Emmanuel Dennis put Steve Cooper’s side ahead early in the first half on home soil before Young scored the equalizer for Fia with a long-range missile.

By ending his losing streak in five matches, Forrest moved one point above Leicester to 19th place.

But Forrest has won only once in nine league games this season and faces a huge battle to avoid relegation to the championship.

“It’s a step in the right direction. It’s not the ambition to be at home drawing and not have a lot of ball but under the circumstances we have to accept tonight it was a step forward,” Cooper said.

“You lose five matches while rebounding and that’s when you might see people hiding but I see the opposite.”

“What happened last season was unbelievable but we are in this league and it is a different sport than the championship. If we don’t change a little bit it would be naive.”

Villa are unbeaten in their last four games, but Steven Gerrard’s side are also at risk of relegation.

Villa have won only once in their last seven league games and are only three points clear of the last three.

“It was a great hit and it was one of a few quality moments in the final third. Ashley Young is an example for us at the moment, and we’re really happy with him,” Gerrard said.

“I don’t think we made enough to say we deserved to win. We are on the verge of turning a draw into a win but to do that we need great players to go forward for us.”

– perfect response –

It was a mixed week for Cooper, who watched his team thrashed 4-0 against East Midlands rivals Leicester seven days ago.

That left Forrest ingrained at the bottom of the table and fueled speculation that Cooper would be sacked just months after he won the promotion that ended the club’s 23-year ban from the Premier League.

But forest owner Evangelos Marinakis chose instead to back Cooper with a new contract until 2025.

Cooper, who made five changes from Leicester’s loss, was given a standing ovation by Forrest fans before kick-off, and the atmosphere was even more rowdy 15 minutes later.

Forrest made a fine free kick as Morgan Gibbs-White Dennis chose to header past Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from six yards.

It was Dennis Forest’s first goal since he joined from Watford for 20 million pounds ($22 million) in August, but Villa gave the perfect response seven minutes later.

Ole Watkins nodded to Young 25 yards from the goal and the left-back fired a shot into the bottom corner.

Forrest demanded a foul from Villa’s Jacob Ramsey on Ryan Yates in the build-up, but Young’s first goal for the club since 2011 was allowed to stand.

Young, 37, is Villa’s second-highest scorer in the Premier League behind Peter Schmeichel, the Danish goalkeeper who was only a few months his senior when he scored in 2001.