Jack Taylor sees penalty kick saved as Ipswich Town suffer penalty shootout heartbreak at Nottingham Forest to exit FA Cup in fifth round at The City Ground
Ipswich Town were knocked out of the Emirates FA Cup at the fifth round stage and denied a first quarter-final for more than 30 years after losing to Nottingham Forest on penalties following a 1-1 draw at The City Ground.
Jack Taylor was the only player to miss with the 10th and decisive penalty in the shootout, seeing his strike saved down low to the left by Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
After a drab first half, the tie came to life after half-time where George Hirst’s third goal of the season gave the Blues the lead from a corner that was won by Sam Morsy’s long-range effort.
Ben Johnson’s delivery was met by Hirst, who slammed through the legs of Sels to set the Blues on their way, but the lead lasted only 14 minutes before the Reds equalised.
That came through a second phase set piece of their own after Anthony Elanga’s ball was half-cleared and his second attempt at a cross was turned home by Ryan Yates.
Yates saw a near identical effort ruled out for offside soon after as the two former winners could not be separated after 90 or 120 minutes, with Forest having the last laugh on the lottery of penalties.
The Blues, who remain winless on Trentside this century, now put their sole focus on their survival bid in the Premier League.Kieran McKenna’s side are five points from safety with 11 league matches to play.
Not a classic first half
For the neutral – and even those of a Forest or Ipswich persuasion – the opening 45 minutes of this FA Cup tie is not one that will live long in the memory.
It was the Suffolk side’s first at the fifth round stage for 18 years and the opening stanza yielded just the single shot on target.
That came inside the first three minutes as the Blues, who made eight changes from their league trip to Old Trafford, created an opening from a set piece.
Two of those brought into the side combined as Conor Townsend’s dangerous free-kick was glanced on by Nathan Broadhead, but Selz was equal to the Welshman’s header.
Elanga retained his place in the home side and looked threatening throughout. His corner led to Forest’s only significant opportunity of the first half soon after when Ibrahim Sangare met the Swede’s delivery.
The bouncing ball fell agonisingly wide of the far post, with Taiwo Awoniyi, brought into the side up front for star striker Chris Wood, unable to stab home the loose ball.
The Blues can be happy with the way they relieved some of the Reds’ pressure and began to control more of the possession, but came at a cost with creating chances looking to be at a premium.
That was until after the break when the entertainment value of the contest was significantly improved.
Hungry Hirst
Hirst can have few complaints with his lack of Premier League starts because of the form of Blues striker Liam Delap.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel was in attendance with presumably at least half an eye on Delap ahead of his first Three Lions camp later this month, but it was Hirst who continued his fine form in front of goal when given the opportunity from the off.
Hirst has now scored in all three of his starts this season following on from his goals away at Brentford and Coventry City, taking his goal well at the City Ground as Johnson’s wicked delivery was finished expertly in front of the 2,900 visiting supporters.
It was a classic case of a centre-forward striking when not having the best game as the ball failed to stick to the frontman on a regular basis while he was perhaps not receiving too much help from referee Tony Harrington.
Forest turned to the bench to introduce Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson with their reward coming shortly after as Yates levelled the cup tie.
The momentum was all with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Yates heading into the net once more but caught out by the flag having been offside from Morato’s flick-on but neither side were able to prevent an additional 30 minutes, despite Callum Hudson-Odoi striking the crossbar.
Rotten luck
Cagey and tired are often adjectives to describe extra-time in most football matches, and the additional period at the City Ground was no exception.
The visitors started brightly, Morsy firing marginally wide after jinking past Morato before Townsend’s free-kick was sent straight down the throat of Sels from Delap’s battle to win it.
Hudson-Odoi curled and substitute Jota Silva dragged a pair of efforts wide of Alex Palmer’s goal in an attempt to prevent spot kicks, but the game seemed destined to go all the way.
After the first nine penalties were all scored, Taylor was the unlucky Blues player to see his effort saved by Sels as the City Ground erupted with the hosts heading to the south coast to face Brighton and Hove Albion in the quarter-finals.
As Sels raced away with his arms out to celebrate, the Town squad rushed to Taylor to console the midfielder, who was left with his head in his hands.
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels; Moreno (Williams 82), Morato, Murillo, Aina; Danilo (Anderson 60), Sangare (Gibbs-White 60); Hudson-Odoi, Yates (c), Elanga (Silva 111); Awoniyi (Wood 82). Subs: Hennessey, Dominguez, Sosa, Boly.
Booked: Morato, Anderson, Yates.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Palmer; Townsend, Burgess (Greaves 46), Woolfenden, Tuanzebe (O’Shea 46); Luongo (Cajuste 67), Morsy (c); Broadhead (Clarke 67), J Taylor, Johnson; Hirst (Delap 90). Subs: Muric, Davis, Philogene, T Taylor.
Booked: Luongo, Morsy.
Referee: Tony Harrington(Durham).
Attendance: 29,171.
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Conor Townsend.Townsend has played every minute in cup competitions this season and can be pleased with another promising defensive display from left-back. Provided some good crosses and was positioned well at all times to cover the dangerous Elanga. Like many of his teammates, he can find himself unfortunate to be on the losing side of the penalties lottery.
