At half-time the league leaders were heading for their second successive Premiership defeat after Chris 
           Bart-Williams and Dougie Freedman had fired Nottingham Forest ahead at the City Ground. 

           Dave Bassett's side were worthy of their 2-0 lead as they made a mockery of the 17 places which separate 
           these two sides in the table. 

           Villa did not look anything like the team which has taken the Premiership by storm this season. 

           Presumably manager John Gregory let fly with the tea cups at the interval because in the second half 
           they eventually started to play and Julian Joachim earned them a draw with two goals. 

           Joachim, who replaced the Stan Collymore who was denied the chance to face his old club by a 
           stomach virus, outshone Dion Dublin. 

           Dublin was a pale shadow of the player who had scored seven goals in his first three games for Villa 
           and his afternoon was complete when he fluffed a glorious chance in stoppage time. 

           Forest did not look like a side which had not won a league match in three months as began with a 
           confidence and fluency not seen for many matches. 

           Bart-Williams almost caught Villa goalkeeper Michael Oakes out with a cross which whizzed past 
           the far post before Pierre van Hooijdonk got in behind the visitors' defence only for his shot to be 
           blocked. 

           Still Forest pressed and Oakes palmed away Steve Chettle's header from Steve Stone's corner. 

           Forest were inching closer and closer to the opening goal and it should have come in the 20th 
           minute when Stone pulled the back into the path of van Hooijdonk, but the Dutch international 
           completely missed his shot. 

           Back came Villa and Paul Merson picked out the unmarked Steve Watson 25 yards on the right 
           and he unleashed a shot which was well held by Dave Beasant. 

           But normal service was soon resumed and Forest scored the goal their efforts deserved in the 32nd 
           minute. 

           Van Hooijdonk made the initial run at the heart of the Villa defence and after a quick exchange of 
           passes, Freedman released Bart-Williams on the left and he shot across Oakes into the far corner. 

           It was the midfielder's first goal of the season and what a time to score it. The Forest fans, who had 
           not seen their side win at home in the league since August 22, could scarcely believe their eyes and 
           two minutes before the interval they were rubbing them even more when Freedman made it 2-0 with 
           a terrific strike. 

           Van Hooijdonk found his strike partner on the edge of the area and he let fly with a rasping shot 
           which flew past Oakes and into the top right-hand corner. 

           Villa replaced Merson with Alan Thompson at half-time, but initially it made little difference and 
           Nigel Quashie almost scored a third only for his goalbound-shot to be blocked. 

           Urged on by the clearly agitated Gregory, Villa stepped up their search for the goal which would 
           haul them back into the game. 

           And it came in the 58th minute through Joachim following a good build-up. 

           Watson beat one Forest defender and fired in a shot which Beasant could only parry and Joachim 
           followed up to tuck the rebound home. 

           Villa were finally buzzing and Ugo Ehiogu headed over from Alan Wright's left-wing cross. 

           This tussle between East and West Midlands was coming nicely to the boil and Freedman broke 
           down the left only to see his shot go agonisingly across the Villa goal. 

           Beasant blundered in the 64th minute to present Villa with their equaliser.  

           He failed to collect Craig Armstrong's back header under pressure from Joachim and the Villa 
           striker gleefully knocked  the ball into the empty net for his fifth goal of the season. 

           Now it was Forest's turn to attack and Oakes made a fine save from van Hooijdonk's powerful 
           downward header from Stone's corner. 

           Van Hooijdonk was looking more and more dangerous and he appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty 
           before he curled a free-kick round the Villa wall, but into Oakes' arms. 

           In stoppage time both sides could have snatched victory as Dublin missed from inside the six-yard 
           box and then Oakes saved another van Hooijdonk free-kick. 
(c) Carlingnet