Nottingham Forest 0, Albion 0.

Three seasons ago, Michel Kuipers' career almost came to an excruciatingly painful end against Nottingham Forest.

Now the long-serving Dutchman might just be involved in a fourth promotion campaign with Albion.

Nobody did more than Kuipers to earn the point which has edged the Seagulls back into the top six.

He made several fine saves, most of them in the first half and the best of them early on to deny the accidental culprit of the aerial collision at Withdean which left Kuipers with an awful shoulder injury.

Kris Commons, back as the inventive force for Forest after a groin problem, cut through Gary Hart and Kerry Mayo to give himself a free run on goal.

The tension enveloping the City Ground looked certain to be lifted as the anxious Forest faithful, miffed that Colin Calderwood's side are not on course for automatic promotion, were ready to applaud Commons' swift breakthrough.

Kuipers stood tall to deflect his shot for a corner, rescuing League One's comeback experts from the kind of deficit which has become an annoying habit.

Kuipers' pivotal contribution to Albion's first away clean sheet since mid-December did not end there. Sharp reflexes foiled Luke Chambers' header from a quickly taken free-kick midway through the first half and he retreated to push over a clever chip from Commons before the interval.

That was relatively routine compared to the diving, one-handed stop which kept out Wes Morgan's back-header from an inswinging free-kick by Commons early in the second half.

Boss Dean Wilkins joked afterwards: "That is what he is there for" before conceding, "He had a good game. A lot of the saves he had to make were pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.

"If they had gone in the back of the net I think Michel and we would have been really disappointed."

Faint praise indeed. Perhaps Wilkins was reluctant to single anyone out after such a stout dcollective display but Kuipers' influence on the result was undeniable.

The stop from Commons just 12 minutes into the contest gave him particular satisfaction.

Kuipers explained: "It was 95 per cent that he would score and five per cent to save but I just said to myself to stand up.

"That was when it got into his mind to smash it and I got something on it and just deflected it past the post.

"I think it was quite a turning point for us. If you see your goalkeeper make a save like that it gives everyone confidence and from then on the whole team was terrific."

The poignancy of thwarting Commons was not lost on Kuipers, although he stressed: "That was just a freak accident. He didn't do it on purpose and I respect him as a brilliant player but I got the better of him and I am very happy about that."

Albion are entitled to be very happy too with a point. Forest will feel aggrieved they did not win. They went close on numerous occasions and the woodwork denied them twice but Kuipers and his colleagues deserved the bits of luck that went their way for their dogged refusal to be beaten.

Matt Thornhill hit a post in the first half from an acute angle when Nathan Tyson's flying header drifted to him.

The biggest stroke of fortune came with six minutes left, substitute Lewis McGugan surging forward to strike a shot from 20 yards which rebounded off the inside of the right-hand post, with Kuipers for once helpless.

Tommy Elphick typified Albion's determination. The young central defender, who finished the match as captain with Nicky Forster withdrawn to preserve energy, defended with customary gusto.

He almost scored as well with a header just before the break from a Dean Cox corner which Forest keeper Paul Smith helped on to the bar.

Part of Albion's justification for warranting parity was the way they got to grips with the hosts in the second half, once they had stifled Forest's left-sided defender Julian Bennett as an attacking outlet.

There were also one or two other close calls for the home side. Forster, given his recent ruthlessness, somehow swivelled to shoot wide of an open goal from five yards in the opening stages.

Imagine what that would have done for the frayed nerves of the Forest faithful and their players.

They looked uneasy at the back at times when Albion broke, although Forster's glaring miss was matched by Thornhill lifting the ball over the bar from even closer range from a corner just after the break.

Wilkins said: "I'm surprised we are in the top six after a draw but I'll take it. We put in a really good performance.

"Defensively we were heroic. We really tried to take the game to them, because we thought we could cause them problems and we did that with a degree of success. With a bit more quality on the break we could have won."

Forest ought to be concentrating on making sure of a play-off spot, rather than forlornly chasing their next two hosts, Doncaster and Carlisle.

For Albion, mad March has been magnificent so far. This was their eighth match in 24 days, an exhausting programme from which they have done remarkably well to take 14 points.

Another searching examination awaits at Leeds on Saturday but now it is the Yorkshiremen playing catch-up.

Albion (4-1-2-1-2): Michel Kuipers; Gary Hart, Tommy Elphick, Joel Lynch, Kerry Mayo; Therry Racon; Steven Thomson, David Martot; Dean Cox; Nicky Forster, Glenn Murray. Subs: Doug Loft for Thomson (withdrawn 69), Jake Robinson for Forster (withdrawn 74), Guy Butters for Cox (withdrawn 90), Joe Gatting, Shane McFaul.

Scorers: None.

Yellow Cards: Hart (19 foul), Thomson (45 foul).

Nottingham Forest (4-1-2-1-2): Paul Smith; Luke Chambers, Wes Morgan, Kelvin Wilson, Julian Bennett; Sammy Clingan; Matt Thornhill, Chris Cohen; Kris Commons; Brett ormerod, Nathan Tyson. Subs: Garath McCleary for Chambers (withdrawn 74), Lewis McGugan for Thornhill (withdrawn 74), Junior Agogo for Cohen (withdrawn 84), Emile Sinclair, Mark Byrne.

Scorers: None.

Yellow Cards: Cohen (59 foul).

Attendance: 18,165 (1189 Albion).

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