FA Cup third round: Nottingham Forest vs Luton Town
Whether the ‘magic of the FA Cup’ still exists is a widely debated topic, with the current 2024/25 season seeing a scrapping of FA Cup replays which has had a big impact on non-league clubs ability to raise funds through an FA Cup run. The impact of this can be seen at Tamworth this weekend as ticket prices for their glamour tie against Tottenham Hotspur were released at a whopping £42 for adults and £29 for under 10’s which they came under a lot of criticism for, but with no chance of securing a replay at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, you could forgive the club for trying to milk the once in a life time fixture as much as they possibly can. The irony is, Tamworth managed to hold Tottenham to a 0-0 score line by the end of regular time, so under last seasons rules they would have earned themselves a replay. As well as this, inconvenient Thursday night kick off times have seen extremely low crowds at places like Brammall Lane. With only 6,126 fans in attendance for Sheffield United’s FA Cup fixture against Cardiff City, this meant that approximately 25,000 seats were left empty for the 7pm kick off.
We travelled to familiar surroundings this weekend to watch Forest take on Luton Town in the third round of the competition. This would be the first FA Cup fixture we’ve been at since Peterborough Sports were knocked out on penalties in the fourth qualifying round back in October. It was very different circumstances on this frosty afternoon in January, with Forest flying in the league having won their last 6 consecutive games and having the luxury to be able to make 11 changes to their starting 11 from the team that played against Wolves in our last Premier League fixture. Luton came into the game with a feeling of trepidation following four straight defeats resulting in a mutual termination of manager Rob Edwards’ contract.
The first ever FA Cup meeting between Forest and Luton came in May 1959 as the two teams made it to the final to play against each other at Wembley. On that day, Forest secured a 2-1 victory and won the FA Cup for the second time in our history. That was the last time Forest lifted the trophy and Luton haven’t managed to reach an FA Cup final again since that day, despite winning the League Cup in 1988. In recent years, Luton and Forest forged a mini rivalry in the 2023/24 season as they went neck and neck for survival, with Forest being deducted 4 points for breaching PSR and also putting out an infamous tweet on social media alleging that the video assistant referee was a Luton fan after being denied three penalties against Everton.
As a haze descended over the City Ground, a bright low sunlight hampered the view of fans in the Brian Clough stand where we were prior to kick off. Some people had come prepared wearing sunglasses but I hadn’t, luckily as Mull of Kintyre resonated around the stadium, clouds covered the sun to give us a much clearer view of the pitch. The game itself was controlled largely by Forest, but Luton gave a decent showing of themselves and carved out some promising situations in the first half.
From a Forest viewpoint, Jota Silva stood out in an attacking sense throughout the game and his positive running and harrying caused the shaky looking Luton backline numerous problems. Captain and boyhood Forest fan Ryan Yates led by example and was the player who came the closest to opening the scoring after rattling the crossbar with a long range driving effort. From a Luton perspective, their eyes would have been on Isaiah Jones who made his debut for the club after joining two days ago from Middlesbrough. They would have been impressed with what they saw from the tricky winger, who dribbled and jinked his way into the Forest box and looked set to score, but for an important stop from Carlos Miguel in goal.
On the 40th minute though the deadlock was broken by Forest. Paraguyan winger Ramon Sosa, signed in the summer from Argentinian side Talleres de Córdoba, sent in a perfectly weighted cross which was headed home by no other than Ryan Yates to put us in the driving seat just before half time. The opening stages of the second half saw Taiwo Awoniyi spur a golden opportunity to score a second goal in two games, but Forest did get their second goal in the 68th minute to effectively kill off the tie. It was a trademark Forest counter attacking goal which we have become accustomed to seeing in recent weeks, Ryan Yates played a lovely ball into the channel for the livewire Jota Silva to run onto and put on a plate for Sosa to slide the ball into the net while running at pace. It was a productive game for Sosa, who is growing in confidence with each appearance for the club, this being his second goal of the season in all competitions.
Take yourself back to the opening day of the Premier League season, Forest are playing Bournemouth on a warm summers day in Nottingham. Fans are excited and hopeful of progress under Nuno and his men, but, in the first 15 minutes of the game, our adored Brazilian midfielder Danilo lands awkwardly and goes down in serious pain. Players are wincing, unable to look at the injury, Forest medical staff urgently attend to the player and staff run onto the pitch with large sheets to shield Danilo so that spectators are unable to view the incident while he receives treatment. It is a shocking and devastating injury to a talented player at a crucial time in his career, with rumours circulating post-match that it is an injury likely to put him out for the season. Just under 5 months later, on the 85th minute of the game against Luton and Danilo is substituted onto the pitch in place of James Ward-Prowse to a huge outpouring of support from the home fans who sing his chant which is a profound and fitting tribute:
‘Danilo, always believe in your soul, you’ve got the power to know, you’re indestructible, always believe in… Danilo' (to the tune of ‘Gold’ by Spandau Ballet).
It was an emotional and touching moment, and will certainly go down as the highlight of the day for many Forest supporters. In the short time that Danilo was on the pitch, he looked sharp and gave a great account of himself, playing one sublime pass, winning plenty of headers and showing off his Brazilian flair.
- The return of Danilo
The second string Forest line up got the job done and once again showed that this season they have strength in depth and can still perform and follow the same tactics with efficiency, even with a ‘weakened’ side. The Luton fans were appreciative of their players efforts who went over to the away section after full time along with caretaker boss Paul Trollope and received a warm reception.
On Tuesday night, Forest have a game of the highest magnitude against Liverpool at the City Ground which I will be in attendance for in the safe standing section of the Bridgford upper tier where there will no doubt be an electric atmosphere. This season has been completely surreal and the fact that we could go within three points of the title leaders after 21 games seems like a dream, but the players and manager have put us into this position and created a bond and a sense of unity between everyone associated with the club. We couldn’t, could we?
Whatever the outcome on Tuesday night, we will be writing another blog so be sure to look out for it, on what could be a memorable night for Nottingham Forest. Going back to FA Cup affairs, Forest have been drawn away at Exeter City in the fourth round which looks like a decent draw on the face of it, but the magic of the cup should never be underestimated. The fixture will take place on the weekend of 8th February and being a romantic admirer of the FA Cup, I’m looking forward to some fourth round action.
Written by Joe Horne
