Forest hit the spot in stormy win

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 shoot-out 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. An FA charge for both clubs seems inevitable. Loan keeper Dean Henderson was the hero for Forest, saving kicks from Ruben Neves and Joe Hodge, but is likely to be forced to miss the semi-final with his parent club Manchester United. Forest went ahead after 18 minutes when Willy Boly picked up the pieces after a goalmouth stramash following a GibbsWhite corner and finished from a yard out.

Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui dispensed with his back-three formation at half-time by bringing on skipper Neves and taking off the misfiring Goncalo Guedes and saw his side score a superb equaliser when Matheus Cunha’s low cross invited the finish from Raul Jimenez. Forest nearly reclaimed the lead when Nelson Semedo cut out Sam Surridge’s pass for fellow sub Emmanuel Dennis but turned the ball against his own post. ‘I’m chuffed for the supporters and players,’ said Forest boss Cooper. ‘Lots of ex-players here tonight, which we always like, but we have to play a lot better than we did over large spells.’