Bristol City (H) 07/02/24

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bristol City

                        Pen 5-3

Origi 8'                                          Knight 14'

 

A superb penalty save from Matt Turner meant Forest went through to the FA Cup 5^th round after a spirited performance from Championship Bristol City took them all the way.

 

After a 0-0 just twelve days ago at Ashton Gate, the Reds and Robins faced off again to see who would set up a tie against Manchester United at home. A rare start for Divock Origi as Nuno Esprito Santo announced Chris Wood has picked up a hamstring injury and Tawio Awoniyi has just returned after a two month spell on the side. The Forest manager made eight changes from his team at Bournemouth with Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate returning from AFCON. As for Bristol City, they made four changes from their loss to Leeds United on Friday. However, it wasn’t going to be easy for City as they hadn’t won away since Boxing Day.

 

The Reds got off to a great start, taking the lead in the 8^th minute. Forest won a corner after a quick break and Morgan Gibbs-White whipped in the ball. Felipe got a flick on the ball for it to luckily hit Origi on the shoulder and sneak in. The on-loan Forest striker won’t worry about how the ball went in as he gets his first goal for the Reds. Bristol City protested the ball went in off an arm but after a VAR check, the goal was deemed fair.

 

Forest’s lead didn't last long as City got themselves forward. Andy King fired a thundering strike but Turner got across to save it. Unluckily for the Red’s ‘keeper, the ball fell to Sam Bell and he pulled it back for former Derby County man, Jason Knight, who finished into the Trent End net. Once again, Forest fans questioned if Turner could’ve done better as he seemed to dive too early letting the midfielder dink him.

 

The Robins seemed to be the better team in the first half, having the majority of the chances and putting the Premier League side under pressure. Tommy Conway looked to find the bottom right corner but a smart save from Turner denied the striker. Another good chance came for City as Mehmeti released a shot but once again the Forest ‘keeper produced a good save.

 

Halftime, 1-1.

 

Both sides had half chances with the better ones coming for Forest. Both Gibbs-White and Nuno Tavares had shots with Gibbs-White’s going just wide and Tavares’ volley being saved well by Robin’s ‘keeper Max O’Leary.

 

Neco Williams had an excellent chance to take the lead after Callum Hudson-Odoi broke down the left and pulled the ball across. The recovering defenders managed to get back and make his opportunity harder, forcing him to a tight angle. The Welshman couldn’t finish though with the ball rolling just wide.

 

It was a very special night for eighteen year-old, academy graduate Joe Gardner who made his debut. He replaced an injured Gonzalo Montiel and came on to show his boyhood club what he could do. He had a good chance, firing a well-saved shot with his right foot.

 

The game ended in a draw with both sides having an extra half an hour to win the tie.

 

The Robins had a good chance after Anis Mehmeti looked to shoot from range but yet again the Red’s ‘keeper pulled off a great save. Forest had a chance of their own though a Gibbs-White volley which was saved by O’Leary. Bristol City had another big chance after Bell received a pass on the overlap before fizzing the ball across the box. Nahki Wells looked on for a tap-in but Tavares stayed tight and the ball hit his foot on the line before Turner could scramble for the ball.

 

We entered the second half of extra time and following a cleared ball from a corner, the ball came back into the box. It fell to Matty James who fired just high of the crossbar.

 

The final big chance of the game came from a quick City break. Wells wriggled away from Felipe before crossing to an on-coming Harry Cornick. The winger didn’t have time to control the ball so his first-time finish went wide to the delight of everyone at Forest.

 

Neither team could find the back of the net so it headed to penalties. Forest were favoured as they have a 100% win rate in shootouts with their last one coming against Wolverhampton Wanderers in last season's Carabao Cup quarter-final.

 

Gibbs-White stepped up first to cooly finish in the bottom right corner. In response, Cornick went the same way and levelled the shootout. Up next for Forest was Hudson-Odoi who fired into the net sending the City ‘keeper the wrong way. Twenty-one year old, Bell stepped up for the Robins but Turner dived the right way and saved the penalty. Neco Williams was third to take for the Reds and similarly to Hudson-Odoi, he converted to make it 3-1 to Forest. City needed to score and Wells did just that slotting home infront of the travelling fans. Forest looked to make it 4/4 converted and Niakhate did, after redeeming himself from his missed penalty for Senegal which sent his team home from AFCON. Bristol City needed to score otherwise Forest progressed and Mehmeti did, just about. Turner looked to have saved it but it looped in after slipping through his fingers. The pressure fell to Awoniyi and the Nigerian squeezed it past the ‘keeper and Forest were through to the next round.

 

In my opinion, we didn’t deserve to win the game. Bristol City had easily the better chances and should’ve done a lot better. I think we missed Yatesy and especially Dominguez in midfield with their grit and intensity. I don't think we should've played a back three or at some point we should've subbed a centre back off to be more attacking. However, the fullbacks did find themselves in good positions especially Toffolo. I’m very happy for Gardner, and as someone who follows the academy closely, he is definitely one to look out for in the future. Turner was much better in goal today and he stepped up in a key moment where he was needed. All the penalties were very good and composed too. Let’s hope for a better performance and atmosphere against Newcastle and I feel like this is a must win to keep us away from that relegation zone. I hope Gibbs-White is ok too as an injury for him would not be good.

 

Forest: Turner; Omabamidele, Felipe, Niakhate; Montiel (Gardner 90'), Kouyate (Awoniyi 64'), Danilo, Toffolo (Tavares 75'); Gibbs-White, Elanga (Hudson-Odoi 64'); Origi

 

Bristol City: O'Leary; McCorie (Knight-Lebel 83'), Vyner, Dickie, Roberts (Tanner 61'); King (James 61'), Williams; Bell, Knight (Cornick 61'), Mehmeti; Conway (Wells 75')