Nottingham Forest reach FA Cup quarter-finals after penalty shootout

Nottingham Forest secured a spot in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Ipswich, setting up a clash with Brighton.

Goalkeeper Matz Sels emerged as the hero, saving Jack Taylor’s low effort to clinch a 5-4 win in the shootout. This followed Ryan Yates’ equalizer, which canceled out George Hirst’s opener for the visitors, forcing extra time.

England manager Thomas Tuchel, in attendance ahead of his first squad announcement next week for World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, might not have been overly impressed by the game, which only gained momentum in the second half.

Taylor’s miss was the sole blemish in the shootout. Coincidentally, he also missed a crucial penalty in Ipswich’s Carabao Cup loss to League Two side AFC Wimbledon earlier in the season.

Forest, who also triumphed over League One Exeter via penalties in the fourth round, continue their remarkable campaign.

Their focus now shifts to the Premier League, where Nuno Espirito Santo’s third-placed side will host Manchester City on Saturday.

With the reigning champions just one point behind in fourth and several teams in close pursuit, the race for Champions League qualification remains fiercely competitive.

“Every FA Cup draw we have to practice penalties,” said Nuno. “We kept the same order as Exeter.

“We did really well, they were good penalties. I believe it makes part of the game preparations. It’s dedication.

“It’s not nice [to watch] at all, anxiety, nervous, a mixture of emotions. I try not to watch and just wait for the noise.”

While playing in next season’s Champions League is a dream, the FA Cup offers Forest a chance of a trophy and their first win in the competition since 1959.

They were marginally the better side as Ipswich, third bottom in the league, are now left to focus solely on their battle for survival.

With the last-eight draw providing a trip to Brighton, Kieran McKenna’s side had hoped to add to their 1978 triumph despite their league woes, and claimed the opener at the City Ground.

The tie was brought to life eight minutes after the break when Sels tipped Sam Morsy’s shot over and, from the resulting Ben Johnson corner, Hirst stooped to head in his third goal of the season.

It came in front of Scotland boss Steve Clarke with the uncapped forward eligible via his grandfather.

Ipswich’s lead lasted just 15 minutes, though, as Yates levelled with a close-range header from Anthony Elanga’s lovely cross.

The Forest skipper, who has spoken about his hopes for an England call-up, had a second disallowed for offside as his side poured forward.

Callum Hudson-Odoi hit the bar for the hosts, but extra time came and went with Sels’ save decisive and sending Forest through.

It was Forest’s second successive penalty shootout win in the FA Cup after their fourth-round success at Exeter.

They were nerveless from the spot then and it was a repeat, ruthless show at the City Ground with five unstoppable penalties.

Belgian Sels shone again, having saved Reece Cole’s effort at Exeter for a 4-2 victory on spot-kicks.

Alex Palmer in the Ipswich goal had no chance as Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Neco Williams and Hudson-Odoi rifled well-placed shots past him.

After burying his effort – Forest’s second penalty – Gibbs-White went to Sels in a show of unity, something which has been the cornerstone of the club’s season so far.

The City Ground banded together to will the hosts over the line after they struggled to hit top gear during normal and extra time.

For Ipswich, it was a 16th trip to Forest without a victory, with their last coming in 1999. They have also been eliminated from each of their last 14 FA Cup ties against Premier League opponents since beating Blackburn Rovers in the 1995-96 campaign.

Town boss McKenna confirmed defenders Axel Tuanzebe and Cameron Burgess suffered hamstring and calf injuries having come off at half-time, and will be doubts for Saturday’s league game at Crystal Palace.

But he said: “It was a high-quality shootout. The players will come in with renewed confidence with the way they competed, renewed belief in the squad and the way we are working.

“They will have good feelings from the performance. The biggest challenge is how we recover physically and how we recover for Saturday [at Palace].

“It’s a really disappointing way to lose the game but it can happen in a penalty shootout. One team is going to be on the wrong end of a really tough way to lose the match.”