Henderson’s heroics do the job for Forest
AFTER regaining their place in the top flight for the first time this century, Nottingham Forest’s appetite for Wembley trips is returning with a vengeance.
Steve Cooper’s men beat Wolves 4-3 on penalties after the sides could not be separated in normal time and are 180 minutes from a first League Cup final since 1992, less than a year after they beat Huddersfield at the national stadium to seal a Premier League spot. The finale was marred by a brawl involving most players and staff, after former Wolves player Morgan Gibbs-White celebrated provocatively in front of the away fans when victory was sealed, and an FA charge for both clubs seems inevitable.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was the hero for Forest, saving kicks from Ruben Neves and Joe Hodge, who missed the final effort for Wolves.
Forest’s first- choice players made the sharper start and might have taken an early lead through Gustavo Scarpa.
Brennan Johnson found Renan Lodi with a crossfield pass, allowing the left back to release Morgan Gibbs-White. The former Wolves man picked out Scarpa in the middle, only for the Brazilian to slice his effort well wide.
That was a let off for Wolves but it was not long before their uncertain defending was punished.
The switch to a back three seemed to have unsettled Julen Lopetegui’s men and when Gibbs-White’s corner was deflected on to the bar off Goncalo Guedes, Jonny’s attempted clearance under pressure from Joe Worrall hit the woodwork again. Boly was there to pick up the pieces from a yard out and Forest took the lead.
Wolves continued to look flat and Toti Gomes was lucky not to be punished when his flailing arm caught Scarpa in the face.
But the visitors should have equalised when they broke in the 35th minute and Raul Jimenez exchanged passes with Hwang Hee- chan, only to be denied by an excellent save from Dean Henderson from close range.
When Jimenez tried to return the compliment to Hwang five minutes later with a long cross, Henderson again came to the rescue by clawing away the South Korean forward’s volley.
Lopetegui had seen enough of the back three and dispensed with it at half-time by bringing on skipper Ruben Neves and taking off the misfiring Guedes.
Usually so consistent with his passing, Neves nearly let in Forest for a second with a poorly judged header that fell straight to GibbsWhite, whose angled drive from just outside the box was palmed away by Jose Sa.
Gibbs-White was involved again moments later as he collected Renan Lodi’s pass and danced past two challenges before sending the ball to the far post, where Serge Aurier’s shot was blocked by Jonny.
Boly’s night ended on a sour note when he picked up an injury in a challenge with Hwang.
Wolves answered with two more changes as Lopetegui sent on Matheus Cunha and Daniel Podence.
Forest nearly reclaimed the lead in freakish circumstances when Nelson Semedo cut out Sam Surridge’s return pass intended for fellow sub Emmanuel Dennis but in doing so turned the ball against his own post.