Nottingham Forest defeated Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties at the Amex Stadium on Saturday night, guaranteeing them a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Halfway through the second half, a cagey match came to life when Kaoru Mitoma’s challenge knocked Elliot Anderson to the ground, prompting referee Peter Bankes to signal for a penalty.
The referee reversed his decision following a VAR review, which infuriated the Forest players and supporters who believed that two possible penalties occurred during the same play phase.
The two teams were unable to separate in ninety minutes, and the home team nearly took the lead in the second half of extra time when Matz Sels expertly stopped Diego Gomez’s header.
After denying Gomez and Jack Hinshelwood in the shootout, Sels emerged victorious, and Ryan Yates scored the game-winning penalty to advance Forest to Wembley.
This was perhaps the hardest game to predict going into this weekend’s FA Cup matches. Forest had defeated Brighton 7-0 in their league matchup last month, but this game at the Amex was always going to be closer.
This was demonstrated in the first half, as Brighton had the best chance just before the half, even though the visitors appeared to be the superior team. Carlos Baleba’s attempt went just wide.
The visitors were also upset that they did not receive a penalty for Mitoma’s foul on Anderson, even though they had the better of the second half.
After that, it appeared that penalties were inevitable, and even though the Seagulls might have won extra time, the match lacked the caliber necessary to end a quarterfinal without penalties.
It was not the most beautiful football match to watch, but overall, the visitors were deserving of their spot in the semi-finals because they narrowly won the match.
MAN OF THE MATCH – NIKOLA MILENKOVIC
Over the course of 120 minutes of play, the Serbian defender was a pillar at the back for Forest, helping his team keep a clean sheet.
He scored in the shootout to help his team advance to the semi-finals, and it seemed like he could handle anything the Brighton attack threw at him as they were unable to overcome a resolute Forest defense.
BRIGHTON VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST MATCH STATS
Possession: Brighton 53%-47% Nottingham Forest
Shots: Brighton 13-13 Nottingham Forest
Shots on target: Brighton 2-5 Nottingham Forest
Corners: Brighton 6-7 Nottingham Forest
Fouls: Brighton 19-10 Nottingham Forest