NOTTINGHAM Forest may have been denied by wood and Steele against Barnsley, but they still have two games in which to prove they have sufficient steel to rebuild the foundations of their season.
Much will depend on their own mettle, as they find themselves needing wins over Millwall and Leicester City, if they are to secure the top-six finish they crave, following a remarkable afternoon against Barnsley.
Tykes boss David Flitcroft was able to see the funny side, admitting that Nottingham Forest would be outstanding at the Soccer AM 'crossbar challenge', following a remarkably one-sided game in which the home side were denied by the woodwork on no fewer than four occasions.
There was little to laugh about from a Forest point of view, as the post, the bar and the outstanding reactions and athleticism of Barnsley keeper Luke Steele combined to ensure they notched up a sixth game without a win. But there was still a concrete, rock-solid resolve, from both manager and players, a steadfast belief that all was not lost.
Having frequently referred to the run of three wins in 14 matches prior to his arrival, which Davies made clear he regarded as being relegation form, it will not be lost on the Scotsman that their recent haul of four points from Forest's last six games is hardly promotion form either.
But the wheels have not yet fallen off their play-off challenge completely. There is no escaping the fact that Forest are suffering a dip in form, where results are concerned.
It has not yet dealt a fatal blow to their hopes, however, as each of the play-off contenders take it in turns to stumble, as the finishing line approaches, ever closer, on the horizon. And, following a season of remarkable drama, it is hard to escape the feeling that there are a few twists and turns still to come.
What is certain is that there is no more margin for error. Defeat at the New Den on Saturday would almost certainly mean that the ambitions of the Al Hasawi family to secure Premier League football would not be fulfilled for at least another year.
But, equally, victory could change the picture again completely. The two sides immediately above Forest, Leicester and Bolton, both face difficult challenges of their own next weekend, with the Foxes hosting Watford – who still have a slim chance of claiming automatic promotion – on Friday and Dougie Freedman's Trotters travelling to face champions Cardiff on Saturday.
Even Crystal Palace, in fifth position, have a tough fixture at Ewood Park, where they will come up against a Blackburn side still needing points to avoid the drop.
That is not to say the task facing Forest is an easy one, at one of the more intimidating venues the Championship have to offer.
But, while the Lions may have attracted unwanted headlines for the actions of a minority of their fans off the pitch, during their FA Cup semi-final clash with Wigan, on the field of play they have often lacked fight at home, where they have lost nine times this season.
Only Peterborough have a worse home record overall, in the division. At the same time, 42 of Forest's 64 points this season have been claimed against sides in the bottom half of the table.
And that tally should really have been 45 now, if not for a flurry of misfortune against a Barnsley side who mustered only one meaningful effort on goal on Saturday afternoon.
A few weeks ago Blackpool came to the City Ground with a plan to shut Forest out; to defend with a five-man midfield and give Davies' side little room to operate. It was a plan that almost earned Paul Ince's men three points.
But, while Barnsley may have arrived with the same intent, the plot that unfolded this time was very different.
While Forest had often, critically, lacked attacking threat and creativity since that draw with Blackpool, this was never the case against the Tykes, as they positively bristled with attacking intent from start to finish.
Forest, a side that had not scored in the first 15 minutes of any league game this season, almost carved out an opening within 15 seconds, as Henri Lansbury picked out Simon Cox in the box. When the striker went down under pressure from three defenders, there was a half-hearted penalty appeal at best. Referee Andy Haines was right not to listen to the appeals of the Irish international.
But the moment still provided a demonstration of intent that, for the majority of the game, was to see one-way traffic flowing towards Steele's goal.
Lansbury was the first to hit the bar, with a header from a Radi Majewski corner. A huge throw from Greg Halford then picked out Billy Sharp, who connected firmly with a diving header, but saw Steele make his first superb save, diving instantly to his right to hold.
Adlene Guedioura saw Steele push away two powerful long-range strikes, as the first half drew to a close. The second period sprang into life as Reid bent in a powerful cross from the left that flew right to the far post where Lansbury attacked it with a spectacular diving header – only to see Steele pull off yet another stop.
Steele's best save when Reid carved out the room for a shot from the edge of the box, with the keeper somehow managing to push it onto the post, before saving again, minutes later, from a powerful Sharp header.
The striker finally beat Steele, after Elliott Ward had headed into the danger zone, but saw his vicious instant strike bounce away off the post.
And, late on, Forest were to suffer frustration yet again, as another pinpoint cross from Reid found Sharp, who saw his header bounce away off the bar again.
It felt like one of those afternoons where, even if the game had continued for another hour, Forest would still not have made the breakthrough.
But their challenge now is to produce the same level of attacking threat against Millwall whose 3-0 defeat at Huddersfield left a certain amount of lingering doubt hanging over their Championship future.
If Forest can do that, then even if Millwall keeper David Forde has the game of his life, they are unlikely to finish the game without a goal.
And, if they can make the return journey back to Nottingham with three points, there could still be time for one final twist – and a final piece of drama.
