It should have been easier for Wrexham to dump Nottingham Forest out of the FA Cup but triumphing on penalties after suffering a late fightback will have made knocking out the Premier League side sweeter.
After Callum Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to score a late double to bring parity after 90 minutes, the Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo brought back the euphoria with two saves in the shootout to secure something akin to a shock. Liberato Cacace, Ollie Rathbone and Dom Hyam thought they had done enough to send Wrexham through at 3-1 but Forest threatened to ruin the party. They need not have worried as Okonkwo made sure there was glory at the end.
For Forest, this competition sits below Premier League survival and winning the Europa League in the priority list. Sean Dyche made eight changes, giving fringe players an opportunity to prove their worth. There was plenty of quality in the Forest starting lineup, opening up Wrexham within two minutes when Dilane Bakwa picked out Igor Jesus in the box but he shovelled a shot over.
A packed stadium and four straight wins gave Wrexham the confidence of an upset. The home fans were briefly silenced after Douglas Luiz fired home from close range, but only having controlled a looping ball with his arm. The referee Paul Tierney sought counsel from the assistant referee and carefully considered the outcome, rightly disallowing the goal in an FA Cup without video assistant referees until the fifth round.
Forest were the more comfortable in possession and happy to build up slowly but lacked precision and ingenuity in the final third against a side happy to defend deeply. Omari Hutchinson, having moved inside to play as a No 10, was eager to shine on centre stage but often found himself crowded out or without support. Douglas Luiz forced a first save from Arthur Okonkwo with a vicious free-kick in an otherwise relaxing opening half hour for the goalkeeper.
Wrexham are direct but without their targetman, Kieffer Moore, did not instil fear in the Forest backline. Strategy was not required for their first big opening of the first half. A mistake opened up a chance when centre-half Morato was dispossessed by Sam Smith inside the Wrexham half, Nathan Broadhead took up the charge with the hosts having a one-man advantage on the counter. A through-ball reached Smith but he fired wide past Matz Sels.
Forest did not learn their lesson. This time it was Omari Hutchinson who lost possession, tackled on the edge of his own box. Cacace latched on to the ball, got it out of his feet and fired into the corner to send Wrexham and co-owner Ryan Reynolds, the Hollywood actor, into a fervour.
Three minutes later, the lead was doubled, thanks to more loose Forest play. Wrexham were sharp, winning it in their opponent’s half again, Broadhead fizzed the ball towards the edge of the box, picking out Rathbone, who got a lucky ricochet before calmly slotting home.
“Premier League, you’re a having a laugh” was the piercing and deserved chant aimed at Dyche on the touchline. The Forest manager would have been pleased not to be three down at the break thanks to Sels staying big with Smith through one on one.
Dyche reacted with a triple sub at the break in an attempt to turn around the inept performance. Morgan Gibbs-White brought more craft and skill to the team and increased the tempo among his lethargic brethren.
Gibbs-White was the only player ensuring there was still a Cup tie ongoing. He won a free-kick 19 yards from goal with a neat turn to bamboozle a defender. The playmaker stepped up, beating the wall, and watched the ball dip as it raced towards the crossbar but Okonkwo stuck up a hand to tip the shot over.
After a night of being isolated, Forest put a cross for Igor Jesus to attack. Nicolo Savona raced down the right from where he picked out the Brazilian, whose header crept in between the keeper and post. It was only inches over the line when Callum Doyle attempted to intervene but the away fans finally had something to cheer.
Forest were on top but their own failings came to the fore again. A free-kick was needlessly given away 30 yards from Sels’ goal and George Dobson’s delivery was headed in by an unmarked Hyam at the far post.
In a blink of an eye, however, Forest had hope again when Hudson-Odoi found the corner after neat play from Hutchinson. It looked like a false dawn until the former Chelsea man repeated the trick to equalise in the 89th minute with an elegant chest and finish to bring extra time.
Chances were then limited for both teams, Josh Windass had the best one, making the most of a Jair Cunha mistake but Sels was alert to the danger and came out quickly.
In the shootout, James McClean did not keep his cool, smashing Wrexham’s second spot-kick over but he was relieved by Okonkwo saving from Igor Jesus. The goalkeeper saved from Hutchinson and Forest got what their first-half performance deserved.
