The cup has its own laws – a wisdom that apparently doesn’t only apply in Germany, as Nottingham Forest almost experienced first-hand in the 3-2 FA Cup replay at Blackpool
Although things are not looking quite so rosy for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, with the Tricky Trees only four points clear of the relegation zone in 16th place, Nottingham must have had great confidence that they could overcome the FA Cup hurdle of Blackpool – after all, they were a third division side. However, the Reds had found out ten days earlier that this is not so easy, as the first meeting only resulted in a 2-2 draw, which is why the replay was scheduled.
At half-time, things looked good for the favorites, who were superior in the first half and had taken the lead thanks to an early goal from Omobamidele after a corner (16′). When Danilo made it 2-0 immediately after the restart following a disastrous misplaced pass from Morgan (61′), Forrest seemed to be on course for a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
But what happened next must have infuriated Nottingham coach Nuno Espirito Santo. The 49-year-old Portuguese was forced to watch his players suddenly lose the plot and show themselves to be anything but solid defensively – with painful consequences on two occasions.
Nottingham lose the thread
After just over an hour, the visitors failed to clear the ball well from a cross, partly due to Mangala’s suboptimal header into his own penalty area. The ball eventually fell at Morgan’s feet – and he fired the ball into the net from 18 meters (61′).
The goal gave the underdogs a boost, while Nottingham could not really decide whether to go for the 3:1 and the decision or whether they would rather hold on to the result. The result was the sensational equalizer in the 78th minute: The Nottingham defence was once again caught off guard by a quickly taken throw-in, and shortly afterwards the ball sailed in a high arc very close to goal. Joseph rose high and nodded home to make it 2:2 and force extra time
This became a game of nerves. Blackpool had to pay a little tribute to their great effort and withdrew more and more due to their strength. Forest regained better control, but initially struggled to create clear-cut chances. This was not the case in the 110th minute when they made good progress down the left and Yates finally found Wood in the five. The striker only had to push the ball over the line from close range to make the final score 3:2 to avert embarrassment
