Boss Chris Hughton pointed to Lewis Grabban’s saved penalty as a turning point in Nottingham Forest’s 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday.
The Reds striker had a spot-kick saved just before the break, in a game otherwise short on chances for either side.
Anthony Knockaert had been brought down by Keiren Westwood in the area as he tried to make the most of a loose pass.
But the Owls stopper made up for his error by pulling off a great save to prevent Grabban from making it three goals in three games.
“It was a good save, and it changes the game,” said Hughton.
“At 1-0 down at half-time, their game would have had to change in the second half. They would have had to come out a bit more, which could have given us an opportunity to increase a lead - if we had gone in front.
“It’s a big moment for them, particularly coming just before half-time. That would have given them a lift.
“We had another penalty claim in the second half, with Alex Mighten - and, for me, that one was a penalty.”
Forest had gone into the game with Championship safety already secured, while their opponents’ fate still hangs in the balance.
Hughton’s side have, though, struggled for goals all season, and the lunchtime kick-off at Hillsborough was no exception.
It took a fantastic stop from Brice Samba to thwart Josh Windass and ensure the visitors kept a clean-sheet.
“Over the 90 minutes, I felt we were the team more likely to score,” said Hughton.
“They were a team fighting for their lives, and you could see that.
“But I thought we were the better side overall.
“I was disappointed towards the end when we got into some really good areas, but then had to rely on Brice to make a fabulous save to keep us in the game. That’s probably my biggest disappointment - that we’d got to the stage of the game and were having to rely on that.
“In general circumstances, you can be happy with a draw away from home, but I just felt with the areas we got into, we could have made far more of them.”
