Just remember they gambled the house for this. Ten of the players Nottingham Forest bought during a spree that has left them facing Premier League charges lined up in Blackpool, another couple came off the bench, and all the while you wondered what the spending was for.
A seismic week for the club with two European Cups has ended with them securing a place in the FA Cup’s fourth round but this wasn’t the product of a well thought out recruitment plan that highlighted their strength in depth. No. This, easily, could have been a night of ignominy.
Forest clambered through thanks to an extra-time goal from Chris Wood, who tapped in to an empty net from close range following a cross from captain Ryan Yates, but things should not have got that far – and would not if Blackpool substitute Karamoko Dembele had retained his poise.
Bursting through in the eighth minute of time added on, the pint-sized forward slalomed around goalkeeper Odyssesas Vlachodimos but his shot was cleared by a desperate lunge from Orel Mangala. It would have completed a remarkable transformation.
‘We had our problems but this is the magic of the FA Cup,’ said Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo, whose side had squandered a two-goal lead. ‘This is why I love it. It was tough, very demanding. We could have been better, we made mistakes but, in the end, we deserved our victory.’
Chris Wood bundled the ball home in extra-time to secure victory for Nottingham Forest
Forest players held up a shirt in tribute to Cheikhou Kouyate’s father after the victory
Debatable. Had Blackpool realised they were facing a team of expensive journeyman earlier, they would probably have won this FA Cup third round replay comfortably rather than giving Forest the fright of their lives and taking them to extra time.
They might have been facing a team with a historical name but there wasn’t much else to Forest, who huffed and puffed more than the Big Bad Wolf and never remotely suggested they would blow Blackpool’s house down.
Of course, they got themselves in front early on. Omobamidele arrived at the back post to meet a corner and he firmly turned a left foot volley past Blackpool keeper Dan Grimshaw before running off to dedicate his goal to team-mate Cheikou Kouyate, whose father died on Tuesday.
‘It has been a tough moment for him,’ said Nuno. ‘We had the view before the games that the boys wanted to show their support. He is a big player for us and we showed him that we care.’
Really, it should have been the springboard for Forest to cut loose but the next 30 minutes were spent watching these players trying to keeping the ball, only to fail miserably. There was no zip, no quick give and goes.
Take Callum Hudson-Odoi. It is five years since he was a teenage Chelsea prodigy and the subject of a £35million bid from Bayern Munich: here he was on a bitingly cold Lancastrian night, giving the ball away cheaply against opponents from English football’s third tier.
Words must have been exchanged at the interval, as Forest doubled their advantage in the opening minute of the second period when Danilo, one of the few players who have been genuinely successful, darted to a loose ball, rounded the stricken Grimshaw and fired into the gaping net.
‘I thought at that point the game was over,’ said Nuno and with good reason.
Nottingham Forest defender Andrew Omobamidele opened the scoring in the 12th minute
Danilo slotted the ball home just after half-time following a defensive howler
Albie Morgan gave the home side a lifeline with a superb strike just after hour mark
Sub Kyle Joseph forced the ball home from close range to make it 2-2 with 12 minutes to go
It should have been but it wasn’t and it didn’t really come as shock when Albie Morgan, who scored in the initial 2-2 draw, crashed a right-footed drive in from 18 yards to halve the deficit and give those in the Mortensen Stand hope.
Suddenly there were running quicker and tackling harder; realisation had dawned that a salvage operation was not beyond them and those who had travelled from Nottingham evidently felt the same, as their songs subsided and their faces creased with tension.
With good reason. In the 81st minute, Kyle Joseph – not long off the bench – sparked pandemonium when levelling the tie and better should have followed in the final attack when Dembele streaked clear. He would live to regret it.
‘What a chance it was,’ lamented Blackpool manager Neil Critchley. ‘We tried to take them on, we took them outside their comfort zone. To come this far and not have anything to show for it is hard to take. I loved the performance. I just wish we had the result.’
Forest eventually restored some order and midway through the second period of extra-time, Yates arrived in the nick of time. Respite, then. The question is for how long?
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