Macken should have silenced the Forest fans, who were goading him for his connections with the Reds' east midlands rivals Derby, by converting a similar chance to the one from which Joe Garner scored the only goal of the game.

But the former Rams striker headed wide from inside the six-yard area when found by Jamal Campbell-Ryce's pin-point cross from the right. Foster then struck the crossbar in stoppage-time.

"I think we deserved something out of the game but if you don't put your chances away then you don't get anything," said Davey.

"We have had chances that you would expect us to put away. You would expect Jon Macken to put that away in the first half and you would expect Stephen Foster to put that away at the end.

"We have been punished because of that. In this division, you can't afford to come away from home and have clear-cut chances and miss them.

"If you do that then you are always going to get punished because the other team always gets a chance and if they take it you are in trouble. And that is what happened, Forest took their one chance and took the points."

Davey added: "It was a good goal by Forest – a great cross and a great header – and they deserve some credit.

"But as a back four you have to stop the cross and get bodies in the box to stop the header."

Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp earned the praise of manager Colin Calderwood after his stoppage-time save ensured the Reds climbed off the bottom.

Camp has rescued points for Forest this season with late penalty saves to earn his side draws at Derby and Bristol City, and the former England Under-21 international produced heroics again at the death at the City Ground.

Anderson De Silva's low 30-yard free-kick through a crowded area was seen late by Camp, but he reacted to make the save and push the ball away to safety.

It ensured Forest held on for only their third win of the season and their first at home since beating Watford 3-2 in August.

Calderwood said: "He has certainly been worth a few points for us this season.

"If it wasn't for the penalty saves at Derby and Bristol, we would have ended up losing those games. The save at the end today was another good moment for him. He is a good keeper. He has has experience and that stands us in good stead."

There were calls of 'Calderwood out' from Forest fans at Doncaster during the drab goalless draw at the Keepmoat Stadium in midweek, but it was a different story after the final whistle against Barnsley.

Rumours were rife that the Scot would lose his job if Forest lost, but Calderwood said: "You have to smile when you win, and I have only smiled three times this season. We got ourselves into this pickle and we can get ourselves out of it."

Nottingham Forest: Camp, Moloney, Morgan, Wilson, Lynch, McGugan, Perch, Anderson (Thornhill 82), Garner (Reid 90), Earnshaw (McCleary 75), Tyson. Unused substitutes: Smith, Chambers.

Barnsley: Muller, Hassell, Guedes, Foster, Kozluk, Campbell-Ryce, De Silva, Colace, Whaley (Cureton 58), Macken, Odejayi (Rigters 73). Unused substitutes: Leon, Van Homoet, Coulson.

Referee: P Crossley (Kent).

Man of the match: Lee Camp.