Bruno Fernandes rifled the ball into the corner and had no choice but to savour the moment with the throng of Manchester United supporters in the Bridgford Stand. They were so overjoyed an advertising hoarding collapsed.
Their overzealousness is forgivable. It has been a while since "We're the famous Man United and we're going to Wem-ber-ley" was chanted with such gusto and United are 90 minutes away from scheduling a hotel in London for the final weekend of February.
Fernandes's 89th minute piledriver is as good as a contest-killer ahead of next week's second leg at Old Trafford. United were good and their fans great. Fernandes was the last to applaud them, handing one his shirt.
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United had to buck the trend of narrow wins on the road sooner or later and Forest was an opportune occasion. They had been undefeated at home since September, beating Liverpool and securing a creditable draw with Chelsea. Three-nil is a sound statement.
Finally, United won away from home by more than one goal in domestic competition all season. They threatened to make their evening a taxing one in a 25-minute portion that encapsulated Erik ten Hag's work in progress.
United had rarely been as dominant during Ten Hag's tenure as in the first 20 minutes, abruptly halted when they charitably engineered an equaliser. Alas, VAR determined Sam Surridge was a foot offside.
In a half where United's inability to put teams to the sword was glaring, they ended it with a two-goal advantage. This was a week to reassess and reset after two galling results north and south of the Thames last week, the cup commitments a timely respite from the Premier League. Forest were vanquished.
Ten Hag was regularly on the case of Tyrell Malacia and took a dim view of a blind flick by Fernandes. Antony, urged to be more direct by Ten Hag in his pre-match press conference, was just that with his infield runs opening up more avenues after a week of strolling down a cul-de-sac.
"He can do better," Ten Hag remarked on Tuesday. Antony was better and his positioning key to Wout Weghorst's goal when he occupied Fernandes's zone to test Wayne Hennessey's palms. Weghorst alertly pounced on the rebound.
Weghorst had been hitherto restricted to the role of a funnel United streamed through and the tap was finally turned on after almost five scoreless halves. So far, he is another hit for Ten Hag's recruitment hit-rate.
Goals are not hard to come by for Marcus Rashford, now four shy of his season-best tally of 22. He practically petrified the Forest captain Joe Worrall into granting him a one-on-one in the sixth minute and, a road away from Trent Bridge, Hennessey was as negligent as a batsman failing to protect his wicket.
Rashford was sensibly withdrawn before the hour - seemingly pre-planned. A medical staff member checked in and Rashford indicated he was fine before taking a seat on the bench. It would be senseless to let him have a kick against Championship side Reading in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The first 20 minutes was the United their supporters recognised: front foot and full throttle. Lisandro Martinez's contribution at the start of the attack was significant; he was urged to play it safe by Malacia but demurred and opened up the space to break the lines. Within seconds, defence had been converted into attack.
Martinez is as much of an asset in attack as he is in defence, where he diligently intervened with Brennan Johnson haring towards goal. "Argentina," the nearby United fans roared. One instantly unfurled an Argentina flag. Martinez is the first of Ten Hag's signings to earn a standalone chant.
This was the first semi-final United fans were able to attend since the League Cup derbies in 2020. Eight of United's last nine domestic cup ties have been at Old Trafford and their phenomenal following away from home were due an enticing evening tie. They leafed through umpteen pages of their songbook.
United fans had to wait nearly a quarter of a century to return to this sport-centric corner of Nottingham and that amplified the atmosphere in the away end, which may have caused ripples in the Trent. In their first semi-final since 1991, Forest's fans were demoralised by the early timing of Rashford's goal and Weghorst's momentum-killer moments before the interval.
The United fans aired their paean to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who made them especially happy on the grey-skied day in Nottingham almost 24 years ago. Roy Keane, pitchside at the City Ground, was also serenaded to boos from unforgiving Forest fans almost 30 years on from his defection. "You've seen United, now f--k off home," they crowed.
Another representative of both clubs, Dean Henderson, opted for a pitchside seat and was uncharacteristically yet consciously restrained when it seemed Surridge had equalised. Jesse Lingard, not even a starter for Forest, was applauded by United fans upon his entrance.
Their night ended to the mellifluous sound of Que Sera Sera. United look to be going to Wembley.
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