Harrison Firth’s penalty heroics secured the Fleet an extra point in the final group match in the National League Cup after his side had secured a draw with an equaliser in the last minute of normal time. Substitute Kwame Thomas bundled home that one after Forest looked to have won it with a late goal of their own.

Alex Lankshear was in the Fleet starting lineup following his loan move from Blackpool while a young talent on the other side included Nottingham Forest’s youngest ever first-team player, Zach Abbott.

The first chance of the match fell to the visitors with Kyle McAdam through on goal but Firth came out to collect and the Forest No.3 strayed offside.

Lankshear then put his body on the line to force a block from a shot by U21 top scorer Joe Gardner, who had scored a brace a few days ago against Chelsea.

The home side’s first chance came just past the 20-minute mark when Dom Samuel tried his luck with a rapid shot from distance but that went too high while Franklin Domi’s curling effort from the edge of the area could only find the side netting.

Firth then pulled off an excellent save as he tipped McAdam’s low shot past the post when it seemed destined for the far corner and Jack Nadin also tested the young Fleet goalkeeper. 

A late charge towards the closing stages of the first half saw the Fleet earn a couple of corners, Maxx Manktelow eventually drilling a shot into the gloves of George Murray-Jones.

The second-half got off to a much slower start as Forest kept the ball well inside the Fleet half but could find no way past the red back line. The half was so quiet that the first chance didn’t come until 72 minutes and once again it was McAdam who was in on the action to see his effort collected by Firth. 

And McAdam was the man who found himself on the scoresheet in the 82nd minute. Firth initially made two great saves to clear the Forest player’s first chances while Anthony Stewart cleared an effort off the line but McAdam arrived for the next rebound to break the deadlock.

Forest needed the three points to have a chance of progressing to the knockout phase but the leveller came as the clock ticked round to 90. Ben Chapman sent in a delivery from the left which floated to the back post where it fell for Thomas to stab the ball home.

After two games of lengthy additional time, this one was no different with the referee finding seven more minutes before the shootout to decide who would take an extra point.

And Firth made sure of it, saving three of Nottingham Forest’s five spot kicks while Jimmy Sinclair hit the post. Rakish Bingham and Thomas scored theirs and Firth made sure that misses by George Moncur and Jephte Tanga didn’t prove costly.

EUFC: Firth, Wakely (Chapman 56), Olagunju, Lankshear, Domi (Stewart 46), Manktelow, Aoraha (Tanner 49), Tanga, Bingham, Samuel (Thomas 73), Odokonyero (Moncur 73). Subs: Edser, Cousins
NFFC: Murray-Jones, Back, McAdam, Abbott, Thompson, Perry, Sinclair, Hammond, Gardner, Perkins, Nadin. Subs: Willows, Fletcher, Berry, Djama, Norkett
Attendance: 215
Photos: EUFC/Ed Miller

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