BILLY Davies today described the decision to deny Nottingham Forest a last minute equaliser at Barnsley as 'incredible.'

Referee Kevin Friend ruled out a 90th-minute strike by Robert Earnshaw, after Luke Steele had fumbled the ball, for a foul on the keeper.

The Leicestershire official also awarded a penalty against Earnshaw earlier in the game, after Emile Teixeira had gone down in the box.

"Wait until you see the footage of it – it was incredible. Incredible," said Davies. "But he has ruled out the goal.

"As for the penalty, Earnshaw claims that he never touched their player. There was also an infringement in the build-up to it.

"These things happen when luck is against you and luck is against us."

The 2-1 defeat at Oakwell leaves Forest eight points behind second-placed West Brom, but Davies has refused to rule out automatic promotion following a match his side might have won if not for several missed chances, including two from Dele Adebola in the first half.

"There are plenty of positives to take out of the game. They have given us great hope and inspiration with the energy they played with and the chances they had," he said.

"The difference between winning and losing is taking those chances – but I thought Dele led the line brilliantly. I thought the whole team deserve great credit.

"We have to keep working away. I am saying to you, let's see what happens. I have seen eight, nine and ten point gaps turned around in the space of four or five matches.

"Unthinkable things happen in football. The most important thing is that we wait and see what happens.

"You are talking about a young side and a situation where these players are going through something they have not been through before.

"They are doing all they can to win matches. We are in a healthy position and, if they keep giving us that level of performance, we will win a lot of matches."

Davies recognises the need to turn around Forest's form away from home, following a sixth straight defeat.

"We have to stop the rot away from home. But this was a different ball game. We were hungry and showed a lot of desire. I thought we were first class," he said. "The standing ovation we got from our fans at he end told you everything."