Tesche strike earns Forest draw
Charlton earned their 11th stalemate of the Sky Bet Championship campaign with a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest - but might have had all three points if not for a wonder-goal from German midfielder Robert Tesche.
The former Hamburg man sent a spectacular 22-yard volley high into the corner of the net to earn Nottingham Forest a point at the City Ground, after Callum Harriott's 10th-minute strike had put Bob Peeters' side ahead.
But, while Charlton had been the better side in the first half, the second half belonged to Stuart Pearce's team, with Jamie Paterson, Michail Antonio and Dexter Blackstock all coming close after substitute Tesche had levelled in the 59th minute.
It was Charlton who took a deserved lead into the interval, following a first period in which the home side had failed to find any momentum.
Forest's best opportunity, in fact, did not come until first-half injury time, when Henri Lansbury exchanged passes with Antonio before firing a shot straight down the throat of grateful Charlton keeper Nick Pope.
Prior to that, Antonio had fired a half chance well over the bar and Jamie Paterson had driven wide. At that point, Forest were already looking to find their way back into the game, after Charlton had taken the lead with the kind of decisiveness that the home side had been lacking.
When Johann Berg Gudmundsson had picked out Harriott 20 yards from goal, the Charlton forward still had work to do, but he shaped up swiftly to hit the ball and delivered a crisp shot that, with the aid of a slight deflection, found the bottom corner of the net, beyond the reach of Karl Darlow.
Charlton would have held a two-goal advantage if not for the brilliance of the Forest keeper, who showed outstanding reactions to parry after Igor Vetokele had connected powerfully with a diving header at close range, with Eric Lichaj alert enough to block substitute Lawrie Wilson's attempts to drive home the rebound.
WIlson had been introduced in the 20th minute, following an injury to Charlton skipper Johnnie Jackson - while it was no surprise when Forest made a change at the interval, with Lansbury replaced by Tesche.
Lansbury had collected his ninth booking of the campaign in just the seventh minute, for a foul on Jordan Cousins, and had pushed his luck with a few clumsy challenges afterwards.
The change inspired a bright start to the second half from Forest, with Antonio prodding inches wide of the target following a goalmouth melee and Tom Ince lifting an angled, lofted shot just a little too high.
Forest continued to push, with Paterson seemingly denied a clear penalty, after Tal Ben Haim had brought him down from behind in the box.
But Forest's pressure ultimately led to a 59th minute equaliser.
A headed clearance from the Charlton defence fell perfectly for Tesche, who simply lashed a spectacular 25-yard volley high into the corner of the net.
Substitute Blackstock forced a save from Pope with a towering header, while the keeper also held a low shot from Antonio and Paterson shot wide as Forest piled on some late pressure.
Source: PA
