Ten-man Nottingham Forest made it four games unbeaten, but had to settle for a point in a 0-0 draw with Luton Town.
Jack Colback, who had been filling in at left-back, was sent off for a second yellow card in the second half, with Brice Samba saving the resulting penalty from Elijah Adebayo.
The Reds felt they should have had a spot-kick of their own soon after, when Philip Zinckernagel was brought down, but referee Jeremy Simpson awarded a free-kick just outside of the area.
Samba then came to his side's rescue again, pulling off a stunning stop in the closing minutes to ensure a clean-sheet at the City Ground.
It brought an end to a game which was also notable for midfielder Braian Ojeda making his debut.
Here's what head coach Steve Cooper had to say at the final whistle.
Was it a tale of two penalties?
“Let’s talk about the game. First half, we dominated possession and I thought we were tactically superior.
“We were ready to step it up a notch at the start of the second half. Lyle (Taylor) had a chance, Phil was getting into some good areas, and we were ready to really go to work in the last half hour.
“Obviously that opportunity was taken away from us. And then we had to show the other side of our game. A group of lads have shown that it matters, that this football club matters. They’ve given everything to make sure they kept the ball out of the net - from unbelievable individual moments from our goalkeeper, to good tactical composure in defending the box, to showing heart and soul.
“I expect that. But at the same time, when you see it, you have to give credit when it’s due.”
How important was Brice Samba's contribution?
"Massive. He's had big moments today. It's like a striker scoring the winner.
"He made a massive contribution to us getting the result - not the result we wanted, but the result that was forced on us in the end.
"Saving a penalty is brilliant. The save at the end looked unbelievable live, I'll have to see it back.
"He's got a big round of applause in the dressing room. There's a lot of respect for him today."
What did you make of the two penalty incidents?
“First of all, I don’t think it’s a corner. And if he’s going to give a penalty for that, okay, we’ll take it, but he’s going to have to give a lot of penalties this year.
“He (Simpson) is high on his stats for yellows and reds anyway. We let the players know that. He was true to form.
“And yeah, everyone has seen it (the Zinckernagel penalty claim)."
Jack Colback looked really frustrated when he walked off after the red card...
“Yes, because he’s a really experienced player and he’s been in great shape for us.
“He’s filled in at a different position today (at left-back), and he’s more than competent at doing that.
“We wanted him to get a little bit higher than he was doing in the first half, and he was doing that. He played in Joe (Lolley) a couple of times.
“He’s gutted, because he knows he was in a really good moment.
“But two yellows, it’s only one game, so he’ll be back soon.”
What did you make of Braian Ojeda's performance?
"Good. It was great to get him up and running.
"He's had to wait patiently, and we've had to be patient with him as well. I was never going to throw him in. And also, we haven't been losing games. Jack and Yatesy (Ryan Yates) and James (Garner) have been in there, and have been doing a good job.
"He's had to be patient. But personally, I think that's worked for him - it's allowed him to really adapt and get up to speed with everything, the obvious football stuff but also the living in a completely different part of the world aspect.
"I'm just really pleased he's up and running. We've got another player at our disposal.
"He's done 90 minutes as well, which is great credit to him.
"I want that competition. We were never going to continue much longer with just using the same players; as well as everyone's been doing, some things get forced on you, some things you want to change.
"The more good players you have ready to go, that's great."
Is there any update on Max Lowe's injury?
"He's going to be out for two months. He's had a groin strain.
"We knew he had a muscle strain, but you just have your fingers crossed that it's one of the lower grades. I don't know exactly what grade it is, but he's going to be out for two months.
"It's a blow. But it happens, and we get on with it."
