Match Report: Exeter City 2 Nottingham Forest 2 (2-4 pens) Exeter ...

City were beginning to flow with confidence, and finding space 30 yards from goal after a simple ball from MacDonald, Trevitt turned and shot, narrowly clearing the crossbar.

That momentum was interrupted though by the first substitution of the evening, and it came in net for Forest. Miguel was forced off with a knock, and on came the man Premier League's leading clean sheet table, Matz Sels.

The Grecians weren’t distracted though, and after the game restarted Niskanen made sure that Sels was match ready with a shot from the edge of the box. Unfortunately for the Finn, the Belgian stopper batted it away. 

With the game ticking into the final 20 minutes, Nuno Espirito Santo saw fit to bring on several of his top flight regulars from the bench, and Elliot Anderson tricked some visiting supporters into thinking he’d put them back into the lead with a shot into the side netting.

Next the former Newcastle man laid it back to his fellow change Morgan Gibbs-White, but his fierce shot inside the penalty area was held by Whitworth.

With ten minutes to go through Forest were having to scramble again from a set-piece. Sent in long again by Francis to the back post, this time it was cleared but Niskanen combined with Magennis to send it back in to Turns at the back post. There the centre-back cut it past the keeper and back across goal, but a Forest defender cleared.

As the clock ticked closer to full-time it seemed that the Grecians were in control, and some in the Big Bank were calling for a penalty from a Reece Cole free-kick. Though, the referee was unmoved, and Forest almost countered unopposed but for Tony Yogane, who sprinted back the length of the pitch to cover.

City’s task was made immediately harder though as the game headed into 10 minutes of additional time when Ed Turns caught a visiting player high around the half-way line, and was shown a straight red card in the process. 

An unrelated injury to Awoniyi delayed the game by 10 minutes, and in that pause Caldwell changed his tactics to go for the win, bringing on Jay Bird for McMillan. 

Well over 100 minutes was on the clock as both sides went for it, and Silva had a shot blocked before Anderson fired over, and then Yogane found Pat Jones with an excellent cross-field ball, but the winger's low shot went narrowly wide.

Bird shot straight at Sels and Anderson's headed flick was palmed away by the keeper before Silva went the closest, winning the ball on the edge of the box and striking the crossbar as the regulation time ended in a frantic fashion.