In the passionate Premier League "Unwrap the Box Day" morning match, Nottingham Forest's against-the-wind hero Keith Waters scored three goals to turn the score from a one-goal deficit to a 3-1 comeback, and the new manager Newnes got the opening goal on his debut in the post. Meanwhile, Newcastle's rapid momentum suffered two consecutive defeats, ending their seven-game home winning streak in the league, and the team's recent successive defeats in Europe and the EFL Cup have left them in a serious confidence slump.
Newcastle were positive in the early stages of the game and Alexander Isaac won a crucial penalty and converted it himself to give his side a 1-0 lead on 23 minutes. After taking the lead, they continued to keep the pressure on while Forest relied on quick counter-attacks to find chances. Finally, in a high-speed attack just before half-time, Elenga broke down the left-hand side to the byline and delivered a precise cross which Keith Waters grabbed just in time to slot into an empty net to level the scores for Forest and make it 1-1 at half-time.
