Colin Calderwood hailed his Nottingham Forest players after they come within four minutes of sending Sunderland tumbling out of the Carling Cup.

Robert Earnshaw's stunning 59th minute free-kick - his fourth goal in five games - looked like being enough to send Forest into the third round.

But Sunderland hit back in the dying minutes at The City Ground through Phil Bardsley and substitute David Healy's goal in the third minute of extra-time saw Roy Keane's men home.

Boss Calderwood said: "I'm pleased we've performed half decent on the TV - similar to the Reading game we've given a decent account of ourselves.

"There are positive signs about the way we played and our appetite for the game was excellent.

"We got about them and the boys are really disappointed they didn't see it out.

"They were shooting from distance and made one or two decision that let us off the hook on occasions.

"It was quite a heroic effort in terms of our application and the way we recovered from the soft goal early on in extra time.

"We continued to pass and get it into the last third - we just ran out of the effectiveness and energy to be really decisive and really hurt them."