Cambridge United suffer penalty shootout heartbreak to Nottingham Forest in the FA Youth Cup
Cambridge United suffered penalty shootout agony in the FA Youth Cup, fifth round against Nottingham Forest.
The game was scoreless after 90 minutes and extra time, and it took the tie to penalties at the Abbey Stadium, which Forest ended up winning 5-3.
But the young U's did the club proud with their display.
They were the better side during normal time, creating lots of chances but finding either a block or Forest keeper Aaron Bott standing in their way.
It became a tighter affair in extra-time, with neither side taking any risks, and it is always a lottery when it goes to spot-kicks, and that is exactly what ended up happening as United, who are a Category 3 academy, were knocked out by Category 1 Forest.
United made such a bright start to the game.
They earned two corners in quick succession in just the third minute, with the Forest keeper denying Brandon Njoku's header down and then Jaydyn Lott's rebound was deflected wide.
Forest's Esapa Osong looked a handful upfront and got played in behind the United defence in the sixth minute, but Lott made a great recovery block to thwart the danger.
There was some quick thinking from another corner in the 13th minute, with the impressive Glenn McConnell playing a corner short to Dan Barton, and the winger back-heeled a return pass to McConnell, who drove forward before firing into the side netting from an angle.
McConnell then hit an effort from 20 yards straight at Bott.
The chances kept coming for the U's as Barton was denied at the front post by Bott for a corner.
The hosts were throwing their bodies on the line at will and George Hoddle did just that to deny Kyle McAdam at close range.
Forest grew into the game as the half went on, and had a flurry of chances in the final five minutes, but not before Kai Yearn had tested Bott with 20-yard free kick that was held by the keeper.
Danger-man Osong got in behind the United defence again in the 41st minute, but found the side netting with a drive from an angle at the edge of the area.
Jack Thompson then pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the six-yard box but United keeper Tom Finch produced a terrific save with his feet to deny a near certain goal.
However, the final opportunity of the half went the way of McConnell, who tried his luck with a low drive from 25 yards which Bott did well to keep out at his near post.
The heavy rain at the end of the first half continued into the second period, and made for a zippy pitch that made getting the ball down and moving it at speed trickier.
The glut of chances from the first half dried up somewhat, and had been replaced by a few more clear-cut opportunities.
Great work down the United right led to Njoku pulling the ball back from the by-line inside the area for the on-rushing McConnell, but under some good defensive pressure could only prod the ball wide.
A curling 25-yard free kick by Yearn was brilliantly pushed wide at full stretch by Bott.
Forest delivered an impressive spell of defensive blocks in their own area in the 65th minute, and they then went straight up the other end only to have Osong denied by a great tackle from Finch.
Osong was at it again in the 69th minute, with a close-range header straight at Finch.
Forest No 10 Jack Nadin had whipped in a free kick from an angle that took a slight nick on the way through but not enough to deceive Finch.
In the 88th minute, great work by Saleem Akanbi to cut a ball back for Yearn, but his effort was smothered out.
Nadin then hit an effort over the bar from outside the box for the visitors.
The final sight of goal in the regulation 90 came for Reece Hipwell, whose volley from an angle at the edge of the area dipped just over the bar.
But with no way through the impasse, it meant that extra-time was required.
In the first of those minutes, United went agonisingly close to scoring.
Harvey Beckett's ball out of defence was superbly flicked round the corner by Yearn into the path of Njoku in the area and as Bott advanced off his line, the U's striker put a shot across the face of goal but every so narrowly wide.
Chances had become something of a premium but there was some smart thinking by Finch at the end of the half to use his feet to deny Osong just outside the area.
Into the second additional 15 minutes, good play by Njoku slipped in Yearn whose quick feet saw him beat two players to see the whites of Bott's eyes, but the Forest keeper was fast off his line to smother the ball behind for a corner, from which Njoku's looping header was punched clear.
In the 115th minute, Osong was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle on United left-back Reece Hipwell, leaving Forest with 10 men for the last five minutes.
There was no splitting the sides, and so it went to penalties.
Forest went first in the penalty shootout, and Jamie McDonnell scored his low to Finch's left.
McConnell stepped up to take United's first kick, but hit the top of the bar and the penalty went over.
Josh Powell was up next for Forest and made it 2-0 with a strike down the middle of the goal.
Yearn was the U's next taker, and he made no mistake to get the hosts up and running.
Sam Collins was Forest's third taker and went straight down the middle to score for 3-1.
Nathan Braithwaite made no mistake for United to make it 3-2.
Arron-Jay Korpal dispatched a good penalty to Finch's left to make it 4-2.
Brandon Njoku was United's fourth penalty taker, and hit a great penalty into the top corner for 4-3.
Forest keeper Bott stepped up for the decisive penalty and smashed a brilliant effort high into the top corner to send his through to the next round, but the United youngsters have done both themselves and the club proud in the FA Youth Cup this season.
Cambridge United: Finch, Tarpey, Hipwell, Hoddle, Beckett, Lott, McConnell, Njoku, Yearn, Akanbi, Barton.
Substitutes: Sandiford (Tarpey, 72), Braithwaite (Hoddle, 100). Subs not used: Brumby, Winterbone, Chipps, Nzeh, Usman.
Nottingham Forest: Bott, Hammond, Hanks, McDonnell, Abbott, McAdam, Collins, Thompson, Osong, Nadin, Powell.
Substitutes: Perkins (McAdam, 73). Subs not used: Akers, Perry, Korpal, Robinson, Gbopo, Whitehall.
Bookings: Forest - McAdam (foul, 61), Perkins (foul, 105+2).
Red card: Forest - Osong (reckless challenge, 115).
Attendance: 978.