When Nottingham Forest and Exeter City played in the FA Cup, there was a concern about injuries. In the second half at St. James Park, goalie Carlos Miguel was substituted out.
With 59 minutes remaining, No. 1 Matz Sels took the Brazilian’s spot in goal, where he had begun in the fourth round match. Miguel had already given up two goals. The goal had been opened by Josh Magennis with five minutes remaining after the summer addition made a mistake. Ramon Sosa and Taiwo Awoniyi gave the Reds goals back, but Miguel allowed a Willy Boly own goal in the 51st minute to equalize.
As the top-seeded team still in the competition, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds entered the match in Devon hoping to avoid losing to Premier League leaders Liverpool. Plymouth Argyle, who are at the bottom of the Championship, defeated Arne Slot’s team on Sunday. Forest entered the match determined not to suffer a cup shock against their League One rivals in Devon.
The Reds have just returned from a warm-weather training camp in Dubai as they take advantage of a break in their fixture schedule. Nuno has acknowledged that the outcome of their trip, especially their match against the Grecians, would be used to determine its success.
The lineup that the Portuguese selected was significantly different from Forest’s 7-0 thumping of Brighton and Hove Albion in their most recent league match. Like he did against Luton Town in the third round, he had promised to offer consistent game time to players who have been suffering. Danilo was the only player left from the triumph over the Seagulls after Nuno made ten changes to his starting lineup.
