blackpool vs nottm forest

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.’