Nottingham Forest 3 Ipswich 2

FOUR defeats on the bounce have plunged Paul Jewell's Ipswich into crisis as they twice threw away the lead to a resurgent Forest side.

A month ago, the Tractor Boys were contemplating Premier League football, while Forest were deep among the dead men in the relegation zone.

Today, they sit level on points with Forest who, under the intense Steve Cotterill, are heading upwards as Ipswich plunge towards the depths.

Town defender Danny Collins' two headed goals looked set to give the visitors maximum points.

Robbie Findley cancelled out the first but it was not until the 84th minute that Joel Lynch hauled Forest level for a second time. Then Marcus Tudgay grabbed the winner in time added on. Collins said: "To score twice and still get beat is a sickener. We should have held on to win — maybe we played too open and, in the end, got caught out.

"We played some good stuff but ended with nothing and that is disappointing."

Collins, on loan from Stoke until next month, scored his first goals for Town after welcoming his first child, Lucas, who was born seven weeks premature.

He added: "It's been an eventful couple of weeks but my son is home now and everything is hunky-dory — except our results!" Boss Jewell was ready to explode after watching his highly-paid team of loan players and free agents give it away. He stormed: "Six minutes to go and we are winning and yet we end up losing it — it is hard to take.

"What makes it worse is that all three goals were our own mistakes — we have to get out of that habit."

Forest are a different side under Cotterill after the dramas of Steve McClaren. Lynch said: "The thing Steve Cotterill has brought to the club is a great spirit and that showed here.

"We know if we keep working hard we can do something in this division. To come back twice shows our spirit."

Cotterill said: "When we went behind, I stayed calm and I told my players at the break that goals change games."

SUN STAR MAN JOEL LYNCH (Forest). Scored the leveller which set up his side to go for winner.

Bob Harris (The Sun)