Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town’: Luke Woolfenden dreaming of Wembley as Blues bid to break winless run at The City Ground to set up FA Cup quarter-final tie at Brighton
Luke Woolfenden has heaped praise on high-flying Nottingham Forest ahead of Ipswich Town’s Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round tie at the City Ground this evening (7.30pm, ITV 4) - with the winner set to travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in he quarter-finals.
The Blues travel to the East Midlands to face a Forest side who are third in the Premier League table and battling to secure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have been the surprise package of the division so far with the Reds on course for their best league finish for 30 years.
“They’re a team that looks like they’re enjoying (their) football,” Woolfenden said.“You see them after the game in interviews and they’re all laughing, smiling and just taking their chances.
“A lot of them have been at top clubs and have probably been written off by numerous other people. It’s all come together for them this year,they’ve taken their chances and fair play to them.”
Town are set to play in the fifth round for the first time since 2007 (18 years) following comfortable victories over Bristol Rovers (3-0, H) and Coventry City (4-1, A) and will be looking to reach their first quarter-final since 1993.
Their record at the City Ground in recent years has not made for positive reading with the Blues winless in their last 15 visits having last won when Woolfenden was just a year old.
“We’ve played well,” he said. “You saw last year that every game in the FA Cup can be difficult, it’s so far so good.
"I think Coventry will end up in the play-offs, they’ve got one of the best squads in the Championship. For us to go there and make so many changes and be relatively comfortable was a really good sign, and a sign of how far we’ve come.”
Given the fight for survival in the Premier League it would be easy to prioritise the league form over a run in the FA Cup that may be seen as a distraction, but Woolfenden says the Blues’ squad depth means there is good reason to believe a cup run is possible.
He said: “We’ve got a massive squad, there’s boys that don’t play every week that are champing at the bit to get in. Whether you see that as a negative that we’re making that many changes or a positive that the squad is strong enough to go and compete on two fronts which I think it is.
“We don’t need to not prioritise it,it’s a game of football. We don’t have many games,we’ve come from the Championship where we played more games last season so I don’t see why we can’t do both; a cup run would help everyone.
“It’s the way that football is now, the squads are very big. You’ve just got to enjoy every game.
“The early rounds when you’re playing teams that are in lower divisions than you, you can go into it with a bit more enjoyment knowing you’re going to have more of the ball and have chances to score and get at teams. Whether that be Bristol Rovers or Coventry, when you’re in the Premier League you know it’s going to be a much harder game.
“There is a sense of the pressure being off but you go into every game, especially with the boys that haven’t been playing, you want to show that you can earn a space in the Premier League team. The pressure is on that way instead of other ways.”
Dreaming of Wembley
With Town just two wins away from a first ever visit to the new Wembley Stadium, Woolfenden has reason to dream that a visit to the home of English football is a potential prospect.
“It was always Wembley as a kid when you were growing up,” the 26-year-old said. “For everyone that plays football it will always be Wembley so it would be a nice achievement to get there.
“When you get a few rounds in the chance of getting there becomes a massive thing to you.
“What a massive milestone that would be in my career to captain the team at Wembley. Whether it happens or not who knows but it would be unbelievable.”
The Blues have a proud history in the competition having won the famous trophy back in 1978 under the guidance of Sir Bobby Robson.
With many of the heroes of that famous day still present on a matchday, Woolfenden says the current squad recognise the importance of the FA Cup in an era where it is becoming less popular.
He said: “You see them walking about, acknowledge them and say hello. On matchdays you can see them around the place and it’s a good reminder of what the club’s done before.
"The competition has changed a lot recently. Probably to a lot of big clubs it’s lost a bit of interest and even teams in the Championship now with the lack of replays and seriousness that some of the big clubs put into it, it’s lost that bit of magic.
“But for Ipswich it’s always been a special one because we’ve won it before. I wouldn’t say it’s something that’s massively banged on about every day but it’s a chance to go and play at Wembley and win a cup, so it’s very serious.”
‘I think I’ve stepped up to it well’
For Woolfenden, this season has been one of growth having competed in the Premier League for the first time in his career, something he claims he is relishing having returned to the side after a period out of the squad for the visit to Arsenal just after Christmas.
“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’ve played well in the majority of the games that I’ve played in and the boss echoes that thought as well. The challenge is good and I think I’ve stepped up to it well enough when I’ve played.
“I feel like it’s brought another side to me that I have improved as a player in the Premier League.
“I’ve always loved playing around the Christmas period when the pitches are wet, the ball starts to zip, the games are back-to-back and you’re not training as much.
“To go back in for the Arsenal game was nice, it had been a long time since I played. I played the next four in succession and I did well in them. It was nice to be back out there with the boys.”
Double century for hometown club
The academy graduate recently marked his 200th Town appearance, a milestone he acknowledged felt a long way off a few years ago when he struggled for game time in League One prior to Kieran McKenna’s arrival.
“It was nice,” Woolfenden said. “It was a good feeling and one I wouldn’t have been expecting to reach right at the start of my career when it looked like I was on my way out.
“It was a nice moment, something to be proud of and I’m looking forward to many more. Especially with the journey the club has been on, it’s been amazing the last two years. To make 200 appearances and the 200th come in the Prem was beyond my wildest dreams, it’s been unreal.”
Beating Chelsea under lights was ‘ubelievable’
On the Blues’ most recent Premier League victory over Chelsea, back on December 30, Woolfenden added: “Under the lights at Portman Road has always been special for the last three years. I’ve always enjoyed playing under the lights at Portman Road, the atmosphere and the feeling of it is really special.
“Going into the game against Chelsea we felt really confident about getting a result and executing what we had to do, it was unbelievable.”
Seagulls await winners from City Ground
Should Town prevail in Tonight’s tie, they would travel to fellow Premier League outfit Brighton & Hove Albion - who found an extra-time winner (2-1) at Newcastle United yesterday - in the quarter-finals over the weekend of Saturday, March 29.
With a run of big name clubs having fallen, Town (1978) are the second most recent winners left standing, behind 2023 champions Manchester City.
Former Manchester United defender Denis Irwin and Fulham midfielder turned BBC pundit Danny Murphy made the draw, which took place at Old Trafford after Fulham's penalty shootout win over the holders.
FA Cup quarter-final draw:
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Preston v Aston Villa
Bournemouth v Manchester City
Brighton v Nottingham Forest or Ipswich Town
