Steve Cooper’s side put in arguably the performance of the fourth round, as they dismantled last year’s winners at a buoyant City Ground to reach the last-16
Image: REUTERS)
These are special times at Nottingham Forest.
Rarely can a club have felt so burdened for so long by the achievements of days gone by.
Those famous European Cup wins under the great Brian Clough seem even more remote each year this grand old club remains locked outside the top division of English football.
But there are clear signs that they are finally going some way to address that 23-year absence from the elite.
Since Steve Cooper’s appointment earlier in the season, the club have been transformed from relegation fodder to genuine promotion contenders.
And their hugely impressive 4-1 win over Leicester at a buoyant City Ground ensured a place in the last-16 of this year’s FA Cup.
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The scalp of the Foxes can now be added to that of Arsenal in the previous round.
But arguably this result, and performance, was more impressive than the one achieved over Mikel Arteta’s side four weeks ago.
Leicester are not only one of Forest’s fiercest rivals, situated just 25 miles away, but they are the current holders of the world’s oldest cup competition.
The hosts stunned Brendan Rodgers’ side with three goals in the space of nine first half minutes. That blitz shell-shocked a strong City side that included the likes of James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Harvey Barnes.
Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall all notched in the first half to paralyse Leicester. That was where the real damage was done and despite Kelechi Iheanacho pulling one back before the break, the comeback was never truly on.
Zinckernagel got the party started for the hosts when he poked home with his knee.
Barely a minute later and Forest were in dreamland when Johnson, the subject of multiple bids by top flight side Brentford, made it 2-0.
The Welsh international pounced on a poor backpass from James Justin and slotted home.
Worrall nodded in a third, rising highest from a corner to expose Leicester’s fragility from set-pieces once more.
Iheanacho took advantage of an error from Brice Samba to reduce the arrears before half-time but they never truly looked like staging a famous comeback.
Djed Spence, who has earned rave reviews since arriving on loan from Middlesbrough, added a fourth for the hosts after the hour mark with a tidy finish.
And despite half an hour still to go, Forest were in cruise control as they eased to a famous win and booked a spot in round five for the first time since 2015.
A home tie with fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town now awaits Cooper’s men next month.
Obviously, the league remains the bread and butter for Forest and realistically, they are not going to be dusting off their swollen trophy cabinet to add the FA Cup any time soon.
But a run deep into this competition is helping restore the pride of this famous old club, with the hope of even better days ahead.
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