ANDY Reid conjured up another spectacular goal – his fourth in six games – to help Nottingham Forest fight back from behind to claim a 2-2 draw at Doncaster.
The midfielder sent a powerful shot high into the corner of the net in the 81st minute, as Billy Davies' side levelled for a second time in the game.
Federico Macheda had twice put the home side ahead, with goals in each half. Chris Cohen had cancelled out the first with an impressive finish of his own, curling home from the edge of the area.
And Reid ensured that Forest made the short journey home with a share of the spoils, as he again showed his quality at the vital time.
There was a bright start to the game, with Forest quickly putting Doncaster on the back foot.
When Darius Henderson – playing as a lone striker – flicked a header to Djamal Abdoun, the Algerian set up Andy Reid for a shooting chance. With his right foot, the Irishman failed to muster the power to trouble Ross Turnbull, who made a simple save.
Abdoun and Mackie were playing in wide positions, although the former Olympiakos player again seemed to have something of a free role.
Mackie tested Turnbull with a powerful shot, which the keeper did well to hold. While the Doncaster stopper also had to get his body behind a cross/shot from Abdoun, bent towards the near post.
It was Doncaster who had the best of the early opportunities though, with Halford getting an important challenge in to put off Theo Robinson as he attacked a cross at the near post, after Reece Wabara had powered forward from right back to deliver.
Forest responded by carving out a decent opening for Mackie, as he beat Rob Jones for pace, before testing Turnbull's reaction with a crisp, low shot that the keeper did well to smother.
Abdoun had a shot charged down after Doncaster gave away possession on the edge of their own box, while a Cohen cross had Mackie sliding in at the near post, only for his prodded shot to be deflected wide for a corner.
Jack Hobbs, pushing forward from the back, found himself with the room to shoot from 25 yards. A deflection took the pace off the ball – but almost fed in Reid, with Turnbull alert to the danger.
Doncaster looked to be a threat from set pieces, but it was Forest who had the greater menace from open play, with a clever ball from Reid inches away from giving Mackie a headed chance a few years out, on the half hour mark.
With ten minutes to go before half time, it was the home side who found their cutting edge however, with Robinson running at the Forest defence, drawing the attention of Lichaj – and leaving room for Macheda to surge into the box on the overlap.
Robinson fed the on-loan Manchester United man and he did the rest, slotting a confident finish underneath the body of the advancing Karl Darlow.
But the lead was to last only five minutes, with Forest hitting back with a fine goal of their own. Reid's touch gave him a moment to think on the left side of the box, where he fed a simple, but decisive pass into the path of Cohen's surging run.
The Forest skipper responded with an outstanding finish, curling the ball beyond Turnbull and into the corner of the net, from the edge of the box. Lansbury might have put them ahead within a minute, but his forceful shot missed the target by a narrow margin.
Although, with the game having sprung into life, Hobbs also had to clear the ball off the Forest line, after a Macheda cross had taken a wicked deflection.
Doncaster took the lead for a second time, six minutes after the break, following a swift counter attack. Robinson's powerful run started it off, before he fed Wellens, bursting into the box on the right. The experienced midfielder then gave Macheda the simple task of slotting the ball home at the far post.
A foul on Lansbury gave Reid the chance to try his luck with a free kick from the edge of the box and he had Turnbull at full stretch with a curling effort that was bound for the bottom corner, before the keeper pushed it around the post.
Forest made two changes with Jamie Paterson coming on for Abdoun and Radi Majewski replacing Chalobah. Either side of the change, Reid had two shots from the edge of the box, both of which rose narrowly over the target.
Henderson missed a decent chance to level for a second time, as he drove a shot into the side netting when presented with room to pull the trigger.
While Robinson might have given Doncaster some breathing space, but headed badly over when unmarked 12 yards out.
Forest wanted a penalty when firstly Reid and then substitute Matt Derbyshire went down in the box, amid a melee of players. But neither claim was particularly convincing.
What was more emphatic was the manner in which Reid provided the equalising goal, within a minute of the incidents. Collecting possession 20 yards out, the midfielder took a touch, before smashing an unstoppable shot high into the corner of the net.
The moment sent the 4,000 Forest fans behind the goal into frenzied celebrations. And they should have been celebrating again, had Paterson not fluffed his lines when presented with a superb chance to put Forest ahead.
Derbyshire's darting run into space down the left was followed by a crisp ball across the box, but Paterson failed to properly connect with his shot, eight yards out, with only Turnbull to beat.
Henderson had a late header saved, although had the ball found the net it would not have counted, with the referee having spotted a push. But it was the home side who were hanging on in the final stages.
Doncaster: Turnbull, Husband, Furman, Jones, Brown, Macheda (Coppinger 70), Khumalo, Keegan, Wellens, Robinson (Cotterill 82), Wabara (Quinn 58). Subs: Maxted, Duffy, McCullough, Bennett.
Forest: Darlow, Lichaj, Hobbs, Halford, Cohen, Chalobah (Majewski 63), Lansbury, Reid, Abdoun (Paterson 63), Mackie (Derbyshire 70), Henderson. Subs: de Vries, Collins, Moussi, Jara.
