Nuno Espirito Santo felt the magic of the FA Cup in Forest’s win at Blackpool
After extra time on Wednesday, Nottingham Forest’s manager Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged that Blackpool made his team work hard to advance to the FA Cup fourth round.
The Premier League team overcame a two-goal deficit to force extra time at a frigid Bloomfield Road, and they won 3-2 in the 110th minute thanks to a strike from Chris Wood.
That followed their initial meeting at the City Ground, when the two teams drew 2-2.
“This is the FA Cup,” Nuno declared. This competition is unique because it gives all teams the opportunity to play and fight like Blackpool did.
This is how the FA Cup works its charm. I adore it since everyone only gets one chance at it.
Although difficult, we completed the task. Although we should have performed better and made mistakes that let Blackpool back into the match, we proved in extra time that we were worthy of the win.
After Danilo doubled the advantage and Andrew Omobamidele made his delayed debut, Forest appeared to be in control. However, the hosts responded with a stunning goal from Albie Morgan and a header from replacement Kyle Joseph.
Omobamidele lifted a shirt with a message for teammate Cheikhou Kouyate as a way to celebrate the opening goal.
The Senegal international has left his team’s camp at the Africa Cup of Nations following the death of his father.
“We got the news before the game, and it’s shocking,” Nuno remarked. We’re thinking of him, and the boys did a great job displaying his shirt because he’s a key player both on and off the field.
Neil Critchley, the manager of Blackpool, was pleased with his squad’s effort. The team is currently eighth in League One.
“To go all that way and not have anything to show for it is hard to take,” he remarked. “I thought you couldn’t really tell the difference between the two teams over the course of the 120 minutes.”
“I felt we were really good. I believed that we really went for it and made it an entertaining cup tie.
“I’m just incredibly unhappy that we didn’t take it to penalties and maybe make it even more interesting than it already was—to come back from a 2-0 deficit and show spirit in addition to the caliber of the goals as well.”
In the second half, Critchley thought Wood’s winner was “borderline offside,” and he also thought Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel might have deserved a penalty.
“We had VAR in the first game, but not tonight,” he stated.
It’s possible that we received a penalty or an offside call. There must be doubts about the competition’s integrity.
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