Forest skipper Matt Mills hit the bar with a header but Town’s home game with Forest remains 0-0 at the break.
Daryl Murphy and Jonathan Douglas missed out due to injury with Luke Hyam and Kevin Bru coming into the starting line-up, while Andre Dozzell, aged 16 years and 308 days, was on the bench for the first time.
The Blues started in a 4-4-2 formation with Bru on the right and Freddie Sears and Brett Pitman up front.
Forest threatened first in the third minute, Bialkowski doing well to get down to his left to push Nelson Oliveira’s header wide from Ben Osborn’s left-wing cross. From David Vaughan flag-kick, Gary Gardner headed straight at Bialkowski.
Dexter Blackstock picked up the game’s first yellow card in the seventh minute for catching Christophe Berra with an arm.
On eight, Sears broke away through the middle and found Pitman but Forest keeper Dorus de Vries was able to claim his low shot from a tight angle on the left.
Town were taking control of the game and in the 12th minute a long spell of Blues’ passing in the Forest half ended with Bru threading in Sears on the right of the area and de Vries pawing his shot wide at his near post.
But Forest came back into it and in the 18th minute Bialkowski made another terrific save when Pitman surrendered possession midway inside the Blues half with only Berra and Tommy Smith back.
Blackstock fed Oliveira and the on-loan Benfica man curled a shot towards the left corner of the Polish keeper’s goal, but the Town number 33 got across superbly to push the ball around the post.
Both sides had had chances in an entertaining first quarter of the game which had swung one way and then the other and on 22 Sears brought the ball forward before hitting a shot which De Vries palmed away.
Ryan Mendes was sent away on the right of the Town area on 24 but Berra got across to divert the ball behind. From the corner taken by Vaughan, the visitors went close to going in front when skipper Matt Mills powered a header off the top of the bar.
Town threatened on 28 when de Vries punched away Bru’s curling right-wing cross ahead of Pitman and the ball fell to Kevin Foley 20 yards out, but his shot went well over. Soon after, Pitman sent over a low cross from the right but the Forest keeper was able to claim comfortably.
Berra reached a high ball before De Vries virtually on the goal-line on 33 following a corner but the keeper was able to claim before the Scotland international could get in a second header.
There was a scare for the Blues in the 36th minute when a ball forward sent Gardner through on goal but Berra did well to get across to dispossess the on-loan Villa man."
What had been an entertaining half lost its momentum somewhat in a quiet final 10 minutes but just before the fourth official indicated an additional minute, Forest should have gone in front. Osborn crossed from the left and Gardner headed over from a few feet out when it seemed easier to hit the target.
Seconds later, the referee’s whistle ended what had been an well-contested half in which both sides had had opportunities, although with the visitors having had the better of the chances and in which the again excellent Bialkowski had been the busier keeper.
Town: Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Foley, Hyam, Bru, Pringle, Pitman, Sears. Subs: Gerken, Digby, Tabb, Dozzell, Maitland-Niles, Touré, Varney.
Forest: De Vries, Lichaj, Mancienne, Mills (c), Jokic, Mendes, Gardner, Vaughan, Osborn, Oliveira, Blackstock. Subs: Evtimov, Wilson, Cohen, O'Grady, Tesche, Grant, Petravicius. Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire).