Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images/Reuters
It is easy to see why Nuno Espírito Santo does not like replays after his Nottingham Forest were pushed all the way for a place in the FA Cup fourth round by their League One opponents Blackpool until Chris Wood’s extra-time winner.
It was a case of roles reversed as Forest gave up a two-goal lead on this occasion, as Blackpool had done in the original tie. Ten days ago Forest started slowly to risk the chance of an upset but they dominated the first hour of the replay, looking to be in little trouble of a repeat struggle until Albie Morgan and Kyle Joseph brought the score 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 and set them up for heartbreak.
“This is the FA Cup, that [type of game] is why it is so special,” Nuno said. “It allows every team to play and to fight like Blackpool. We give credit to them – we had a lot of problems but a lot of credit to them. This is the magic of the FA Cup and that is why I love it.”
Nottingham Forest could call upon an £11m debutant who had not played in four and a half months since joining the club in September, a sign of the differing resources between the two clubs. Andrew Omobamidele was essentially the club’s seventh‑choice centre-back until recently but proved that he has potential at the club by firing in a corner flicked to the back post. Omobamidele held up a shirt reading “Thinking of you Kouyaté” after the death of his teammate Cheikhou’s father.
It was bitterly cold at Bloomfield Road, making the sparse nature of the crowd understandable. The pitch was hard and capable of removing layers of skin whenever a sliding challenge went in, while first touches were tricky because of the bounce.
Optimistically, a beach ball was thrown around between the away fans, who promised – against coastguard advice – to head into the sea if Yates scored. There was no requirement to do a Reggie Perrin because Forest were in control.
Less than a minute into the second half, the nerves vanished from Forest as they doubled the lead. Blackpool were the architects by failing to play out of defence, leading to Dan Grimshaw sliding out to reach a poorly struck back pass from Morgan. The goalkeeper saved a jab from Nicolás Domínguez, both getting injured in the process, only to see the ball reach the edge of the box where Danilo was waiting to slot into the net despite Marvin Ekpiteta’s failed attempts to block it on the line.
David Wagner can look forward to a reunion with his close friend Jürgen Klopp after a 3-1 win over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium secured a fourth-round tie at Liverpool.
Matt Taylor’s League One side threatened an upset when Luke McCormick fired them ahead after 20 minutes but Norwich rallied in the second half with goals from Gabriel Sara, Adam Idah and Kenny McLean seeing them into round four.
Rovers began the third-round replay brightly. The former Norwich striker Chris Martin saw an early effort drift just wide then Luke Thomas’s header was comfortably saved by George Long, before the keeper had to react superbly to deny Antony Evans. It proved to be only temporary respite for Norwich as from the subsequent corner McCormick put the Gas in command with a carefully placed low drive from just inside the penalty area.
Rovers and Thomas should have doubled the lead just before half-time as the Norwich defence fell apart but he wasted an inviting opening and side-footed wide of Long’s goal from just outside the area. Rovers continued to enjoy the upper hand after the break and only a fine, low save by Long kept out Thomas’ powerfully struck shot and only desperate defending kept the hosts at bay as they pressed for a potentially decisive second goal.
Norwich got their attacking act together and were level on 53 minutes thanks to the impressive Sara, who bundled the ball home from close range after Sam McCallum’s effort struck a post with the Rovers defence at sixes and sevens.
Rovers were soon back on the front but were punished for their ambition when they were caught out on a swift counterattack by the marauding Canaries. The hosts were left outnumbered as Norwich poured forward and were punished when Connor Taylor brought down McLean in the box following a collision.
Andy Davies pointed to the spot and while Brentford loanee Cox got a hand to Idah’s penalty it was not enough to stop the ball from spinning over the line to give Norwich a 59th-minute lead.
Rovers kept going but Martin was brilliantly denied an equaliser by Long as the League One side’s dreams of a first visit to Anfield since 1992 faded. McLean sealed victory in the 87th minute with a long-range effort to ease Norwich nerves. PA Media
Forest were cruising but Blackpool found their spirit and battled on. Morgan made amends for his earlier mistake by controlling a clearance 20 yards from goal and rifling the ball into the top corner. It was Blackpool’s first shot on target of the match, a sign of the difficulties they had faced in the opening hour.
A Blackpool triple change was made with 19 minutes remaining to freshen things up in the final third. It proved a wise decision when Joseph headed a leveller to increase the celebration levels to delirium with 12 minutes of normal time to go but, ultimately, adding an extra half‑hour for either side to find a winner as the temperature dropped below freezing.
“I thought over 120 minutes you couldn’t tell the difference between the two teams,” the Blackpool head coach, Neil Critchley, said. “I am really proud of them. I am just bitterly disappointed that we couldn’t take it to penalties and make it more exciting.”
The Forest captain, Yates, belatedly helped to settle the tie when he crossed low into the six-yard box for Wood to provide the simplest of finishes to a complicated match and secure a trip to Bristol City. If you do not want replays, Nuno, do not make them so entertaining.
“I thought, honestly, at the beginning of the second half the game was over but we cannot think that way,” Nuno said. “We made mistakes to allow Blackpool to get back into the game but in extra time we showed we deserved the victory.”
