The Carabao cup quarter final between Nottingham Forest and Wolves was a tense affair with both teams seemingly playing not to lose. The game went all the way and in the end the on-loan, Dean Henderson made the difference with 2 saves in the penalty shootout to send Forest through to the semi final.
Forest took the lead in the 18th minute after a Jonny Otto mistake allowed former Wolves centre-back Wily Boly to poke the ball into an empty net from close range.
This goal seemed to inject some energy into the Wolves team, who had started slowly, as in the 35th minute they created the first big chance after some great link-up play between Hee-Chan Hwang and Raul Jimenez. The two would link up again soon after as in the 40th minute a dinked ball from Jimenez found Hwang at the back post but once again Wolves were denied by Dean Henderson.
Wolves' start to the 2nd half was poor, they struggled to create any real chances and it looked as if Forest would get through the game. But with the introduction of Matheus Cunha,, in the 59th came the goal in the 64th, as the former Atletico Madrid man played a cross across the box and into Raul jimenez who only had to tap it home.
That was it for normal time, onto penalties.
Both Wolves and Forest allowed substitutes to take the first penalty as Ruben Nevesand Sam Surridge stepped up, and with that both Wolves and Forest had their first penalty saved. From that point on the shootout was relatively drama free, until Wolves academy graduate Morgan Gibbs-White scored his penalty and proceeded to put his fingers in his ears towards the wolves fans.
The night was then made even worse for Wolves fans when hard-working youngster Joe Hodge stepped up to the spot and struck the ball into Dean Henderson's path. Heartbreak for Wolves but utter elation for Forest who had just booked their place in the semi final.
Forest Fighting
After a 4-1 drubbing to championship strugglers Blackpool on the weekend, you would have been forgiven for assuming Forest would be low on confidence and roll over for Wolves, who seem to have found their form under Julien Lopetegui, but that was not the case as for most of the game Forest defended well and won their duels. Ryan Yates was the main embodiment of this Forest fight attempting 22 duels in 90 minutes. Against Blackpool Forest boss Steve Cooper said that his players "fell well, well short" the same could not be said about the performance vs Wolves. Passion, fight and determination are what saw Forest through this game.
Superb Dean Henderson
Dean Henderson has come under fire this season for conceding more goals than expected for a keeper of his reputation. The former Sheffield loanee was fighting for the number 1 spot at Manchester United last season but was ultimately unsuccessful. Henderson was surprisingly very open about the way he was treated at his parent club claiming that he had "wasted" 12 months of his career at the Red Devils. Perhaps not the wisest move as talk like this put extra pressure on Henderson, who did not have the greatest start to the season. However recently the shot-stopper has come into form and his performance against Wolves was incredible. Henderson saved two big chances in the first half and went on to win the tie for Forest with 2 excellent stops in the shootout.
Jimenez Back to His Best
Jimenez has struggled since that horrible head injury in November 2020, but today the Mexico international showed signs he may be getting back to his best. Denied a goal and assist in the first half by 2 excellent saves from the Forest keeper you would forgive Jimenez for becoming frustrated, but in the 64th minute, he was rewarded for his good performance with a back post tap in supplied by Cunha. Jimenez was perhaps frustratingly subbed off before the penalty shootout but despite his team losing he can still look back on his performance against Forest with pride.
Hodge Not Yet Ready
Talented youngster, Joe Hodge was only on the pitch for 10 minutes against Forest but his performance was that of somebody not yet cut out for the level. His inexperience was clear as misplaced passes in crucial areas and made it harder for Wolves to sustain pressure. With that being said at times you could see the promise in the youngster as his ball-carrying looked to be of a decent standard. To make matters worse it would of course be Hodge who missed the decisive penalty in the shootout. Not a night to remember for the young Irishman.