Nottingham Forest 4-2 Leeds: Jack Colback hits brace as Marcelo Bielsa's visitors battle valiantly with 10 men after Kalvin Phillips sees red Leeds were dealt a blow in their race to win promotion to the Premier League Jack Colback scored a brace as Nottingham Forest edged closer to the play-offs Marcelo Bielsa's side were down to 10 before the break as Kalvin Phillips saw red By Amitai Winehouse For The Daily Mail Published: 16:58 GMT, 1 January 2019 | Updated: 17:10 GMT, 1 January 2019 Viewcomments They sang his name from the first minute and it was instantly greeted with applause. By the end, they had good reason. Whatever those behind the scenes think, the Nottingham Forest fans want Aitor Karanka to stay. Under pressure before this gripping win against Leeds, Karanka was said to have lost the dressing room. Not on the basis of the second-half, where his men fought and overcame a blistering comeback by the visitors to win a first game in six. Nottingham Forest blew league leaders Leeds away in a six-goal thriller at the City ground Jack Colback was the star for Forest as he netted a brace to condemn the visitors to defeat A straight red for Leeds' Kalvin Phillips turned the game on its head to leave Leeds in trouble There are caveats. Leeds played 45 minutes with just 10 men and had already gifted Forest an opener when Kalvin Phillips was dismissed. But Marcelo Bielsa’s side are a tough nut to crack in any situation and Karanka will, presumably, earn credit for this result. It came on the back of a mad 10 minutes as Forest overturned Leeds’ lead through Jack Colback, Daryl Murphy and Ben Osborn. The new year got off to a perfect start on the pitch for Karanka. Forshaw was under pressure from Colback but still managed to get a pass back to the goalkeeper. It was soft and short, and Peacock-Farrell did not charge out to recover. Instead, the midfielder latched onto it, rounded the Leeds stopper and slotted into an empty net. Just four minutes in, it was a serious boost for a side that has been struggling. Leeds then had reason to feel aggrieved after Jack Harrison was taken down while clean through on goal by Jack Robinson. Referee England chose to show a yellow despite protests from the away side that Forest should have been down to ten. Bielsa’s side then grew into the game. They had a series of decent chances, with Gjanni Alioski missing a header and Harrison teeing up Roofe for a strike that Costel Pantilimon saved. If anything, the league leaders had lived up to their reputation, Forshaw’s error aside. But soon Leeds’ disappointment grew. Kalvin Phillips miscontrolled a high ball. Adlene Guediora reached it first and Phillips, in an attempt to recover, dived in. His tackle was dangerous, his foot was high and the referee had no choice but to send him off. Pontus Jansson was then lucky to escape without punishment after jumping into a challenge with his elbow raised – he did not connect with anyone. Bizarrely, Leeds found themselves ending the half a goal and a man down, despite having the better of the game. Not that Bielsa was unsettled. He brought Jak Clarke on for Harrison and it paid off within seven minutes. Clarke received the ball on the right after a lovely pass from Klich and all the youngster had to do was fire under the diving Pantilimon. Rather than holding onto what they had, Leeds kept on pushing. Roofe was inches away from giving them the lead after springing the offside trap and lobbing the keeper. They soon went in front. Forest failed to deal with a corner and Hernandez crossed to the back post. Jansson went up, headed across the face of goal and Alioski was there to fire home. Not that they held the advantage for long. Colback struck again after a corner dropped to him on the edge of the box. And the hosts went ahead four minutes later, Daryl Murphy rising highest to head home from a corner after Peacock-Farrell dallied on coming to collect. Then Ben Osborn wrapped up the victory with a brilliant strike into the top corner after cutting inside on his right boot. Time left, then, for another round of the fans declaring they want Karanka to stay. Presumably those in charge will listen to the message. MATCH FACTS AND LEAGUE TABLE Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Pantilimon, Dariwka, Hefele (Guedioura 4), Fox, Robinson; Yacob, Colback; Lolley (Osborn 64), Carvalho, Cash; Murphy (Appiah 90) Subs: Steele, Janko, Yates, Dias Goals: Colback 4 and 68, Murphy 72, Osborn 76 Bookings: Robinson, Dariwka Leeds United (4-1-4-1): Peacock-Farrell, Ayling, Jansson, Phillips, Douglas (Roberts 78); Forshaw; Alioski, Hernandez, Klich, Harrison (Clarke 45); Roofe Subs: Huffer, Halme, Davis, Baker, Shackleton Goals: Clarke 53, Alioski 64 Sent off: Phillips Referee: Darren England Attendance: 29,530 Championship Premier League Championship League One League Two Scottish Premiership Scottish Div 1 Scottish Div 2 Scottish Div 3 Ligue 1 Serie A La Liga Bundesliga Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility