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Aitor Karanka says Nottingham Forest must find the same kind of momentum that helped Wigan power to promotion from League One – and that almost carried them to victory over the Reds at the DW Stadium.

Forest showed their character and determination to claw their way to a point from a 2-2 draw with Paul Cook’s side, as Hillal Soudani swept home the rebound after Lewis Grabban had seen his injury time penalty saved, to cap off a much improved second half display.

But the Reds had been fortunate to still be in the game by half-time, following a first half in which the Latics dominated – but missed numerous chances to add to their 2-1 lead at the interval – amid an awful 45 minutes from the visitors.

Nick Powell scored after only two minutes, from a corner, and, while Matty Cash equalised with an emphatic finish eight minutes later, a penalty from Will Grigg deservedly restored Wigan’s advantage, which could have been much bigger.

But, while he admitted it would have been "almost impossible" for Forest to have played worse than they did in the first half, Karanka was pleased to see his side show their character again, as they fought hard to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

(Image: Dan Westwell)

“I think the main thing has been the point that we have got and the spirit of the team, which we had until the last second,” said Karanka.

“I said that we did not play well last Saturday (against Reading) - but today, it was almost impossible for us to have played worse than we did in that first half. We were not good.

“I told them that this game reminded me of our game against (then newly promoted) Millwall last season. Wigan have momentum, because they won promotion and they were really good and really strong.

“We cannot forget that we have been working together for a month or a month-and-a-half and, even when we play badly, we do not lose games. That is the main thing.

“Now is the time to keep going and to create some momentum of our own.

“The main thing is the spirit the team has shown again, just as we did on Tuesday. We had 11 players all trying to equalise, believing that they could, right until the last moments.

(Image: Dan Westwell)

“I am positive for the future, because the players want to win these games.”

Karanka admitted he was speechless over Forest’s start to the game, as he had warned his players to be ready for Wigan to fly out of the blocks. Instead it was Forest who shot themselves in the foot as they conceded a corner after only 30 seconds.

“It is difficult when you are preparing for the game and you tell the players that they had to be careful – and after 30 seconds, we are living the same story. It is difficult to understand,” said Karanka. “We need to keep going; we need to keep fighting.

“It is true that Wigan were in League One last season, but they have a good group of players and a good manager and they are playing with confidence.

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“We need to create our own momentum, because with the players we have, we will win a lot of games.

“The start we made to the game is difficult to understand, so imagine how difficult it is to explain.

“I told the players to be careful at the start of the game. Because this fixture reminded me of our game against Millwall last season. We have to fix this.”