Newcastle United were left raging with referee Paul Tierney after he denied Academy product Elliot Anderson a moment he should have been treasuring for the rest of his life.
In the aftermath of the incident, which Sean Longstaff was deemed offside, replays show Forest defender Felipe making a deliberate move to continue playing. VAR left Tierney to check the monitor and judge for himself but he was swayed towards Longstaff's position.
The incident was branded "nonsense" by former Premier League whistler Mark Halsey who told the Sun: "The offside law is an ass.
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"It’s a nonsense decision. Surely it’s a deliberate play by Forest defender Felipe? But goals being ruled out for something like this does not sit right with me."
And Newcastle's management team and Academy staff were also enraged by the decision. Academy boss Steve Harper took to Twitter in the heat of the moment and questioned the officials.
He said: "That’s a dreadful VAR decision! How is it offside when two Forest players have intentionally played the ball before Longstaff becomes active."
After the game, Anderson did not need consoling and the level-headed youngster's contributions were so good, he knew he'd played well enough to potentially even earn a start in the next game.
Incredible scenes in the City Ground after the game
The noise generated at the City Ground was simply incredible last night with both sets of fans getting credit for making the Friday night clash a real spectacle.
However, even more than half an hour after the final whistle Newcastle supporters stayed behind and celebrated a huge win. The goalposts had been brought down and all of the Forest fans had left the stadium, but United fans chanted: "This is the best trip I've ever been on," amid wild scenes.
Despite the three hours plus bus journey home, coach drivers were left waiting for fans eager to savour such an important win. The truth is, if Newcastle keep producing team spirit and performances like this, the club will be enjoying much more far away journeys than this in Europe next season.
Alexander Isak gets a clear run to be Newcastle top scorer in final 12 games
Before the clash at Forest, United fans discovered that Miguel Almiron had picked up a thigh injury that could rule him out until the last month of the season. With Almiron the current top scorer on 11 goals, Isak closed the gap by scoring a brace and taking his own personal tally for Newcastle to six.
Isak is now surely undroppable and will get the chance to extend that in the run-in and with Almiron unfortunately absent he will get every chance to finish with as the top scorer at St James' Park this term.
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