ANGE Postecoglou was left cursing his luck as Martin Dubravka’s stunning double kept him waiting for a first win.
Clarets keeper Dubravka pulled off two stunning stops in two amazing minutes, to leave Postecoglou throwing his hands up in frustration on the touchline.
To be fair, it was no more than Burnley merited, in a game neither deserved to lose – or did enough to win – yet for Ange it is three games and counting as Forest chief without a victory.
First Dubravka went full length to push away an Igor Jesus header with the Forest sub’s first touch off the bench.
But while that was good, the Slovak stopper’s next was out of this world, getting down superbly to push Neco Williams’ volley behind as it flew through a packed area.
Mind you, defeat would have been harsh on a Clarets side which had gone ahead after barely 90 seconds.
With a start like that,, you felt maybe their ill fortune of recent weeks was about to change.
Seven days ago a rush-of-blood handball gifted Liverpool a last-gasp penalty winner, while a fortnight earlier there was an even harsher spot kick in an Old Trafford loss.
Well there was no luck involved in Williams’ early opener – just a finger-snapping strike that flew in.
When Fiorentino turned away a Douglas Luiz corner to the edge of the box, Williams hit a rocket that took a slight deflection, but not enough to deviate off a true line.
It certainly didn’t impact Dubravka’s chances of saving it – he wouldn’t have got close in any case – for the Welsh defender’s third goal in 111 Forest appearances.
Opposite number Quilindschy Hartman got in on the act with his own screamer which, while it was never likely to catch out Matz Sels, certainly warmed his palms.
And then Oleksandr Zinchenko joined in the full back fun with a swerving long ranger that Clarets keeper Dubravka was happy to beat away.
If the Ukraine defender was nearly a hero at one end, he was swiftly cast in the role of villain just minutes later, as Burnley levelled.
He was initially outjumped by Lyle Foster as Hartman hung up a deep cross which fell kindly for Jaidon Anthony on the left of the box.
Anthony’s strike was anything but crisp, although it was at least on target and would probably have crept in of its own accord.
Yet Zinchenko made sure it did when his attempt to clear merely saw him tumble onto his backside and hook the ball into the opposite corner.
Strictly speaking it couldn’t be classed as an own goal, given the ball was – almost apologetically – heading for the net, but Zinchenko should have done better.
To be fair to Forest, they dusted themselves down and were soon pinging it around again, and one pinball passing move had Dubravka diving to push away a Dilane Bakwa snapshot.
Mind you, Burnley went even closer to a winner with a thunderbolt free-kick that would have taken Matz Sels’ hand into the net if he’d got anywhere near it.
Loum Tchaouna’s whipped-in 20-yard piledriver had the crossbar rattling so much you’d swear the woodwork was still shaking come the final whistle.
But it would have been even worse had it not been for Dubravka, who came up with those two stunning late stops.
And even when Dubravka was out of the equation – when Arnaud Kalimuendo looked sure to score at the far post, Hartman saved the day by blocking his goalbound drive.
At least it ensured Forest didn’t mark the 21st anniversary of Brian Clough’s death with defeat.
Yet if it hadn’t been for the Burnley keeper, they’d have done so with all three points instead of just the one.
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