It’s easy to see why Nuno Espírito Santo doesn’t like replays after Nottingham Forest were forced into Chris Wood’s extra-time winner by League One rivals Blackpool in the FA Cup fourth round.
The roles were reversed, with Forest giving up a two-goal lead on this occasion, as Blackpool had done in the original tie. Ten days ago Forest slowly began to risk a defeat but dominated the first hour of the replay, looking like they would have little trouble in a replay until Albie Morgan and Kyle Joseph brought the scores level to force extra time.
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Blackpool even had the chance to win it in the 99th minute of normal time when Karamoko Dembélé rounded the goalkeeper, only to see Orel Mangala clear the ball off the line, setting them up for heartbreak.
“This is the FA Cup, [type of game] That’s why it’s so special, Nuno said. “It allows every team to play and fight like Blackpool. We give them credit; We had a lot of problems but we give them a lot of credit. “That’s the magic of the FA Cup and that’s why I love it.”
Nottingham Forest have been able to call up the £11 million starter, who has not featured for four-and-a-half months since joining the club in September; This is a sign of the different resources between the two clubs. Andrew Omobamidele was until recently the club’s seventh-choice centre-back but proved he has potential at the club when he shot from a corner towards the far post. Omobamidele held up a T-shirt that read “Thinking of you, Kouyaté” following the death of his teammate Cheikhou’s father.
It was very cold on Bloomfield Road, making the sparse nature of the crowd understandable. The pitch was hard and capable of removing layers of skin when skating was challenged, first touches were difficult due to the bounce.
Optimistically, a beach ball was thrown among the away fans, who vowed to swim against the coastguard’s advice if Yates scored. There was no need to do Reggie Perrin because Forest were in control.
With less than a minute left in the second half, Forest lost their nerve and the lead increased to two. Blackpool were the architects who failed to play out of defence, which led to Dan Grimshaw slipping to receive a poor back pass from Morgan. The goalkeeper saved Nicolás Domínguez’s shot, both injured in the process, but saw the ball reach the edge of the penalty area where Danilo was waiting to slot in despite Marvin Ekpiteta’s attempts to block it on the line.
David Wagner can look forward to being reunited with close friend Jurgen Klopp after beating Bristol Rovers 3-1 at the Memorial Stadium to secure a fourth-round tie with Liverpool.
Matt Taylor’s League One side threatened when Luke McCormick took the lead after 20 minutes, but Norwich progressed to the fourth round with second-half goals from Gabriel Sara, Adam Idah and Kenny McLean.
Rovers started the third round replay brightly. Former Norwich striker Chris Martin saw an early effort drift just wide, then had Luke Thomas’s header comfortably saved by George Long before having to react superbly to deny goalkeeper Antony Evans. It proved to be only a temporary respite for Norwich as McCormick put Gas in command with a carefully placed low drive from just inside the box from the next corner.
Rovers and Thomas should have doubled their lead just before half-time as the Norwich defense collapsed, but he squandered an inviting opening and side-footed his way from just wide of Long’s goal. Rovers continued to enjoy dominance after the break and only a good, low save from Long prevented Thomas’ powerful shot and only desperate defending kept the hosts at bay as they pressed for a potentially decisive second goal.
Norwich put together some attacking action and drew level on 53 minutes thanks to the impressive Sara, who sent the ball home from close range following Sam McCallum’s effort to hit a post with the Rovers defense having six and seven.
Rovers were soon back at the front but were punished for their ambition when they were caught out in a swift counter-attack by the marauding Canaries. The home side were outnumbered as Norwich surged forward and Connor Taylor was penalized when he brought down McLean in the box following a collision.
Andy Davies pointed to the spot and although Brentford loanee Cox had a hand on Idah’s penalty, it was not enough to stop the ball crossing the line for Norwich to take the lead in the 59th minute.
Rovers pressed on but Martin’s equalizer was brilliantly denied by Long as the League One side’s dreams of a first visit to Anfield since 1992 faded away. McLean sealed victory in the 87th minute with a long-range effort to ease Norwich’s nerves. PA Media
The jungle was wandering but Blackpool found his spirit and kept fighting. Morgan made amends for his earlier mistake by controlling the distance 20 yards from goal and blasting the ball into the top corner. It was Blackpool’s first shot on target of the match and a sign of the difficulties they faced in the opening hour.
A Blackpool trio change was made with 19 minutes left to freshen things up in the final third. It proved to be a wise decision for Joseph to head for a leveler with 12 minutes left in normal time to send celebration levels into a frenzy, but ultimately added an extra half hour for both sides to find a winner as the temperature dropped below freezing.
“I thought for 120 minutes you couldn’t tell the difference between the two teams,” said Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley. “I’m really proud of them. “I’m very disappointed that we couldn’t take it to penalties and make it more exciting.”
Forest captain Yates belatedly helped resolve the tie when Wood crossed low into the six-yard box to end a complex match in the simplest way and secure a trip to Bristol City. If you don’t want repeats, Nuno, don’t make them so entertaining.
“To be honest, at the beginning of the second half I thought the game was over, but we can’t think like that,” Nuno said. “We made mistakes to allow Blackpool back into the game but we showed in extra time that we deserved the victory.”