Exeter City 2-2 Nottingham Forest (2-4 pens): FA Cup – live reaction

That’s all from me. Thanks for reading and for your emails. Congratulations to Forest for reaching the fifth round. Congratulations to Exeter for giving us one of the best FA Cup ties in recent years.

Cheers!

Preston v Burnley Aston Villa v Cardiff City Crystal Palace v Millwall Manchester United v Fulham Newcastle United v Brighton Bournemouth v Wolves Manchester City v Plymouth Argyle Nottingham Forest v Ipswich

Ties to be played between 28 Feb – 3 March

A pretty open draw! Forest, Newcastle, Villa (who haven’t won the FA Cup since the 1950s) and Bournemouth all have a great chance this year.

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell speaks:

Really proud of the team, the whole football club. We just came up short. I missed an FA Cup penalty myself and I know how difficult they can be. We gave Nottingham Forest the ball and they were not used to that. We got an early goal and they defended with their lives.

They brought on the big guns on – Gibbs-White, Wood – and we still hung on.

I think it shows the potential of the team. We have to show the commitment in the 17 games [left in League One].

This cup run gives us a bit of help financially but it mainly shows what a great club we are. We’re the only fan-owned club in England.

And here is a round-up of the other Champions League play-offs tonight.

Player ratings from the Etihad, if you are interested.

Exeter’s two-goal hero Josh Magennis speaks to the cameras:

These kind of nights are the ones you want to live for. There were a lot of nerves but you have to try and control them. We’re under no illusions about what a fantastic side they are. We have to use this as a springboard, we haven’t been in good form in the league.

Many neutrals (and Ipswich fans) will have been praying for an Exeter victory, but you can’t argue with the quality of those penalties. Every one from Forest was buried, and the same can’t be said for the Grecians.

But despite defeat, the night belongs to Exeter, who were absolutely magnificent in 90 minutes and extra time.

Forest did what Liverpool couldn’t, and that was get out of Dodge Devon with any season-altering damage. But Nuno will be fuming with the performance and the fact that he had to send on his big dogs to get the job done, albeit in a shootout.

Williams scores! Forest win and will face Ipswich in the fifth round!

GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 2-3 Nottingham Forest

Yogane, on loan from Brentford, makes no mistake, belting one into the top bin. Forest can win it, though, with their next spot kick.

GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-3 Nottingham Forest

Anderson goes left, Whitworth goes right, and Nottingham Forest are one kick away from the fifth round.

MISS! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Angus MacDonald, on his Exeter debut, crashes his shot off the bar! Oh, no!

GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Gibbs-White takes his time, sits Whitworth down with a stuttered run up and gives Forest the advantage. Two-one up!

SAVED! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Sels guesses right and goes to his right to deny Exeter’s Reece Cole!

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GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Chris Wood responds. Of course he does.

GOAL! Penalty shootout score: Exeter 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Magennis scores! He curls one in the top corner.

Here we go! Exeter’s Magennis steps up first.

The penalty shootout will be in front of the Exeter fans in The Big Bank End, the largest (standing) terrace in the Football League.

We are going to penalties!

ET 120 min: One minute added on. Cole miscues a clearance and Forest will have a late corner … Whitworth saves!

ET 118 min: Exeter deserve a penalty shootout. They have defended magnificently and even though they have looked panicked recently, have done more than enough to earn a chance to win it from 12 yards.

ET 117 min: Forest so close! From a corner, Whitworth is put off by his own defender, MacDonald, and drops the ball inside his own six-yard box. Watts clears but only as far as Dominguez, who takes a touch and clips a shot just a yard over the bar!

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ET 115 min: Yellow card for Yogane, who prevented Forest from taking an early free-kick.

ET 113 min: Wood forces Whitworth into another good save, but the Forest striker perhaps could have done better after good work from Anderson on the left. Wood didn’t catch it cleanly and Whitworth was able to scamper across to his left.

ET 111 min: “If Paul McCartney had started Hey Jude at kick off, he’d just be getting into the last set of encores about now,” quips Andy Flintoff (not that one) via email.

ET 109 min: From a Forest corner, Wood has a free header just six yards out but Whitworth makes a point-blank save. It was straight at the young goalkeeper but still came quickly and the Crystal Palace loanee did brilliantly to dig that one out. Forest are beginning to turn the screw now.

ET 107 min: It will not surprise you to learn that Exeter no longer have two players up front. Magennis is now an extra makeshift centre-half.

We’re off for the second half of extra-time. ITV are reporting that Awoniyi, Forest’s striker who took a nasty blow to the head, is ‘stable’ inside the away dressing room.

Gary Caldwell barks encouragement and instructions to his Exeter players in the extra-time, half-time huddle. He must already be so proud of his side.

Hey Jude is played over the PA, and the home fans rise to sing a long. Seems a strange song choice, is that a regular thing here at St James’ Park?

Ten-man Exeter are 15 minutes away from a penalty shootout. And I think that’s what every neutral wants.

ET 105 min: A loose ball from Boly, and Williams is forced to bring Cole down to prevent a dangerous Exeter counter-attack. Really sloppy from Forest.

ET 104 min: Exeter look tired. They have run their socks off tonight. It’s up to Forest to break them down now.

ET 102 min: Nuno looks furious on the sidelines. Forest have barely troubled the Exeter goal in extra-time, despite being a man up.

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ET 98 min: Exeter break at pace and nearly catch Forest cold! Yogane wins the ball strongly and releases Jones, who beats Boly for pace and wins a corner off Toffolo! The corner is a peach but Forest do well to clear. This is not the way I thought extra-time would go.

ET 96 min: Encouraging news regarding Awoniyi, who according to ITV, is conscious in the Nottingham Forest dressing room.

ET 94 min: Williams tries his luck for Forest, forcing Whitworth into a save. The Exeter goalkeeper makes his first mistake of the night, spilling the ball into a dangerous area just in front of him, but it is Magennis who, inexplicably, is first to the rebound to clear! What on earth was the striker doing there?!

ET 92 min: Magennis fancies his hat-trick! A poor defensive header falls to the veteran striker who takes one touch on his chest and volleys at goal. Sels gets down well to his right to save the dipping effort!

Peeeeeep! Extra time is underway in Devon.

Speaking of decent cup ties, you are going to want to read this.

What a cup tie this is! Forest will fancy their chances of finishing this in extra-time but before the match, they would have fancied their chances of having this wrapped up by 90 minutes. But here we are.

Exeter are living dangerously but still have a threat on the break. Forest are perhaps a little lucky that their starting keeper, Carlos Miguel, sustained an injury. The Brazilian was having a howler and looked particularly uncomfortable from set pieces. Sels has steadied the ship in that regard.

To extra-time we go!

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Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest

90+21 min: Jota hits the post for Forest. An absolute hammer against Whitworth’s near post. The Exeter keeper knew nothing of it, such was the ferocity of the strike!

Exeter 2-2 Nottingham Forest

90+19 min: Chance for Exeter! Jones gets the better of Alex Moreno, steadies himself inside Forest’s penalty area and steers his shot just a yard wide of Sels’ post! Oooooooooh, was that Exeter’s chance to win it at the death?!