Nottingham Forest showed huge effort and commitment to survive everything that was thrown at them to win a point at Bramall Lane.

Forest were down to ten men just 15 minutes into the game after a foul by Kelvin Wilson saw him see red. But Forest made it hard for United in the first half and did well to go in at half time without conceding a goal.

There was frustration all round in the second half with Forest defending well and late pressure from United was superbly dealt with by goalkeeper Paul Smith.

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After the euphoria of Saturday it was back down to earth with news that loan goalkeeper Iain Turner has a broken toe and top goalscorer Robert Earnshaw is out with a knee problem.

With a total of five changes to the side that beat Bristol City two days earlier, it took Forest time to settle into the game, but they kept composed in the opening minutes, not allowing United to take control.

But then, after 15 minutes, Forest were down to ten men after Wilson was sent off allegedly for head contact with Greg Halford, who went down far too easily under the challenge.

Forest changed their formation to 4-4-1 with Dexter Blackstock alone up front, Joe Garner playing down the right and Chris Gunter moving into defence.

Chances were few and far between with the only effort for Forest coming from Gunter, whose shot from 18 yards out on the right was easily caught by Paddy Kenny.

United, with a noisy crowd behind them, tried to frustrate Forest, who successfully kept the pace under control and it was increasingly the home side that were frustrated.

Forest's best move of the half came after Isiah Osbourne did well to win the ball and pass to Luke Chambers. He put the ball through to Chris Cohen who produced a superb cross but was only able to win a corner for his efforts.

Three minutes from half time a good save by Paul Smith at the near post from point blank range stopped United from taking the lead from a free kick.

A late break by Forest put the United goal under pressure but Blackstock's header was comfortably saved by Kenny, diving low to his left.

Forest won a corner at the start of four minutes stoppage time which saw Chris Cohen booked for taking too long to walk across to take it.

Forest looked confident at the start of the second half, winning several challenges and they were frustrated more by the referee than the United side, with Wes Morgan picking up a yellow card early on.

Billy Davies didn't wait long before making his first substitution of the half, with Paul Anderson replacing Dexter Blackstock 11minutes in.

The inconsistency of the referee continued to frustrate the Forest players, with James Perch having a word with the referee as he once again ignored a United offender.

It nearly proved costly when Perch mis-kicked but Smith got quickly off his line to get to the ball before Darius Henderson could get on the end of it.

Forest struggled to keep possession and then wasted a rare chance when Gunter made a great run into the penalty area. The ball broke for Garner but his shot went over the crossbar.

Garner became the second player to be substituted, taking his time to go off to be replaced by Garath McCleary.

Forest continued to be frustrated by the referee and they in turn frustrated the home crowd as they took time with their third substitution, with Lewis McGugan coming on for Chris Cohen.

A free kick for the home side came to nothing when Greg Halford's shot from 25 yards went straight into the arms of Smith and United's 14th corner of the game was also dealt with well by the Forest keeper.

The tension mounted as United kept the ball in the Forest half and with five minutes stoppage time to contend with, Osbourne's header deflected Lee Hendrie's effort over the crossbar as Forest continued to soak up the pressure.

McGugan won a free kick when he was clattered into by Leigh Bromby but he wasted the chance, sending the ball flying over the crossbar.

United missed another chance when Beattie's shot from the edge of the penalty area went over the bar for a Forest free kick.

And Smith had to make another save in the sixth minute of stoppage time, before the referee finally blew his whistle and Billy Davies went across to celebrate with the travelling supporters for a point thoroughly deserved.

Nottingham Forest: Paul Smith, Luke Chambers, Wes Morgan, Ian Breckin, Kelvin Wilson, Chris Gunter, James Perch(C), Isaiah Osbourne, Chris Cohen(Lewis McGugan, 78min), Dexter Blackstock(Paul Anderson 58min), Joe Garner(Garath McCleary, 69min)
Subs not used: Shane Redmond, Matt Thornhill
Bookings: Breckin 12min, Wilson RED CARD 16min, Cohen 45min, Morgan 53min,

Sheffield United: Paddy Kenny, Greg Halford, Gary Naysmith, David Cotterill(Craig Beattie 57min), Chris Morgan(C), Darius Henderson, Nick Montgomery, Jamie Ward(Arturo Lupoli 80min), Brian Howard(Lee Hendrie, 66min), Kyle Naughton, Leigh Bromby
Subs not used: John-Joe O'Toole, Kyle Walker
Bookings: Bromby 90+2min

Referee: M Jones
Attendance: 28,374