Striker Sam Surridge was left to reflect on a “special” moment, having netted his first goal for Nottingham Forest.
Having been “robbed” early on in Monday’s FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town, when a controversial offside decision cut short his celebrations, the January signing made no mistake with his second chance of the night.
Surridge applied a confident finish to draw the Reds level at the City Ground, after they had fallen behind to a Tom Lees header.
And he gave an all-round impressive performance on his first start for the club as they triumphed 2-1 to progress to the quarter-finals.
“It was amazing, and a special atmosphere,” said the 23-year-old, who penned a two-and-a-half-year deal from Stoke City during the transfer window.
“Coming into the team, I was just focused on trying to get a result.
“I was robbed with the first goal. But I didn’t think too much about that, and I made sure with the second one. It was special.
“I looked over to the bench and saw the gaffer going mad at the fourth official (for the offside call), so I knew it was onside after that! I felt it was onside when I scored.
“When I’m starting games in this team, I think I’m going to get chances.
“It was a special moment to score.
“It’s been hard. It was my first start in about three or four months. It was a hard few months at Stoke.
“I’ve come here and the manager has trusted me, he’s put me in the team. Hopefully that will continue.”
Forest’s fifth round triumph sets up a meeting with Liverpool, where Steve Cooper’s side will be looking to add to the Premier League scalps they have already claimed, having already toppled Arsenal and Leicester City during their cup run.
“The lads have seen off Arsenal and Leicester, the cup holders, so we’ve just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Surridge added.
“We’ll give it the best we can against Liverpool. Everyone will be looking forward to it.”
