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Ange Postecoglou headed towards the exit with a puzzled expression, his eyes downcast. After seven matches as manager and no victories, his immediate future seemed as uncertain as thick mist over the river.

While the home side were far from their best level, late goals from Bruno Guimarães and Nick Woltemade—Woltemade's a spot-kick—eventually earned them a much-needed second top-flight win of the season.

From the start, Postecoglou's padded jacket swaddled him similar to a blanket, but the Australian's restless gestures suggested it provided little comfort.

No coat could shield Postecoglou from the fear that his victory-less beginning at Forest—having arrived as the first manager in 100 years to go winless in his first half-dozen games—would extend ahead of a possible dismissal over the international break.

However, his team did not do too badly during a defensively stingy first half.

While Elliot Anderson on occasion upstaged even Sandro Tonali in the center, showing everyone why Eddie Howe was so reluctant to let go of the academy product, the defender marked Woltemade out of the game, and Nicolò Savona caused Dan Burn problems on the flank.

In fairness to Woltemade, who received minimal supply to his feet or head, his team's attacking play was not quite clicking.

Admittedly, it took a superb stop from Matt Sels—ex- Magpies goalkeeper—to keep out Joelinton header, and the midfielder missed a few opportunities, but generally, Forest's defense was much improved.

Given it is barely a month since the Australian succeeded his predecessor and matches have come in quick succession, leaving precious little time to put into practice his ideas on the training ground, all the speculation of an looming dismissal seemed faintly ridiculous.

Or at least it did until the midfielder curled a right-foot shot over the keeper and into the upper net from just outside the box.

It left the manager looking dismayed in apparent despair, with the pained expression of a man who had misplaced his keys.

The Forest squad protested about a perceived infraction on Morgan Gibbs-White by Guimarães in the buildup, but their appeals were ignored by the referee.

As Tonali now ascendant in the middle, the youngster was not the only visiting player struggling to make an impact.

At this point, Postecoglou had thrown off his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his jumper. With his team rarely appearing likely of finding the net and the hosts threatening to break down their earlier much-enhanced defensive organisation, he was obviously under pressure.

There was another excellent save from Sels to keep out the midfielder's driven cross-shot, before the following set-piece led to the striker's shot crashing the bottom of the bar.

Sels then made an superb two quick stops from the defender and Harvey Barnes before finally being beaten again from the penalty spot by the German.

The penalty was given when Anderson's mistimed challenge brought the Brazilian tumbling to the ground.

Up stepped, the German striker to beat the goalie by lifting a quite audacious spot-kick into the top left corner.

It was his fourth strike for Newcastle since his seventy-million-pound move from the German side in August, contradicting claims from officials at the German giants that Newcastle were “idiots” to pay so heavily for the centre-forward.

It wasn't Woltemade's best game in black and white, but his skill to retain possession and use his sticky control to link play is already making him a cult hero on Tyneside.