Wood goal decisive but Forest are taken extra mile
JUST remember they gambled the house on this lot. Ten of the players Nottingham Forest bought during a spree that has left them facing Premier League charges lined up in Blackpool and left you wondering what on earth the spending was for.
Had Blackpool realised they were facing a team of expensive journeyman earlier, they would probably have won this FA Cup third round replay comfortably rather than giving Forest the fright of their lives before losing to a Chris Wood goal in extra time.
Trailing by two goals with 30 minutes to go, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley turned to his bench, made three substitutions and turned the game on its head as Albie Morgan and Kyle Joseph plundered goals that deservedly gave them more time to try to administer the knockout blow.
Forest were lamentable. They had a two-goal lead and should have had enough experience on the pitch to see the game out but, instead, they were left hanging on as Blackpool laid siege. Remember: this is what a blindfolded trolley dash gets you.
You want these games to be full of atmosphere and a proper spectacle from start to finish but before kick-off you knew this was going to be quiet.
This was as flat as you could imagine. Blackpool’s best chance of felling Forest had been when they had surged two goals ahead at the City Ground 10 days prior but there was little of that intensity here. In the opening, drab 45 minutes it was disappointing the hosts offered no threat.
They might have been facing a team with a historical name but there wasn’t much else to Forest, who huffed and puffed and never remotely suggested they would blow Blackpool’s house down.
Of course, they got themselves in front early on. Ireland ace Omobamidele arrived at the back post to meet a corner and he firmly turned a left foot volley past Blackpool keeper Dan Grimshaw before running off to dedicate his goal to team-mate Cheikhou Kouyate, whose father died on Tuesday.
Really, it should have been the springboard for Forest to cut loose but the next 30 minutes were spent watching these players trying to keeping the ball, only to fail miserably. There was no zip, no quick give and goes.
Take Callum Hudson-Odoi. It is five years since he was a teenage Chelsea prodigy and the subject of a £35million bid from Bayern Munich. Yet here he was on a bitingly cold Lancastrian night, giving the ball away cheaply against opponents from the third tier.
He wasn’t alone. The gesture of the opening period from the visitors was the hands-outstretched, eyes-wide-open look of disbelief when the realisation dawned that a ball was too far in front or too far behind. Nuno Espirito Santo, buried under a thick jacket and hat, stomped around. Words must have been exchanged at the interval, as Forest doubled their advantage in the opening minute when Danilo, one of few Forest players to emerge with any credit, darted to a loose ball, rounded the stricken Grimshaw and fired into the net.
It should have been game over but this isn’t a squad which you would invest maximum confidence. It came as no shock when Morgan crashed in a left-footed drive from 18 yards to give those in the Mortensen Stand hope.
Suddenly there were running a little quicker and tackling a little harder; realisation had dawned that a salvage operation was not beyond them and those travelling fans evidently felt the same, as their songs subsided and their faces creased with tension.
With good reason. Joseph, who was introduced in the 71st minute, scored 10 minutes later, bundling in from close range. It was no more than Blackpool deserved.
BLACKPOOL (3-4-2-1): Grimshaw 6 (O’Donnell 58min, 6); Connolly 7, Ekpiteta 7, Husband 6; Lawrence-Gabriel 7, Norburn 7, Morgan 8, Lyons 7; Hamilton 6 (Dembele 71, 6), Carey 6 (Lavery 71, 6) Rhodes 6 (Joseph 71, 7). Scorers: Morgan 61, Joseph 78.
Booked: Husband, Morgan. Manager: Neil Critchley 6. NOTTM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos 6; Williams 6, Omobamidele 6, Murillo 6, Tavares 5 (Toffolo 86); Danilo 6, Mangala 5; Yates 5, Dominguez 5, Hudson-Odoi 5 (Aguilera 86); Wood 5. Scorers: Omobamidele 16, Danilo 46. Booked: Murillo. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 5. Referee: Darren Bond 6. Att: 8,098.