Forest beat League One Blackpool in FA Cup thriller
Premier League side Nottingham Forest needed extra-time to see off League One's Blackpool in a thrilling FA Cup third-round replay at Bloomfield Road.
Forest had looked to be cruising into the fourth round when Danilo made it 2-0 in the first minute of the second half after Andrew Omobamidele had scored in the 16th minute on his Forest debut.
But Blackpool fought back in style at a raucous Bloomfield Road.
Albie Morgan, whose poor backpass had led to Danilo's goal, pulled one back with a great strike from 25 yards before substitute Kyle Joseph headed in from close range to make it 2-2 to set up a frantic finish.
Then, in the eighth minute of additional time, Blackpool almost won it but Orel Mangala made an incredible block on the goalline after Karamoko Dembele had gone round Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Early in the second period of extra-time, the visitors retook the lead as Ryan Yates' low cross from the left was turned in by Chris Wood for what proved to be the winning goal.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side will now play away at Bristol City on Friday, 26 January in the fourth round.
Forest's touching tribute to Kouyate
The first match saw Blackpool take a two-goal lead, only for Forest to fight back and make it 2-2 to force the replay. At Bloomfield Road the exact opposite happened with the top-flight outfit letting their advantage slip.
There was no sign of the drama to come in the first half, when Forest looked in control.
Republic of Ireland international defender Omobamidele, on his Forest debut following an £11m move from Norwich City on September's transfer deadline day, volleyed in at the back post after Nicolas Dominguez's corner had been flicked on by Yates.
After that goal there was a touching tribute to Forest midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate, who had been with his country Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations but left the camp earlier on Wednesday following the death of his father.
Omobamidele held up a shirt that read 'Thinking of you, Kouyate' with his team-mate's number 8 on the back. The Forest players all posed with the tribute shirt after the match.
Danilo doubled Forest's lead within a minute of the second half after a poor backpass from Morgan, with home goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw having to go off after getting injured saving the shot from which Danilo converted the rebound
But Morgan made amends with a stunning strike from 25 yards to give Blackpool, eighth in League One, hope of causing a shock, before Joseph's close-range header made it 2-2 and set up a thrilling finish.
Wood scored with 10 minutes of extra-time left to put Forest back ahead, but there was still time for more drama.
Substitute goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell came up for a corner in the 122nd minute, only for Forest to quickly counter, but they could not take advantage as a 60-yard shot went wide.
Forest had been beaten 4-1 at Bloomfield Road against Blackpool in last season's FA Cup third round, but they were able to hold on to their lead to ensure there would not be a repeat as they advanced in a thrilling match.
For Forest, it was a welcome and hard-fought win after a tough week.
On Monday it was announced they, along with Everton, had been charged with breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules and could face a points deduction that would threaten their future in the league.
But they still are in the FA Cup and avoided what would have been an embarrassing exit.
Player of the match
JosephKyle Joseph
Blackpool
Squad number9Player nameJoseph
Average rating7.66
Squad number19Player nameLavery
Average rating7.39
Squad number24Player nameLyons
Average rating7.25
Squad number22Player nameCJ Hamilton
Average rating7.21
Squad number11Player nameDembélé
Average rating7.14
Squad number8Player nameMorgan
Average rating7.07
Squad number1Player nameO'Donnell
Average rating7.02
Squad number4Player nameLawrence-Gabriel
Average rating6.99
Squad number10Player nameCarey
Average rating6.97
Squad number16Player nameRhodes
Average rating6.95
Squad number6Player nameNorburn
Average rating6.86
Squad number3Player nameHusband
Average rating6.83
Squad number21Player nameEkpiteta
Average rating6.83
Squad number7Player nameDale
Average rating6.73
Squad number2Player nameConnolly
Average rating6.69
Squad number32Player nameGrimshaw
Average rating6.42
Nottingham Forest
Squad number32Player nameOmobamidele
Average rating6.27
Squad number22Player nameYates
Average rating5.94
Squad number26Player nameMcKenna
Average rating5.86
Squad number11Player nameWood
Average rating5.82
Squad number7Player nameN Williams
Average rating5.70
Squad number4Player nameWorrall
Average rating5.48
Squad number40Player nameMurillo
Average rating5.47
Squad number5Player nameMangala
Average rating5.46
Squad number16Player nameDomínguez
Average rating5.39
Squad number28Player nameDanilo
Average rating5.35
Squad number14Player nameHudson-Odoi
Average rating5.21
Squad number41Player nameAguilera
Average rating5.17
Squad number3Player nameNuno Tavares
Average rating5.00
Squad number23Player nameVlachodimos
Average rating4.98
Squad number15Player nameToffolo
Average rating4.92
Squad number29Player nameMontiel
Average rating4.79
Line-ups
Blackpool
Formation 3-4-2-1
32Grimshaw
2Connolly21Ekpiteta3Husband
4Lawrence-Gabriel6Norburn8Morgan24Lyons
22Hamilton10Carey
16Rhodes
- 32GrimshawSubstituted forO'Donnellat 58'minutes
- 2Connolly
- 21EkpitetaBooked at 109mins
- 3HusbandBooked at 89mins
- 4Lawrence-GabrielSubstituted forDaleat 105'minutes
- 6NorburnBooked at 106mins
- 8MorganBooked at 90mins
- 24Lyons
- 22HamiltonSubstituted forDembéléat 71'minutes
- 10CareySubstituted forLaveryat 71'minutes
- 16RhodesSubstituted forJosephat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 1O'Donnell
- 5Pennington
- 7Dale
- 9Joseph
- 11Dembélé
- 17Virtue
- 19Lavery
- 20Casey
- 30Oakley-Boothe
Nottm Forest
Formation 4-2-3-1
23Vlachodimos
7N Williams32Omobamidele40Santiago Costa dos Santos3Tavares
28Danilo5Mangala
22Yates16Domínguez14Hudson-Odoi
11Wood
- 23Vlachodimos
- 7N WilliamsSubstituted forMontielat 103'minutesBooked at 120mins
- 32OmobamideleSubstituted forWorrallat 105'minutes
- 40Santiago Costa dos SantosBooked at 35minsSubstituted forMcKennaat 102'minutes
- 3TavaresSubstituted forToffoloat 86'minutes
- 28DaniloBooked at 90mins
- 5Mangala
- 22YatesBooked at 90mins
- 16DomínguezBooked at 90mins
- 14Hudson-OdoiSubstituted forAguileraat 86'minutes
- 11WoodBooked at 116mins
Substitutes
- 1Turner
- 4Worrall
- 15Toffolo
- 26McKenna
- 29Montiel
- 41Aguilera
- 49Osong
- 52McDonnell
- 53Gardner
Match Stats
Live Text
Match ends, Blackpool 2, Nottingham Forest 3.