Leeds United fought back from a shaky opening spell to claim a deserved point from a 1-1 draw against npower Championship rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Forest stormed out of the blocks in their first home game of the season and spurned clear-cut chances either side of Dexter Blackstock’s ninth-minute opener.

However, Billy Davies’ men were made to pay for not taking full advantage of their early dominance as Leeds levelled through Lloyd Sam and it was the visitors who appeared more likely to grab a winner during a scrappy second half.

Yesterday’s result means both sides are still looking for their first league victory of the season, although United took plenty of encouragement from a spirited display.

Manager Simon Grayson said: “We know we are going to be on the back foot at times in this division, but we dug in and our goal gave us a bit of belief.

“Getting our first point was very important because if we had lost the first two games it would have been difficult for us.”