Forest U18s returned to league action on Saturday afternoon as Newcastle were the visitors to the Nigel Doughty Academy in the U18 Premier League.
The rain steadily fell as our Young Reds began their final battle of the season, determined to leave it all out on the pitch one last time.
Both sides opted for a false nine down the middle of their forward lines, making the pitch a congested space for the players to get used to in the opening minutes.
Just outside the Newcastle penalty area, midfielder George Hemmings received the ball well, finding himself on the end of a left-sided Danny Anisjko slalom, pinging a deflected shot just past the far post. Forest certainly started as they meant to go on...
Anisjko was finding plenty of joy down that left wing; he was scythed down by an opposition defender, who picked up the first booking of the afternoon. It was a heated game, there would go on to be five yellows in total.
Half Time: Forest U18s 0-0 Newcastle U18s
After a fairly uneventful half in terms of scoring opportunities, the pendulum would swing in favour of the home side only a minute into the half.
Anisjko executed some neat trickery before cutting inside, and lofting the ball into the penalty box: James Clarridge rose like a salmon and nodded home to score his first goal of the season via an accurate glancing header. Forest led, but only temporarily.
The visitors would score 20 minutes later, finishing off their first proper clear-cut chance of the match. Following a decent header, that Forest's trialist keeper was able to impressively palm away, the ball fell to Ciaran Thompson, who poked home to level for Newcastle.
Forest would react with a tactical shift; the versatile Henry Lister was shifted from left-back to right-wing to make up a 4-2-4 as the home side chased a vital three points.
But with 15 to go the visitors would pull ahead through yet another header - Darren Palmer flashed a header across our trialist keeper, who had no chance of saving it, and wheeled away to celebrate Newcastle's unexpected comeback.
2-1 the final score as the Young Reds close the curtain on a defeat to cap off their promising 22/23 season.
Full Time: Forest U18s 1-2 Newcastle U18s
Nottingham Forest: Trialist; Gbopo (Morgan 90), Lister (Hull, 75), Clarridge, Sinclair; Whitehall (Thompson, 78) , Robinson (C) (Lemonakis, 88), Hemmings; Adueni, Clarke, Anisjko.
Newcastle: Harrison; Powell, Charlton, Bailey, Watts; Thompson, Emerson, Munda; Donaldson (Craggs, 88), Mavididi (C), Palmer.