Will Unwin was at the Racecourse Ground for a long night, and a penalty shootout.
Jay Rodriguez, the veteran, also spoke after the game: “I’ve been lucky enough to spend a year here now and the lads are down to earth, grafting, working hard and the manager is top.
“We’re sticking together and you can see from the performances that we are improving and have the belief we can beat anyway. We just have to stay humble and keep going.”
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More from Arthur Okonkwo: “Thankfully we have good analysis people to help us out. I had a look at it before the game so really happy to make the two saves and help us win the game.
“The manager spoke to us before the game, told us about the history of the club and how we’re able to beat teams who are way above us. It was amazing to win the game in the end. We just have to enjoy the moment.”
Other FA Cup scores
Wigan 0-1 Preston
Port Vale 1-0 Fleetwood
MK Dons 1-1 Oxford (3-4 on pens)
“I can’t tell you,” says the heroic goalkeeper, when asked what was on his water bottle.
Forest’s comeback comes to nothing, and Wrexham’s penalties were superb when they had to be. Arthur Okonkwo was even better, doing his job once Jay Rodriguez had scored the crucial fourth penalty.
Wrexham win 4-3 on penalties: Okonkwo is the hero!
Omari Hutchinson will take for Forest….and Okonkwo saves. That means Wrexham are in the fourth round!
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Jay Rodriguez leaves Sels standing still to make it 4-3 to Wrexham.
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Now it’s Neco Williams for Forest, the Welshman, and it’s cool, but under Okonkwo, who will be disappointed. It’s 3-3. and we are on sudden death.
George Thomason, the sub, clanks it past Sels, who gets his fingertips to it but cannot avert the power. That’s a beauty. 3-2 to Wrexham.
Callum Hudson-Odoi, the Forest hero…takes a neat penalty, at a good height, and it’s 2-2.
Callum Doyle sends Sels the wrong way and it is 2-1 to Wrexham.
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Igor Jesus for Forest…and SAVED by Okonkwo. Great stop. Still 1-1!
James McClean, the veteran, takes for Wrexham and MISSES. Left foot, and ballooned. Still 1-1.
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Morgan Gibbs-White takes for Forest….and slots it. That’s 1-1.
Josh Windass will take for Wrexham, and sends Sels to the floor as he roofs it. 1-0 to Wrexham.
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The kicks will take place in front of the Kop end; there are no fans at the other end as the stand is being rebuilt. Wrexham will go first.
Full-time in extra-time: Wrexham 3-3 Nottingham Forest
120 min: Windass, in a moment of desperation, is booked for a late piece of simulation. That precedes one last Forest attack, from which the danger is cleared…and here come the penalties.
119 min: Hyam makes a scuffed clearance to thwart a ball aimed at Jesus. These are the last knockings. Hutchison is the latest player to have his shot blocked. But then has another go, where Okonkwo gets down low to save.
118 min: Can Wrexham find their winner? Dobson holds the ball, waiting for the moment to play the pass but it ends up back with Sels.
116 min: Okonkwo comes to punch clear as Forest chase a late winner. Hyam and O’Brien make hurried clearances. Jesus has a shot, laid on by Hudson-Odoi. It’s saved by the Wrexham keeper.
114 min: Gibbs-White, who has been quiet since coming on, has a shot blocked. Lewis O’Brien bursts away on the counter but he and Windass misread each other’s intentions.
112 min: Wrexham win a corner that is disputed by Dominguez, who is booked for his complaints. The ball is deep, too deep, and Forest clear.
110 min: It’s slowing up, understandably, as penalties loom. Hutchinson shows neat skill but turns back and then runs out of pitch.
108 min: Forest get a free-kick and Murillo steps forward in the style of Jaap Stam, and clatters it…just wide. A traction engine of an attempt.
106 min: Almost a Wrexham goal within seconds, as the ball drops to Windass from Cunha’s error, and he can’t beat Sels. A seriously big chance.
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That’s half-time in extra-time…
105 min: Hudson-Odoi, so dangerous, and on a hat-trick, smashes in another fine shot. This time, it does not trouble Okonkwo.
104 min: Doyle shanks the ball away from the Wrexham area. Tiredness may be a factor now, though Forest – oddly – choose to throw the ball backwards rather than mount an attack.
103 min: Forest’s big push has come off its hinges in recent moments but Neco Williams, who has been potent in attack, smashes a long-ranger that Okonkwo can only knock behind.
102 min: The corner drops to Dan Scarr who can only head wide. Will Wrexham come to rue this misses?
101 min: A new flurry from Wrexham and they force a corner, off Murillo.
100 min: Smith leaves the field, in some pain and clearly exhausted, to deserved applause. Rodriguez has a great record in the FA Cup and against Forest so why not?
99 min: Enforced change sees Savona off, and Murillo on for Forest. He’s been moved to left-back. Wrexham’s Smith is down, and can give no more. Jay Rodriguez, the Burnley legend, is set to come on for him.
96 min: Wrexham cannot get the ball clear.
Peter Mumola gets in touch: “I know Ange was a disappointment but at least he won a European trophy when finishing 17th with Spurs. Dyche is on track for his 3rd such PL finish this DECADE.”
To be fair, they would have got relegated with Ange in charge.
95 min: Forest really going for it, and Callum Doyle does well to knock the ball from Igor Jesus’ path. Next, Neco Williams smashes in a shot that’s blocked by Hyam.
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94 min: Another ball in, and Igor Jesus is the target but he cannot get there.
93 min: The Racecourse a little more hushed than before, it must be noted. The cup of dreams was about to deliver then Hudson-Odoi came to town.
91 min: Back underway, and Forest on the front foot, the ball headed over by Awoniyi. Can they seize on Wrexham’s disappointment?
Full-time: Wrexham 3-3 Nottingham Forest
Callum Hudson-Odoi’s double has denied Wrexham and kept Forest in the FA Cup…
90+5 min: Wrexham keep pushing, all credit to them. But extra-time beckons, another 30 minutes for two teams who have given so much in this second half. There’s a last-seconds flurry but it’s cleared and the 90 is up…
90+3 min: Dobson takes a potshot, but this time his aim is less than true.
90+2 min: Sels has to claw away the corner, and foul gives up respite from a breathless tie. There were five minutes added on, by the way.
90+1 min: Ooof. Another Dobson ball and Windass tries to volley in when a header would have done the job.
Goal! Wrexham 3-3 Nottingham Forest (Hudson-Odoi, 90)
What a finish, he takes the ball down, chests it and smashes home. Extra-time beckons.
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87 min: Hutchison is booked for a silly foul. Then so is Douglas Luiz. On comes Taiwo Awoniyi for Luiz. Another change for Wrexham: James McLean comes on, the veteran.
86 min: Mistake by Morato – another – and then Dobson, who has such a sweet right foot, smashes a cross that Sels is scrabbling to save. Smith dives, too. But can’t get there.
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84 min: Have Wrexham weathered this? They look the more likely. Windass’s ball in finds two men at the back post and Sheaf jumps when O’Brien was more likely to score it.
82 min: Callum Doyle throwing himself at everything, blocking off Hudson-Odoi and then Hyam denies Igor Jesus’ snap shot. Ryan Reynolds keeps changing clothes. He’s now in a gilet, presumably a heated one.
81 min: Wrexham have some possession, feels like Forest are happy to play on the break in seeking an equaliser.
80 min: Hudson-Odoi on another sortie, only for Callum Doyle to put him off his stroke.
78 min: Plenty of twists to come? It seems so. Both Smith and Longman get a sniff, and the latter’s shot is well saved by Sels. Wrexham chasing another rather than sitting back.
77 min: Amid all that, a moment of respect for the late Terry Yorath, one of the greats of Welsh football, who died this week. By the way, that wonderful free-kick came from George Dobson.
Goal! Wrexham 3-2 Nottingham Forest (Hudson-Odoi, 76)
Instant reply, Forest scoring almost from the kick-off, with Hudson-Odoi drifting in to score.
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Goal! Wrexham 3-1 Nottingham Forest (Hyam, 75)
What a ball in, and what a finish….
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74 min: Sean Dyche’s gorilla in the mist war cry can be heard as Wrexham enjoy some possession. And win a free-kick.
72 min: Wrexham at last go on the counter but Dobson’s pass cannot be controlled by Smith.
70 min: Extra-time and penalties? That seems more than likely at the moment. Wrexham have plenty of defending to get through. O’Brien, the former Forest player, joins the throng by hacking the ball clear. It’s not sticking up front.
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68 min: Dominguez takes a wild swing for Forest’s latest effort. Off goes Broadhead, Rathbone, for O’Brien and Josh Windass for Wrexham. Dan Ndoye off for Forest, and Hudson-Odoi comes on.
66 min: Okonkwo claims the ball as Ndoye zings a cross in. There were no takers. Wrexham struggling to clear their lines.
65 min: Callum Hudson-Odoi is set to come on for Forest, who are chasing this one now, and hard. Savona’s cross for Jesus was a beauty.
Goal! Wrexham 2-1 Nottingham Forest (Igor Jesus, 64)
Tremendous header from the striker, lovely cross in. Game on.
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63 min: Plenty of time for someone to be a hero. Ryan Reynolds, should you be interested, is wearing a Wrexham top with Rob Mac’s name on.
61 min: Wrexham sub: Cacace off, and on comes George Thomason.
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60 min: Forest far better but is it too later? Wrexham want to kill this off. Broadhead cuts inside and then out, forcing a save from Sels. The ball to Longman might have resulted in a goal.
58 min: Douglaz Luiz zings in a free-kick, and it’s flying in, only for Okonkwo to make a fine save. From the corner Morato knocks behind. Sean Dyche is no longer in shorts, by the way.
56 min: The ball comes loose in the box, Igor Jesus tries a snap shot and Scarr comes across to block. Ben Sheaf had let the ball run away from him.
54 min: Sean Dyche looks very grumpy on the sidelines. It’s not been a good advert for the squad depth he has to hand.
52 min: Forest trying their best to build up a head of steam.
49 min: Ryan Longman cuts in from the right, and shoots wide of the post with his left. Lot of space for him though that needed to be spectacular to go in.
48 min: An early Forest attack is thwarted by some fine tracking back from Callum Doyle.
46 min: Three Forest changes, Gibbs-White, Nico Dominguez and Neco Williams on, McAtee, Bakwa and Zinchenko off. Sean Dyche having to bring on his better players to escape embarrassment.
Other FA Cup half-time scores
MK Dons 1-0 Oxford
Preston 0-0 Wigan
Port Vale 1-0 Fleetwood
Half-time: Wrexham 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Will Wrexham rue that Smith chance? They’re in a good place anyway. Forest have been disjointed and when the chances have fallen to the Championship team, they have gobbled up with notable efficiency.
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45 min: One minute added on. And it might have been three…Sam Smith sent through but he dallies and Sels comes out to block what would have game, set and match.
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44 min: Forest try to probe away at Wrexham’s defence, after five minutes where their night turned bad. Douglas Luiz wafts a ball out of play. We are treated to Ryan Reynolds, with Aspen tan, doing a jig of joy. You don’t get that from Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
43 min: Forest have looked rather less than a cohesive unit; that’s what eight changes will do to a team. This is great streaming content and no mistake.
41 min: Max Boyce’s Hymns And Arias is ringing out. Beautiful noise from the home noise. Their team is in a beautiful place.
Goal! Wrexham 2-0 Nottingham Forest (Rathbone, 40)
Another Forest mistake, another great finish. Morata gets done, and the ball opens up for Rathbone to hit early and true.
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38 min: Forest wanted a foul but Cunha was dozing as Dobson took the ball. After that, the move was executed perfectly. Ryan Reynold loving it.
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Goal! Wrexham 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Cacace, 37)
The ball goes loose as Cunha loses the ball to Dobson, and it’s slipped to Cacace to smash home. What a finish. Perhaps a deflection.
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33 min: Wrexham look to a counter but Longman is forced to check back and the choice is to retain possession. The ball is pumped to the lonesome Smith, who has three defenders all over him. He’s really putting in the effort.
32 min: Forest corner, knocked behind, and so there will be another. Hutchinson takes, and it goes straight to Longman, who hammers the ball clear.
30 min: Best chance of the game. Morata makes a mistake and Wrexham break at speed, and Sam Smith fires with venom but not enough accuracy. He’s annoyed with himself there.
29 min: Some hurly burly in the corner sees Forest awarded a free-kick when it looked as if their defender was the guilty party.
27 min: Forest come up in numbers, McAtee, who has been quiet, is robbed by Ben Sheaf as the ball falls to the former Manchester City man.
25 min: A free-kick, from Douglas Luiz, zips in, and it’s a fine save from Okwonko, who pushes the ball away from danger.
22 min: The second Dobson corner went out and back in, so Forest can breathe and have a goal kick.
21 min: A Rathbone shot rasps in, and Sels deflects behind. Jair Cunha has to head behind for a second corner, that George Dobson will take.
20 min: Forest smelling a bit of blood here? It seems so. The TV footage shows the new stand being built. Wrexham’s ambitions in bricks and mortar.
Goal disallowed! Still 0-0
Yes, Luiz handballed it to control it and volleyed home, and referee Paul Tierney, to his credit, thought about it. And gave the correct decision. Common sense reffing: it will never catch on.
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Goal! Wrexham 0-1 Nottingham Forest (Luiz, 18)
Was that handball? It looked it?!
15 min: Wrexham win a throw in a decent position but don’t seem to have a Semeyo/Kayode. It’s taken short. Still, Broadhead and Cacace, the Kiwi, are making progress down the left, at least.
14 min: Some long hoofs from end to end, to reflect what has been a disappointing contest so far.
11 min: Wrexham finally get near the Forest box but Sels in the Forest goal is under no threat from the cross and it’s headed away in any case.
8 min: Boos as Sayona takes his time over a throw. This game yet to catch light. Suppose that’s always likely with two unfamiliar teams facing each other.
7 min: Forest are back in numbers, showing respect for their opponents.
6 min: Wrexham’s style under Phil Parkinson is often up and at ‘em, but no Kieffer Moore. Morata concedes a free-kick, and there’s chance to get the ball into the box. And yet they take it short.
4 min: A Zinchenko pass finds an offside teammate. Is Sean Dyche still in shorts? Confirmation needed.
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2 min: Early Forest chance, as Bakwa as is sent away down the left, and his ball inside is met by Igor Jesus, who cannot keep the ball on target.
Away we go at the Racecourse
1 min: Ryan Reynold is in the house. Rob Mac is at home, presumably. Boos as Forest pass the ball round the back as the home fans create quite a decent atmosphere.
The teams take to the field. Wrexham have a stories FA Cup history, while Forest have won this trophy twice, the last in 1959, when Elton John’s cousin scored one of the goals.
Big noise from both sets of fans on a chilly night in what used to be known as Clwyd.
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Sean Dyche, of course, is wearing shorts as he carries out his pre-match duties.
Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham manager, spoke to the BBC: ““When the draw came out we sat down as a staff and said that the aim was to get through the Christmas period in good form, and we managed to do that, and tonight I want the supporters, players and staff to enjoy the occasion. But, we will only enjoy it if we play somewhere near our maximum.”
Sean Dyche has been speaking to TNT: “We’ve got a quiet week next week and then it all picks up again in the Europa League. We’ve got some good players out there tonight so I expect a performance.
“We’ve had eight injuries to players, some that have proved themselves at this club and others who want to prove themselves, so the true fitness is not there in some of them, but we’ve got no choice but to use them. These are tricky games. I’ve made it absolutely clear to the players that our attitude has to be spot on.”
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Four changes for Wrexham, Dan Scarr, Liberato Cacace, Ollie Rathbone and George Dobson in, with Max Cleworth, Matty James, Josh Windass and George Thomason out.
As predicted, Sean Dyche makes eight changes. Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson are the only survivors from this week’s win at West Ham.
Other FA Cup games tonight:
MK Dons v Oxford
Port Vale v Fleetwood
Preston v Wigan
The teams
Wrexham: Okonkwo, Scarr, Hyam, Doyle, Dobson, Sheaf, Longman, Rathbone, Broadhead, Cacace, Smith. Subs: Burton, Coady, McClean, Barnett, Thomason, O’Brien, Ashfield, Windass, Rodriguez.
Nottm Forest: Sels, Savona, Jair Cunha, Morato, Zinchenko, McAtee, Douglas Luiz, Hutchinson, Ndoye, Bakwa, Igor Jesus. Subs: Gunn, Williams, Murillo, Hudson-Odoi, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, Milenkovic, Abbott.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Not everyone has bought into the Wrexham fairytale, of course.
Here’s a preview of the weekend, in the usual way.
Preamble
Would it be an FA Cup giantkilling if America’s team, the mighty Wrexham, beat Nottingham Forest? Though the Robins have play-off hopes very much alive their concerns are not as deep as Forest’s. Relegation is still a serious concern for Sean Dyche’s men, and their manager has some previous for concentrating on the league. It’s bound to be a decent atmosphere at the Racecourse so let’s consider the third round open, and let’s hope it starts in style.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm. Join me.
