Championship strugglers Blackpool knocked out Nottingham Forest as they produced one of the comprehensive football results of the weekend in the FA Cup. Marvin Ekpiteta’s close-range finish gave the Seasiders, who were in the relegation zone of the second tier after a nine-game losing streak, the lead at the break. After withstanding Forest’s second-half onslaught, Michael Appleton’s team scored three more goals—through Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton, and substitute Jerry Yates—before Ryan Yates headed in a late insurance goal for the guests. Steve Cooper, the manager of Forest, made 11 changes for the third-round match, and he was left speechless after his new-look lineup failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities before being punished on the break by the struggling Championship team.
James Husband’s narrowly missed shot for Blackpool was the first to pose a threat, and Nico Williams came closest for Forest at the other end with a low shot that was just wide following a frantic run to the outside of the box. But the team who scored first was the Championship team. Lewis O’Brien of Forest’s midfield misjudged a headed clearance effort in the box, allowing center-half Ekpiteta to score from eight yards away. When Emmanuel Dennis curled a shot against the crossbar, Forest was spurred into action and just missed tying the score. In his first Forest start, Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Scarpa forced Blackpool goalkeeper Chris Maxwell to make a low save, and Sam Surridge fired a shot into the side netting after eluding his defender in the area.
Poveda scored from six yards after Williams’ misdirected ball put Blackpool’s substitute Yates sprinting down the left side. Before the Seasiders hit them on the break once more to go up 3-0, Surridge missed another opportunity for Forest by firing high and wide from in front of the goal. This time, Hamilton scored an impressive left-footed goal to break the stalemate after Poveda crossed the ball in from the left. When he missed the target after another Poveda cross, Jerry Yates should have increased the score.
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