24/03/2008 - Northampton 1 Forest 2
Despite a night when Premiership referee Rob Styles stole Colin Calderwood's role as villain, Nottingham Forest and their manager succeeded in restoring not only the side's reputation but their promotion hopes as well.
Within seconds of the kick-off, Calderwood found himself subjected to abuse from both sets of fans.
But by the final whistle it was Styles who was the target of fierce vitriol from Northampton and Forest supporters, following a series of bizarre decisions that left everyone at Sixfields fuming.
It was still Forest who overcame the odds however, as they recorded a remarkable 2-1 success, despite the controversial sending-off of James Perch after only 20 minutes.
Goals from Brett Ormerod and Nathan Tyson earned the three points that took them a step closer to Doncaster and Carlisle and that vital second place in League One.
If Calderwood had feared a cool reception in the tight confines of the Sixfields Stadium, he did not have to wait long.
Barely seconds had elapsed before the home fans began chants of 'You're getting sacked in the summer', which inspired a quick response from the Forest faithful of 'Calderwood out'.
It will be with mixed emotions that the Forest manager will reflect that the attention was not focussed on his presence in the dug-out for long, as the action on the pitch provided more than enough to keep the crowd occupied.
Initially, this was good news for Calderwood as his side made a rampaging start to the game.
It took only nine minutes for Forest to take a deserved lead, following a flowing move that was a carbon copy of the one that earned them a goal against Walsall last weekend.
Julian Bennett advanced down the left side of the pitch and fed the charging Chris Cohen into space down the flank, where the midfielder strode to the touchline before sending the ball skimming across the turf to the far post, where Brett Ormerod was arriving to provide a simple close-range finish.
Five minutes later it could have been 2-0 as Luke Chambers, who was also given a frosty welcome on his return to his former club, created space for Sammy Clingan to deliver into the box and pick out Tyson, who planted a header inches wide of the post.
But official Rob Styles stamped his influence on the match in controversial fashion.
There seemed to be little malice when Perch threw himself into a rugged 50/50 tackle with Northampton's Poul Hubertz, with both players throwing themselves into the challenge wholeheartedly.
Stiles, however, could not seem to get his hand in his pocket quickly enough.
While Chelsea's Ashley Cole may have escaped a red for his challenge on Alan Hutton at White Hart Lane in midweek, the Forest defender perhaps paid the price for the England player's good fortune.
As it was the 14th red card Styles has shown in 32 matches this season, it should perhaps not have been a surprise. In the only previous League One match Styles has taken charge of this season, he boosted his average by sending off three players and booking five in Swindon's 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers.
As if to compound the error, Styles booked both Bennett and Clingan for taking their protests too far.
Then, when the sense of injustice may just have been beginning to fade, Ryan Gilligan launched himself into an identical challenge to the one Perch had produced to leave Bennett in a heap on the touchline - but escaped with a caution.
Northampton powered themselves level in spectacular fashion, as Hubertz - unlike Perch, who had to be carried off the pitch injured following his dismissal - was feeling no lasting effects of their controversial challenge, netted with a neatly taken overhead kick.
Chris Cohen then became the latest victim of Styles, as he was yellow-carded for a run-of-the-mill foul on Hubertz - and was perhaps lucky not to suffer worse on the stroke of half-time, when the referee gave him a stern talking-to for a second time, after protesting too strongly at another of his bizarre decisions.
At the interval there was the normal level of vitriol from the Forest fans but, for once, the chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' were aimed at the referee, rather than Calderwood or his players.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Forest almost retook the lead in impressive fashion when a moment of skill from Matt Thornhill saw him pick out Tyson with his back to goal.
The striker held the ball up well before rolling it out to the edge of the box where Clingan was arriving to smash a rising shot powerfully against the bar.
Styles was not out of the spotlight for long though. Tyson was denied an obvious corner when his close range shot was blocked at the near post - and mild-mannered Thornhill became the third Forest player to be booked for dissent after questioning the decision.
Still it was Forest who looked the more incisive, with another swift counter attack seeing Cohen pick out the advancing Wes Morgan in the box, only for the big defender to lose his footing once he had executed a neat turn to open up a shooting chance.
And Bennett thundered a header wide of the target after rising to connect with a Clingan corner.
Just when it seemed Northampton would survive the spell of pressure, Tyson burst into the box and for once escaped the attentions of Mark Little, who had given him little room to manoeuvre previously, and charged goalwards.
Cobblers keeper Mark Bunn raced off his line to block but, as he slid in at the striker's feet, he took them out from under him - and Styles pointed to the spot.
Tyson made no mistake from the spot, sending the keeper - who escaped with a booking - the wrong way.
After that it was Forest who went closest to scoring again, with Chambers sidefooting a corner narrowly wide of the post and substitute Kris Commons forcing a smart save from Bunn with a driven effort from 20-yards.
And, while the Northampton fans jeered Styles off the pitch, the Forest faithful celebrated a win that had the air of one of those that could ultimately be viewed as a turning point in the season.