Sean Dyche told Nottingham Forest’s dramatic FA Cup exit is his fault as Wrexham seal epic first under Hollywood co-owners

Wrexham have caused a major FA Cup upset with a heart-stopping penalty shootout victory over Nottingham Forest.

Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo was the hero for the Welsh side as he produced two saves in the shootout at the Racecourse Ground to book Wrexham‘s spot in the fourth round.

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AFP

Okonkwo’s brilliance at the death helped Wrexham earn a 4-3 win in the shootout after the contest finished 3-3 after extra time.

For the Welsh side, it marked a memorable occasion for their first competitive outing against a Premier League club since Hollywood duo Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds completed their takeover in Feburary 2021.

Two goals in three minutes late in the first half from Liberato Cacace and Ollie Rathbone put Wrexham well on their way to a monumental result.

Sensing the urgency, Forest boss Sean Dyche brought on star midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolas Dominguez at half-time in a bid to wrestle back control of the contest.

The visitors halved the deficit in the 64th minute when Igor Jesus got his forehead to a floated cross from the right and although it was cleared by a Wrexham defender, the Brazilian’s effort had already crossed the line.

Wrexham skipper Dominic Hyam would put the home side in front once more when he powered home a header from George Dobson’s inviting free-kick with 15 minutes to go.

Unfortunately for Reynolds, it appeared as if he missed Hyam’s goal as footage captured him racing out of a room and back into the stands, only to smack his hands in frustration.

Callum Hudson-Odoi set up a nerve-jangling final period of the match when he scored moments after the restart following Hyam’s header.

And the former Chelsea star was at it again in the 89th minute when he chested the ball and unleashed a thunderous first-time effort past Wrexham gloveman Okonkwo to force the contest into extra time.

Despite the pulsating action throughout regular time, neither side could find their fourth goal of the evening during the final 30 minutes as the contest went to penalties.

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Josh Windass and Gibbs-White scored the first penalty for both teams, but James McClean handed the advantage to the visitors when he blasted his effort wide of the post.

Luckily Okonkwo was ready to instantly spare McClean’s blushes as he dived low to his right to keep out Jesus’ spot kick.

Both sides netted their next two penalties to set up a grandstand finale.

Knowing a miss would hand Forest the advantage, Jay Rodriguez coolly stepped up to slot home past Matz Sels and heap pressure on Omari Hutchinson, who took the visitors’ fifth.

Unfortunately for Hutchinson, he was denied by Okonkwo, his former Arsenal Under-23 teammate, when the latter leapt to his left and guessed correctly.

For Dyche, he may rue the fact he made eight changes to his starting line-up just days after a gritty 2-1 win over West Ham.

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Speaking on talkSPORT’s commentary of the contest, former Lionesses star Natasha Dowie expressed surprise at Dyche making such significant tweaks to the team.

She said in her half-time analysis: “They’re [Forest] in a relegation battle right now, their form is off.

“They’re coming to a team that it’s the complete opposite, their form is on, they’re full of confidence at home, they’re strong.

“Too many changes in my opinion and I said it before the game, eight is too many for a team that are struggling.

“You have to keep consistency, you win your first game in a long time [against West Ham], keep the same team!

“Maybe you change one or two if you have to, but for me these players should be fit enough and strong enough to play more consistent games and Wrexham have taken advantage of that.”

And having her say after Forest’s spirited second half comeback to force the game to extra-time, Dowie stated the right starting XI would likely have been too strong for Wrexham.

Commenting on what Dyche would be thinking following his side’s defeat, Dowie remarked: “Pondering potentially whether or not he made too many changes.

“Maybe looking at himself (Dyche) a little bit there, you can kind of understand it.

“Eight changes he made tonight, too many because you can see then when your [Morgan] Gibbs White’s come onto the pitch, when your [Callum] Hudson-Odoi’s – they had too much quality.

“And I think if they’d started those players, potentially then it would have been a different story.

“But you look back at it and you can understand why he’s made it [eight changes].

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“He’s focusing also on Europe, he’s focused on survival in the Premier League, they nearly came away with it.

“So, this is where as managers you make your decisions, you live by them.”