gifted an early lead when, in trying to clear Lewis McGugan's 20-yard free-kick, Alan Sheehan headed just wide of his own net.

Forest, who operated with three men at the back and packed their midfield, were the more incisive side early on.

A neat break through the middle by Kris Commons and Will Hoskins ended with Commons going close.

United struggled to create openings for Beckford and Tresor Kandol but both sides struggled to judge their passes on Elland Road's uneven surface.

United's best efforts on goal in the first half came from long-distance shots by Jonny Howson and Bradley Johnson.

Referee Mark Halsey was unpopular with Leeds fans for refusing to respond to the first two penalty claims.

The first came in the 33rd minute when Luke Chambers appeared to handle Darren Kenton's cross into the box and the second arrived on 54 minutes when Hoskins was the offender.

Nathan Tyson wasted a glorious opportunity for Forest soon after the interval before setting up an opportunity for co-striker Hoskins, who failed to connect in the goalmouth by a bootlace.

Beckford had a header cleared off the line but when Kandol was brought down by Wes Morgan for the penalty, Beckford showed his composure to end a lean scoring spell and give Paul Smith no hope from the spot.

McAllister said: "We got a penalty which Forest will say was a wee bit lucky but I felt we could have had two or three. It is another two points that have slipped away but I thought it was a decent match for League One and there are a lot of points still to play for.

"We switched off on occasions. You have to stay fully focused throughout the game, but I was pleased the boys kept going after we fell behind and that they got their reward."