NOTTINGHAM, England, May 10 (Reuters) - Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson fired a late equaliser against his boyhood club Newcastle United, securing a 1-1 draw on Sunday to grab a vital point for his side in their effort to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Newcastle had taken the lead through Harvey Barnes in the 74th minute, but once again their penchant for conceding late goals proved costly as Anderson netted in the 88th minute to snatch a share of the spoils.
The point leaves Forest 15th in the table on 43 points and in a position of relative safety, and if West Ham United lose to Arsenal later on Sunday, then Forest will be assured of avoiding the drop.
"Massive," Anderson said of the result. "We knew going into these last few games it's important to pick up points and finish on a high. It's a good point considering I don't think we were at our best today, but when you're not at your best, it's about not losing points and we've picked one good one up."
After finishing seventh last season and qualifying for Europe, hopes were high at the City Ground this term, but it has been a turbulent season with a slew of managerial changes and a battle against demotion that they finally look set to win under current boss Vitor Pereira.
"We've made a U-turn and done really well, the manager is brilliant and we're all behind him. Tough game in midweek (a 4-0 loss to Aston Villa in the Europa League semi-finals), but we'll bounce back and now focus on the league," Anderson said.
"One thing the manager said is that this group is full of fighters. Four managers, it's not been easy, but we've all stuck together and fought for each other."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
