Match Report: Nottingham Forest 0-3 Manchester United. First Leg win for United.

Manchester United will be heading back to Old Trafford with a 3-0 lead after beating Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in the Carabao Cup semi final first leg. Goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Bruno Fernandes has given United a big advantage going into the second leg, leaving Steve Cooper and Forest an uphill task for next week at Old Trafford. Steve Cooper made four changes to his side that drew at AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. Brazilian midfielder Danilo made his first start since making his move last week, he came in for Ryan Yates who was forced off on Saturday and was not featured tonight. Scott McKenna, Gustavo Scarpa and Sam Surridge was the other changes made to the team. Surridge with a deserved start after scoring on Saturday, Erik ten Hag made three changes to his side that were defeated by Premier League leaders Arsenal. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro returned to the side following his suspension. Victor Lindelof and Tyrell Malacia also came into the side. It took the visitors just five minutes to take the lead, Rashford picked up the ball on the half way line and broke into the Forest half. After dribbling his way past a number of Forest players, he smashed his shot past Wayne Hennessy at his near post to give the Red Devils the lead. That was the forwards fifth goal in his last six games. After 22 minutes, Forest thought they were level. The Reds caught United on the break. Morgan Gibbs-White led the attack by breaking into the opposition half before playing Surridge on the left and his calm first time finish beat De Gea. After a VAR check the goal was ruled out. A very tight call saw Surridge foot just offside and the striker was denied two gaols in two games. Just a couple of minutes later Scarpa almost opened his Forest account. A corner was cleared only as far as the Brazilian and his thunderous volley was brilliantly save by De Gea, as it was heading to the top corner. Since joining on a free Scarpa has really caught the eye of the Forest faithful and they will hope he continues. The visitors was then close to a se3cond. After a nice quick passing move on the edge of the box, Summer signing Antony found himself with a clear shot on goal but was denied brilliantly by Hennessey to keep the score down. The Welsh keeper has had to step up following an injury to on loan Manchester United keeper Dean Henderson,, who would have been ineligible to play tonight. Then United did get their second just before half time. Antony found his volley palmed away by Hennessy and the ball dropped to Wout Weghorst and he scored his first goal in United colours. The on loan Burnley striker caused problems all night due to his height and physicality. That was the final action for the first half as the visitors went in with a comfortable scoreline. United were the dominant side in the opening stages but Forest were growing into the game as the half went on until Weghorst got the second for the visitors. The home side was just struggling to find the back of the net. The second half showed not to be many big chances for ether side. The first real chance came for Eriksen. His shot from the edge of the area could only find the crossbar and then it eventually fell back to Rashford and his strike from distance was well saved by Hennessy. Gibbs-White then came close for Forest. After dispossessing Casemiro he got into the box and got his shot off and it just went wide. The battle between Gibbs-White and Casemiro was good to watch as they were both going at each other most of the game. Then Bruno Fernandes killed of the game with just two minutes from time. Substitute Neco Williams thought me managed to clear after tackling substitute Pellistri. But the ball stuck with United and Anthony Elanga managed to put it up for Fernandes to volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. That is now three goals in 4 games for tonight's captain and he will be looking to keep up his form. That goal was the final action of the game as Ten Hag and his team go into the second leg 3-0 up and a step closer to Wembley. There is a concern for Forest though as Gibbs-White was forced off with an injury. It will be a mountain to climb if Forest were to manage to overturn the score and get to Wembley. Ext up for Forest is that second leg at Old Trafford as they are not in action in the FA Cup after being knocked out by Championship Blackpool. For the Red Devils, they host Championship side Reading in the FA Cup in which is another competition they will look to go far in.

Match Report: AFC Bournemouth 1-1 Nottingham Forest. Surridge late equaliser earns Forest a point.

AFC Bournemouth picked up their first point in the league since the World Cup break after drawing to fellow promoted side Nottingham Forest. The result puts the Cherries in the relegation zone after a poor run of form. Forest stay 13th in the league and stretch their unbeaten run to four games in the league. Gary O'Neil made five changes to his side that was defeated by Brentford, Some of these were through injury, Lewis Cook dropped out for Joe Rothwell. There was also no sign of Danish midfielder Philip Billing. Steve Cooper made three changes to his side that defeated Leicester City last week. Wayne Hennessey came in for the injured Dean Henderson. Willy Boly made a return from injury and new signing Chris Wood came in for Gustavo Scrapa after completing a move from Newcastle on Friday. Going into the game, it was Forest who had the first chance after five minutes. Serge Aurier got down the right and his low pass into the box found Morgan Gibbs-White. His first time shot was palmed away by Neto. The Forest record signing is yet to score or assist away from home for the Reds. Cooper's men then thought they took the lead after 12 minutes. Gibbs-White free kick found a rising Willy Boly at the back post and his header across was put home by Ryan Yates. It sent the away end into raptures until a VAR check disallowed the goal. It was found that Boly was offside so the score remained 0-0. The home side then had a big chance. Jordan Zemura got down the left side and his cross found Kieffer Moore completely free but his header from close range went over the bar. The Welshman had a very good record against Forest in the past, Scoring the winner in the crunch game at the end of last season. Just minutes later the home side took the lead. Dango Ouattara, making his debut, got down the right hand side and his pass across found Jaidon Anthony and he found the bottom corner. It was a third league goal for the winger and his second against Forest after scoring the winner at the City Ground in the 3-2 win earlier this season. It was a first league goal since November for the Cherries. Brennan Johnson then came close to the equaliser. Most of the Reds play was down his side and he entered the box and his near post shot was punched away from Neto. The former Barcelona keeper was managing to keep Forest out after returning to the 11 for Mark Travers. Just five minutes before half time, Zemura saw another cross find a teammate this time in Ryan Christie and his header went wide. The left back was given man of the match by the home side after his attacking play caused Forest problems. That was that for the first half. Just before the break Forest were forced into a substitute. Yates went down with what was thought to be dizziness and replacing him was new signing Danilo for his first game for his new side. For a first half of most chances going Bournemouth's way they would of been disappointed to be only one up. Forest struggled to deal with the press from the home side and struggled to create any clear cut chances. The second half provided very little chances for both sides, Moore with the first real chance, After the home side broke from a Forest attack a shot from Christie was blocked, this then bounced back for Moore and his shot on the spin was just wide of the goal. After that chance Forest stepped it up. Gustavo Scarpa was helping Forest push forward after being subbed on for Orel Mangala.It was the Brazilian who helped create a chance. His corner was played low to the edge of box found Gibbs-White and his first time shot was yet again beaten away by Neto. But Forest were seriously stepping up their game. All that pressure paid of as the Reds found an equaliser seven minutes from time. Johnson got given the ball after it was chipped through, and his low ball across found substitute Sam Surridge at the back post and he bundled the ball home. It was a first Premier League goal for the former Bournemouth man. The goal would boost his confidence adding to his good performance last week against Leicester. That then proved to be the last bit of action of the game. Forest rescue themselves a point and to keep a good flow of confidence in the fans. It means Bournemouth are still looking for a first league win since early November. As stated earlier, the Cherries move into the bottom three but come the end of the season it could prove to be an important one. Cooper's men are four points clear of the bottom three and will be looking to keep up their good form. Next up for Gary O'Neil it is a trip to fellow South Coast side Brighton, For Forest, they have their semi final first leg in the Carabao Cup against Manchester United where they will look to take a lead to Old Trafford for the second leg, Brazilian midfielder Danilo will be looking for a start after a very positive display this afternoon.

Match report: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Leicester City. Forest leapfrog Foxes.

For the first time this season, Nottingham Forest have back to back wins in the Premier League after beating East Midlands rivals Leicester City. Brennan Johnson scored twice as Forest beat the Foxes 2-0 at the City Ground. The result puts Steve Cooper's side 13th in the table, leapfrogging Leicester who go down to 15th. The away side haven't won in the league since November after a 2-0 win at West Ham United. Steve Cooper was forced into one change from his side that beat Wolves on penalties in midweek. After going off injured on Wednesday, Willy Boly dropped out the squad and in came Scott Mckenna to replace him. Brendan Rodgers made two changes from his side defeated by Newcastle in the Carabao Cup in midweek. Ayoze Perez and Patson Daka dropped out. Nampalys Mendy came in, which forced Youri Tielemans into a more advanced position, along with Jamie Vardy replacing Daka. In a game of limited of clear cut chances, it was the home side who had the first effort on goal after just 4 minutes. After Renan Lodi got down the left side he played it back to Remo Freuler, his cross found the head of Ryan Yates who couldn't put it on target. The midfielder then had another attempt on goal. After some good work from Freuler to keep hold of the ball, he managed to squeeze the ball through to Yates and he dragged his shot from distance just wide of the post. Still looking for his first Premier League goal Yates after netting eight in the Championship last season. The visitors then should of took the lead. Albrighton with a brilliant cross to the back post found an unmarked Harvey Barnes, who looked destined to score, put his shot wide. Barnes, who scored in the reverse fixture at the King Power, had his head in his hands. It was goalless at the break though. Unlike it has been in the last two meetings of the sides, in where there was a minimum of 3 goals at the break. Forest were forced into a change at half time though. Midfielder Yates coming off injured and experienced midfielder Jack Colback replaced him. The injury to Yates will worry Forest as he has been improving game by game. Just 4 minutes into the second half, Barnes had another huge chance. Mckenna saw a poor pass intercepted and put through to Barnes one on one but yet again couldn't put his shot on target as he dragged his effort wide. The winger had previously scored six times this season but it wasn't proving to be his day in front of goal. Forest then took the lead after 57 minutes. Morgan Gibbs-White put a brilliant ball through to Brennan Johnson who rounded the keeper and tapped into an empty net. But the referee then chalked the goal off for Johnson running into an offside position. After a lengthy VAR check the goal was given, Johnson wheeled away in celebration after scoring his first goal in the league since September. Substitute Sam Surridge almost made it two for Forest. Serge Aurier with a superb cross was met by a diving header from Surridge but it just went wide. The striker made a really good impact of the bench causing the Leicester defenders problems with his pressing and physicality. Then Johnson got his second and wrapped up the game for the reds. Once again linking up with Gibbs-White, an outside of the foot pass from the record signing found Johnson who had the beating of Brunt and then smashed it passed Wales teammate Danny Ward for his fourth of the season in the League. That was then it. A win that feels like a very important one to Nottingham Forest as they are slowly getting away from the relegation zone. They are now five points clear of West Ham. Leicester now being dragged back into it due to their current form after starting to pick up before the World Cup break. The Foxes next host Brighton Hove Albion in the league where they will look for a turn around. For Forest, it is a trip to the South Coast to play AFC Bournemouth where they hope Yates and Henderson, who went down with just a few minutes to go, will be available for selection.

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves (4-3 on pens). Forest reach first semi final since 1992.

Steve Cooper will be the first Nottingham Forest manager since Brian Clough to take the club to a cup semi final. The reds have beaten fellow Premier League side Wolves on penalties after a game of few chances. Their semi final opponents will be Manchester United where they will look to pull of an upset. Cooper named ten changes after his side were ripped apart by Blackpool with only Gustavo Scarpa staying in the 11. On the other side, Julen Lopetegui made 6 changes to his side. The most notable being Joao Moutinho coming in for captain Ruben Neves. It was Forest who took the lead after 18 minutes. A corner resulted in a scramble in the box, with it coming off the bar twice, then eventually falling to former Wolves defender Willy Boly as he scored from close range. It was a first goal in Garibaldi for the defender who held back the celebrations against his former side. The visitors then had a huge chance to level things up. Raul Jimenez broke through one on one with Henderson, but it was the keeper that came out on top pulling of a huge save to deny the Mexican. It was the Manchester United loanee who produced the heroics again. Jimenez cross to the back post found Hwang, his shot was yet again brilliantly saved by the English keeper to keep the score at 1-0. It was Cooper's men who were heading into the break ahead. The half had not many chances with Forest scoring their only big chance on the half. But the Forest faithful seemed confident going into the break. It was former Wolves man and Forest record signing Morgan Gibbs-White who had the first chance of half. Kilman struggled to deal with a long ball, with it eventually falling to Gibbs-White and his low shot was well saved by Jose Sa. Then the visitors found their equaliser. Substitute Matheus Cunha was played down the right hand side before his ball across the face of goal was tapped home by Jimenez for his second goal f the season. It was a deserved goal for the visitors, who saw a lot of the ball in the second half . That was about it for the 90 minutes as the game went to penalties. Wolves would have been disappointed after the amount of the ball they saw in the second half. The home side did manage to hit the post after a lose ball found its way to the post. Both sides missed their first penalties. Sam Surridge had his saved by Sa, who had a 100% save percentage from the spot this season. It was Henderson who denied Wolves captain Neves to breath relief into the Forest fans After all the other penalties were scored, it fell to youngster Joe Hodge in sudden death to keep Wolves in it. But his penalty was saved by Henderson to send Forest to the semi final. The City Ground erupted after the save to top of another memorable night for Forest fans. There was ugly scenes at full time. After Forest players goading to Wolves fans, including Gibbs-White, it kicked of in the middle of the pitch. It seemed something was said between Gibbs-White and a members of the Wolves squad but it was eventually eased of. But for the first time in three decades. Forest are in a cup semi final where they will be looking for another trip to Wembley. The reds turn their attention to a big game in the league against Leicester City. Wolves host West Ham in what could be a relegation six pointer.

Match Report: Blackpool 4-1 Nottingham Forest. Seasiders sail past Premier League Forest.

Blackpool showed that there is still magic in the FA cup as they defeated Premier League Nottingham Forest 4-1 at Bloomfield Road. It is Blackpool's first victory since beating Coventry City at the end of October. The defeat puts Forest out the FA cup at the first attempt, in comparison to last seasons heroics of making the quarter finals. Michael Appleton made two changes to his side that drew with Sunderland, with Jake Beesley and new signing Andy Lyons coming in for Gary Madine and the suspended Callum Connolly. Whereas, Steve Cooper named a fully changed 11 from the victory over Southampton in midweek. He handed a first start to new Brazilian signing Gustavo Scarpa, whose name was sung loudly in the stands, also giving a first start to youngster Billy Fewster. It took Forest nine minutes to get a first real attempt on goal. Neco Williams picked up the ball from Chris Maxwell's kick and drove through the Blackpool half before dragging his left footed shot wide of of the post. But it was the championship side who took the lead after 16 minutes. Forest struggled to clear from a CJ Hamilton cross with the ball eventually falling to defender Marvin Ekpiteta who scrambled it in. It was the defenders second goal in all competitions for the season. Just seven minutes after the goal, the reds had a chance of their own. Jack Colback winning the ball and finding Emmanuel Dennis before he cut inside on his right foot and hitting the crossbar. This would be the best chance of the half for Steve Cooper's men. As it was coming to half time, Forest were pushing for an equaliser . A chance came after a scramble to get the ball clear it fell to an unmarked Williams whose powerful shot from the edge of the area was palmed by Maxwell. It was the home side who went into the break winning despite the amount of chances Forest had and the reds had to find a way of turning those chances into goals if they were going to stay in the FA Cup. It was Forest who started the second half of the better side with two glorious chances falling the way of Sam Surridge and Lewis O'Brien. Both scenarios had the ball in wide positions played into the box but both Englishmen shots were far off target. Then the home side doubled their lead. Moments after having a shot from distance go over the bar, it was Leeds United loanee Ian Poveda scoring his first goal for the Tangerines. Williams saw his poor pass back intercepted by substitute Jerry Yates, before he entered the box and played it to Poveda to make it 2 and he had Bloomfield Road booming. Surridge had another chance for the reds after substitute Brennan Johnson tricked his way into the box and finding Surridge who put his shot over the bar. It wasn't proving to be the strikers day who has not scored since a 3-0 win in the Carabao Cup against league two Grimsby back in August. Blackpool then killed of the the game. A ball over the top from substitute Kenneth Dougall found Hamilton who got into the box and crashed his shot beyond Wayne Hennessey and making it 3-0 to Appleton's men. It was the former Mansfield wingers second goal of the season. Jerry Yates was the man who killed of a dismal afternoon for Forest in stoppage time. It came from a short corner routine where man of the match Poveda sent a powerful ball into the box and found top scorer Yates who netted his 10th goal in all competitions and to shock the travelling fans. It was another Yates who scored in stoppage time, this time for the away side after heading home from a Harry Toffolo cross as Forest took one of their chances at the end of the game. The goal would prove nothing as the referee blew his whistle and ended what has been a memorable afternoon for Blackpool fans and one Forest fans will not want to remember in a hurry. Blackpool now turn their attention back to the championship as they travel to high flying Watford. For Forest, they are back Wednesday night for the Carabao Cup quarter final at home to Wolves where they will hope on an improvement from today.