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Sky Bet Championship: Nottingham Forest boss bemoans decisions against Leeds

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Nottingham Forest boss Stuart Pearce insists at least one of the decisions in his side’s 1-1 draw with Leeds was wrong

Stuart Pearce insists Matty Fryatt should have had a hat-trick and Nottingham Forest should have had three points after the striker had two goals disallowed for dubious offside decisions.

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds after Billy Sharp's penalty cancelled out the one Fryatt goal that was allowed to stand.

But the former Hull player had goals disallowed either side of half-time - which replays later suggested should have stood.

And Forest manager Pearce admitted his disappointment, saying: "There was plenty of endeavour from the players and when you score three good goals in a game and only come away with a draw, it is a frustration.

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Nottingham Forest's Matt Fryatt says he was disappointed with his side's 1-1 draw against Leeds after missed chances and two disallowed goals

"The pleasing thing was that we got three good goals... but we managed to come out on the wrong side of it, having had another questionable decision.

"There is no question that they were onside. We have seen them again and they were all onside. We won't moan. But we do know that we scored three goals and that we should have won.

"We got a draw and we are disappointed, that is the nature of this football club. We drew last weekend too and we were disappointed. We will look to win the next game."

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Nottingham Forest were left frustrated by the linesman's flag as Leeds United left the City Ground with a 1-1 draw

Pearce admits his side are struggling to live up to expectation, finding themselves seven points off the play-off places heading into the festive period.

"There is an expectation that comes with playing for Nottingham Forest. We are one of the teams that, when we are playing outside of the Premier League, will always be tipped to do well, to be one of the leading lights," he said. "We, as a group, bring that on ourselves a touch. We have to work on that. We have to keep trying to improve.

"We created chances, but we are our own worst enemy sometimes."

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Leeds manager Neil Redfearn says his team put in a great performance and deserved the luck they received in their game at Forest

Leeds boss Neil Redfearn was delighted with the character of his players, as they held out under heavy pressure for a point.

"The way we applied ourselves, the way we battled and competed was excellent. The overall performance and the diligence we showed was really pleasing," he said.

"We are turning things around, we are moving in the right direction. We are playing well at home and we were dogged today. What you find is that, if you keep working at it, the draws soon turn into wins away from home.

"We felt positive at half-time, but we told the players to be upbeat in the way they played. It was a great run from Sam Byram to earn the penalty. I was pleased for Billy Sharp as well, because he worked so hard for the team and deserved his goal."

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