Nottingham Forest were "battered" by Sheffield United and are "fortuitous" to reach the Championship play-off final.
Steve Cooper's side took a 2-1 lead into the second leg of their semi-final tie at the City Ground on Tuesday night but started slowly and it could have been level on aggregate when slow defending meant Brice Samba had to produce a point blank save to deny Morgan Gibbs-White from close range. Six minutes later, Brennan Johnson increased the Reds' lead when Brennan Johnson instinctively lashed home Sam Surridge's pull-back. A fracas broke out when United boss Paul Heckingbottom forcefully pushed a ball into Djed Spence's midriff as tensions and emotions threatened to boil over just before half-time.
The Reds started the second half slowly and allowed United to threaten from a flurry of corners before Gibbs-White eventually made it 3-2 on aggregate with a reaction finish past Samba. John Fleck put the visitors ahead on the night and level on aggregate 15 minutes before full-time, and either side could find a winner in extra-time as they headed towards a shoot-out.
