After putting up a good fight to get back on level terms in the first half Nottingham Forest failed to add to this in the second and once again had to be satisfied with a point.

It was a fairly even first half full of incidents which included four goals, four yellow cards and a sending off for Rovers coach Paul Trollope.

The second half was disjointed with neither side exerting much pressure and the referee added four more yellow cards to his tally with Grant Holt sent off for picking up his second.

Forest started the game well with Kris Commons having an shot from 20 yards saved in the opening minutes after Neil Lennon did well to get the ball forward from the half-way line.

Junior Agogo provided another chance when he fed the ball across to Sammy Clingan, who had made a tremendous run to the back post, but Stuart Campbell dived in and diverted the ball back towards his keeper.

The game quietened down after the good start and Forest allowed Rovers to get back into the game.

They had a chance when Richard Walker got away from Kelvin Wilson but Wes Morgan got a challenge on him inside the penalty area to put the ball out for a corner.

After sustained pressure they were rewarded with a goal from defender Byron Anthony. Forest looked to have cleared the danger but Chris Carruthers got the ball back in to Anthony who turned and buried the ball from the edge of the penalty area.

A couple of minutes later Rovers were awarded a penalty when Lewis Haldane went down under a challenge from Luke Chambers. Walker sent the ball low into the corner to Smith's left for Rovers' second goal.

But Forest were quickly back into the game when Commons sent the ball into a crowded penalty area. Morgan rose to get it but Anthony got his head on the ball at the near post and the ball was deflected over Steve Phillips and into the net for an own goal.

The referee's decisions at times seemed strange - he sent Rovers' coach to the stands for arguing and Sammy Clingan became the fourth player to go into the book.

After Forest produced some good football Grant Holt put Forest on level terms in stoppage time. Chambers and Clingan combined well to get the ball forward. Chambers fed it down the right for Agogo whose superb cross found Holt who headed down from the back post past the Rovers keeper.

Early in the second half Williams' back heel almost let Walker in as the ball went across the Forest box but he couldn't quite get there in time.

It was a very disjointed first 15 minutes with two long stoppages for injuries to two Rovers players.

After a mistake from Chambers, Morgan bailed him out with a lunge inside the box to stop Rovers from taking the lead.

Great possession by Forest gave them a chance when Lennon released the ball for Agogo but it was a bit long and Phillips was able to get on the end of it before the Forest striker.

Lennon became the fifth Forest player to be booked when he argued with the referee after he thought that Forest should have received a penalty when Commons went down.

As Forest fought for an elusive winner Nathan Tyson replaced Commons with 15 minutes remaining.

Rovers had a chance soon after that when Craig Disley got away down the right but his shot at a tight angle was blocked by Bennett.

James Perch came close for Forest with a long-range shot that Phillips couldn't hold, but Steve Elliott got onto the rebound to make the clearance.

With both sides going all out to find a winner the pace picked up resulting in some good end-to-end football.

Forest were awarded a free kick when Tyson, having got past one defender, was blocked by Aaron Lescott who was booked for the offence. Clingan's free kick from 20 yards was blocked by Anthony.

With six minutes to go Forest were down to ten men after Holt received a second yellow card for a fairly minor challenge on substitute Sammy Igoe.

A double substitution on 90 minutes failed to have any effect on the game and Forest once again had to be satisfied with a point.

Nottingham Forest: Smith, Chambers, Morgan, Wilson, Bennett, Perch(Thornhill 90min), Lennon, Clingan, Commons(Tyson 74min), Holt, Agogo(Breckin 90min)
Subs not used: Roberts, Bastians,
Bookings: Holt 19min,84min Red Card Chambers 27min, Clingan 41min, Morgan 53min, Lennon 72min,
Scorers: Anthony 30min og, Holt 45min,

Bristol Rovers: Phillips, Lescott, Anthony, Elliott, Carruthers, Pipe(Igoe 75min), Campbell, Disley, Williams, Walker(Lambert
65min), Haldane(Jacobson 65min)
Subs not used: Hinton, Rigg,
Bookings: Williams 16min, Lescott 82min
Scorers: Anthony 25min, Walker 28min pen,

Referee: A Hall
Attendance: 9,080 away attn:1,191