N Forest 2 – 2 Brentford

Nottingham Forest salvaged a 2-2 draw against Brentford thanks to Mathias Jorgensen’s 96th-minute own goal at the City Ground.

The Bees were without Ivan Toney as he was serving a suspension, but Bryan Mbeumo (45+3) and Yoane Wissa (75) scored in his absence to make a comeback after Morgan Gibbs-White’s deflected opener (20) .

But Forest secured the equalizer with one of the game’s finishing touches after Gibbs-White’s shot bounced off Brentford defender Jorgensen and slightly over the line – despite Ben Mee’s best effort.

Forest felt aggrieved after conceding a first-half penalty, which was expertly converted by Mbuemo, following VAR intervention after Dean Henderson’s challenge on Yoane Wissa.

Steve Cooper, Forest’s head coach, admitted he was ‘biting his tongue’ over penalties and said ‘if [the referee] gives one, he has to give four” after seeing appeals from Ryan Yates, Emmanuel Dennis and Gibbs-White dismissed.

Brentford snatched their maiden league win away to the death but moved up to 10th while Forest remain rooted to the bottom of the table, two points from safety.

How Forest saved a point in stoppage time

Forest set out to hurt Brentford on the counterattack and caused major problems for the visitors for most of the first half. Gibbs-White was the hosts’ orchestrator and his performance was rewarded with a shade of luck as his shot deflected Mee for his opener after 20 minutes.

Brentford received a comeback in the game when referee Andre Marriner awarded them a penalty – after being asked to review his decision on the pitch by VAR – for Henderson’s challenge on Wissa when the striker was on goal.

With regular penalty taker Toney suspended, Mbeumo took on spot-kick duties and converted easily, sending Henderson the wrong way to maintain Brentford’s 100 per cent record from the Premier League place.

Boosted by their first-half equaliser, Brentford took the lead through Wissa’s lofted finish after a perfectly timed ball from Mathias Jensen after 75 minutes.

Forest pushed hard to equalise, having been the better team for much of the game, and finally got the breakthrough six minutes into stoppage time when Gibbs-White’s shot bounced off Jorgensen and into the net .

Brentford are still in the hunt for an away win in the Premier League this season and are now on a four-game losing streak.

Cooper: Hard to bite my tongue on penalties

Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper:

“We played very well in the first 35 minutes and I thought we were good for the lead. I thought we should have been more [goals up].

“I didn’t like the last 10 minutes of the first half, we had unforced errors which gave Brentford decent positions, which were self-inflicted.

“You’re going to ask me about penalty decisions. My feeling is if he gives one he has to give four. We think the one on Emmanuel Dennis in the first half is worse, we think the one against Ryan Yates in the first half is worse than the one given against us and then Morgan Gibbs-White in the second half.

“We feel abused, that’s pretty obvious. The system has let the referee down, more than a bit. Luck has gone against us in terms of refereeing.

“But I also look at the last 10 minutes of the first half and the goals we conceded. The first is unlucky, but we shouldn’t let them get into that position. The second is bad defending.

“It’s good to show your heart and soul at the end of the game and to go on and get something out of the game. But I have mixed feelings about how the game went today and I I have trouble biting my tongue.”

Frank: Difficult goal to concede in stoppage time

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank:

“It’s hard to take it when you’re in the lead with six minutes of stoppage time and you don’t get the win.

“I’m very proud of the team, we were at a bit of a low point. Three of our four captains – Norgaard, Pontus and Ivan – were absent.

“Kristoffer Ajer and Aaron Hickey were also absent, Vitaly Janelt we had to take off at half-time, Jensen didn’t train all week, so other players stepped in on a difficult pitch.

“It’s very noisy here. We lost 1-0, Liverpool did that two weeks ago and couldn’t come back. The way we approached the second half made me very proud and happy.”

And after?

Nottingham Forest host Tottenham in the third round of the Carabao Cup this Wednesday. Kick-off is at 7:45 p.m. From Steve Cooper’s side so welcome crystal palace in the Premier League on Saturday November 12 at 3 p.m.

Brentford will be visited by the Ligue 2 club Gillingham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday with kick-off at 7:45 p.m. The Bees complete their rotation ahead of the Premier League World Cup with a trip to the champions Manchester City November 12 in the midday match at 12:30 p.m.