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Nottingham Forest held on for a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Newcastle at the City Ground to thwart the Championship leaders.

Dexter Blackstock capped an inspired first-half performance with a goal on the stroke of half-time to give Forest the lead their expansive possession deserved.

Newcastle dominated the second half and even had the ball in the back of Forest's net through a Kevin Nolan header, but the midfielder's effort was immediately ruled offside.

The match was the first league meeting between the two sides outside the top flight since 1948, and the atmosphere at the City Ground reflected each club's passionate following.

The game saw the return to the City Ground of former Forest boss Colin Calderwood, who was assisting Newcastle's caretaker manager Chris Hughton, and striker Marlon Harewood, who had scored in both of his previous returns but was subdued along with Andy Carroll in attack on this occasion.

The match began at a frantic pace as the hosts flew out of the traps with Blackstock at the forefront of everything going forward.

Newcastle's combative captain Alan Smith set the tone with a crunching challenge on Paul McKenna inside the third minute which earned him a booking from referee Paul Taylor.

A minute later, Steve Harper was forced into making a very smart save after Blackstock met Paul Anderson's cross with a fine downward header to send the keeper sprawling across his line to parry the ball away.

Both sides then contrived to hit the post as the relentless tempo of the game showed no sign of abating.

First Blackstock rose high above his marker Zhurab Khizanishvili once more in the middle of the Newcastle box, but saw his header rebound cruelly off the inside of Harper's far post.

At the other end, Danny Guthrie whipped in a devilish delivery from the left which curled viciously through a cluster of bodies in the Forest box, including Harewood who stepped over the ball, and it ricocheted off Lee Camp's woodwork on the half-hour.

Anderson demonstrated exquisite skill and a deft touch time and again in the first half and a precise run from the midfielder to the edge of the Newcastle area enabled winger Nathan Tyson to fire a fierce shot narrowly wide of the far post with Harper struggling to get across to it.

Half time looked set to bring an abrupt end to the ceaseless flow of the game, but not before Blackstock had finally made his mark, as he had threatened to do from the outset.

Again it was Anderson who threaded an incisive pass through from the left and Blackstock was played onside by the dawdling Ryan Taylor out on the right as he was allowed to collect the ball and slide a composed finish under Harper to open the scoring.

The second half was played at a similarly breathless pace with Newcastle dominating the play and keeping their hosts firmly under the cosh.

Blackstock almost scored an own-goal as he inadvertently skewed a headed clearance from a Newcastle corner back towards the goal he was defending, but Chris Cohen was on hand to clear off the line and spare the striker's blushes.

As Newcastle pressed with unerring purpose, Forest allowed themselves to be pushed further and further back inside their half until they were effectively boxed in by their opponents, with Blackstock increasingly isolated in attack.

Nolan wheeled away in celebration after he stole in at the back post to meet Danny Guthrie's cross from the right after Smith had flicked the ball into his path, but his joy was quickly extinguished as the flag went up for offside. Replays showed that he crept just beyond his marker Chris Gunter to latch on to the delivery.

Newcastle knew that a positive result would allow them to further consolidate top spot in the Championship with only West Brom having mustered three points among the early leaders, but they now slip behind the Baggies into second place.

Forest were rewarded for their obdurate defending in the second half as they confounded their opponent's advances and clung on to the slender victory which takes them above Leicester into seventh place.

Dan Quarrell / Eurosport