Nottingham Forest secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 in a penalty shootout when Ryan Yates smashed home the winner after the game finished goalless following extra time.
Forest keeper Matz Sels saved Jack Hinshelwood's low shot towards the bottom corner before keeping out Diego Gomez's attempt into the middle of the goal either side of the visitors' missed effort from Neco Williams that flew over the bar.
Before that, it had been a low-key 120 minutes with few clear-cut chances and the prospect of penalties to decide it seemed inevitable from fairly early on.
Crystal Palace also progressed with a 3-0 win at Fulham in their quarter-final earlier on Saturday, while second-tier Preston North End host seven-times winners Aston Villa before Manchester City, who have also had seven triumphs, visit Bournemouth in the remaining last-eight ties on Sunday.
Relive all the FA Cup action and updates with our live blog below:
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest LIVE
- Nottingham Forest beat Brighton in a penalty shootout to win their FA Cup quarter-final
- Forest skipper Ryan Yates struck the winning penalty after keeper Matz Sels had saved two of Brighton's efforts
- A low-key match had ended 0-0 after 120 minutes
- FULL-TIME Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest - FA Cup quarter-final heads to penalty shootout
- 65' - NO PENALTY! Mitoma penalised for a foul on Anderson but VAR overturns it (BHA 0-0 NFO)
Brighton & Hove Albion FC 3 - 4 Nottingham Forest FC
Ryan Yates reflects on penalty shootout win
20:29 , Luke BakerPenalty shootout hero Ryan Yates, who netted the winning spot-kick, has discussed the quarter-final victory with the BBC.
Nottingham Forest captain Yates said: "I was a bit nervous to be fair, just so relieved it went in. Matz [Sels] saved two penalties and I just knew I had to capitalise and send us to Wembley.
"It has been an incredible season. We have achieved nothing yet but to send these lot to Wembley again - we know how special it was last time, getting promoted. It will be a special day and I am so pleased for the supporters and overall I think we deserved it."
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest (Forest win 4-3 on pens):
20:21 , Luke BakerAbsolute scenes at the Amex Stadium as Forest win the shootout
Nottingham Forest beat Brighton on penalties
20:13 , Luke BakerYates sprints off to celebrate in front of the Forest fans and his team-mates join him.
Forest into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 34 years and this amazing season of theirs will have a Wembley date. Late drama after an abject game.
Penalty shootout: Brighton 3-4 Nottingham Forest - FOREST WIN SHOOTOUT
20:11 , Luke BakerRyan Yates - Forest’s captain - can win it here. AND HE SCORES! Bottom corner
FOREST ARE GOING TO WEMBLEY
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️✖️✔️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️✖️✔️✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 3-3 Nottingham Forest
20:10 , Luke BakerLewis Dunk, club captain, has to score to keep Brighton in it.
He does! Into the corner. Brighton clinging on.
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️✖️✔️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️✖️✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-3 Nottingham Forest
20:09 , Luke BakerMilenkovic, one of the Premier League’s best defenders, can put Forest on the brink of victory here.
He SCORES! It’s calmly slotted into the right corner and Verbruggen can’t get there. So assured
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️✖️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️✖️✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest
20:08 , Luke BakerBack level and Diego Gomez strides forward for Brighton.
Gomez MISSES! Hammers it down the middle but Sels stays big and pushes it away! Advantage Forest once more
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️✖️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️✖️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest
20:07 , Luke BakerNico Williams to take control of this shootout for Forest. But he MISSES!
He’d scored in all their other shootouts but skies it over the bar. Well over.
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️✖️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest
20:07 , Luke BakerHinshelwood for Brighton and he MISSES! Sels down to his left and saves it. Weak penalty from the young defender.
Advantage Forest
Brighton: ✔️✔️✖️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest
20:06 , Luke BakerCallum Hudson-Odoi for Forest to level it up again. He SCORES! Top corner, great pen. Verbruggen went the right way but go nowhere near it.
Brighton: ✔️✔️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 2-1 Nottingham Forest
20:05 , Luke BakerGruda now for Brighton with the second pen. Deep breath...
Sels goes super early and Gruda SCORES, slotting it into the opposite corner. Cool as you like
Brighton: ✔️✔️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 1-1 Nottingham Forest
20:04 , Luke BakerElliot Anderson for Forest’s first pen in the absence of Chris Wood.
Against Verbruggen and he SCORES. Sends the keeper the wrong way
Brighton: ✔️
Nottingham Forest: ✔️
Penalty shootout: Brighton 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:03 , Luke BakerPedro steps up. He has a 100 per cent record from the penalty spot this season...
And he SCORES. Hard to Sels’ right, finds the net
Brighton: ✔️
Nottingham Forest:
Penalty shootout: Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:02 , Luke BakerA place in the FA Cup semi-finals up for grabs. It will be Brighton to take first and in front of their own fans.
Joao Pedro will be the player to step up first. Matz Sels between the sticks for Forest
Brighton:
Nottingham Forest:
FULL-TIME! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
19:57 , Luke BakerIt ends goalless, so off to penalties we go. Drama after a pretty mediocre 120 minutes.
NO GOAL! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 119 mins
19:55 , Luke BakerOH MY WORD, WE HAVE A GOAL! Oh no - ruled out for offside.
A ball dinked to the back post where Estupinan nods it across and Pedro turns it in. But Estupinan was offside when the ball was played.
Interesting sub as Gibbs-White, who has taken penalties for Forest before, is taken off and Morato comes on. Hmmm
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 117 mins
19:53 , Luke BakerAnother Brighton free-kick in a dangerous position to the right of the box. This second half of extra-time has easily been the most entertaining period of this quarter-final.
Estupinan made a mess of the last free-kick and this one deflects off the wall for a corner. That comes to nothing.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 114 mins
19:50 , Luke BakerVan Hecke lets a long ball drop over his shoulder, Silva is able to lash a foot at it and it bounces off the Dutchman for a corner. Not great defending but he got away with it.
Gruda then brings down Silva in the middle of the park to stop a counter-attack. Happily takes the yellow card.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 112 mins
19:47 , Luke BakerEstupinan whips it in with his left foot but it’s poor. Harmlessly out for a goal kick
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 111 mins
19:46 , Luke BakerIn fairness to Brighton, they are attacking more in this final 15 minutes. Adingra fires a cross into the box and Sels uncertainly pushes it away.
Now Adingra skips past Williams, who brings him down. Yellow card and a free-kick right on the right corner of the penalty area.
Has an FA Cup tie finally broken out here?
SAVE! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 110 mins
19:45 , Luke BakerReally good stop by Sels!
Adingra’s switch pass finds Gruda who dinks it across from the byline, Gomez powers a header at goal and Sels leaps to tip it over the top. Best attacking moment of the match?
Sels then claims the corner that’s whipped in.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 108 mins
19:43 , Luke BakerActually, that’s a decent cross from Adingra, whipped into a dangerous area but the lunging Gomez can’t make contact.
Minteh appears to have cramped up and he’s getting his calf stretched out by Pedro.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 107 mins
19:42 , Luke BakerIf you’ve got any little Saturday chores you didn’t manage to get done today, feel free to head off and do them for 15 minutes before coming back for the penalty shootout. You won’t miss anything of note
KICK-OFF! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
19:41 , Luke BakerPedro trying to get the crowd going as he prepares to kick-off for the second half of ET.
You’re not fooling anyone Joao, we know everyone is playing for penalties
HALF-TIME OF EXTRA-TIME! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
19:40 , Luke BakerAny chance we can just skip straight to penalties?
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 105 mins
19:37 , Luke BakerGruda nips past Murillo but Williams slides in, cleanly wins the ball and it’s out for a corner.
Estupinan lofts it in but a foul is given in the box. Sigh.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 101 mins
19:32 , Luke BakerGreat pace from Elanga to latch on to a ball in the left channel. He catches Van Hecke out and surges into the box but the Dutch defender recovers well to get back and block Elanga off.
Then a clash of shoulder to head as Dunk, who came on for Webster at full-time, and teammate Estupinan go for the same ball. Dunk shakes it off and both men appear ok.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 99 mins
19:30 , Luke BakerJust a superb bit of cynical play from Yates. If you look up professional foul in the dictionary, there’s a picture of this.
Gibbs-White gives the ball away and Gruda sprints forward. Brighton have a three on two, Yates spots the danger and rugby tackles Gruda from behind on the halfway line..Strongly enough to stop him in his tracks but not so strong that it’s more than just a yellow card. Textbook.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 96 mins
19:27 , Luke BakerForest sub as Dominguez, who has played well, comes off with Portugal international Jota Silva running on. Silva is someone who can make things happen.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 94 mins
19:25 , Luke BakerDesperate defending from Forest as Gomez chops inside when he should probably have a shot on his left foot and Dominguez does brilliantly to prod the ball away. Milenkovic and Murillo also scrambling across to make things harder there.
KICK-OFF! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
19:24 , Luke BakerExtra-time begins. Will we find a winner in these extra 30 minutes? And what is the point of extra-time in modern-day football?
Two important questions.
FULL-TIME Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
19:15 , Luke BakerAnd to the surprise of almost nobody, we’re heading to extra-time! Neither side able to find a goal in the 90 minutes.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 90+9 mins
19:13 , Luke BakerForest with one last attack. Dominguez and Elanga link up down the right, the former fashions a cross to the edge of the box where Yates brings it down and swings a right foot at it but it’s harmlessly over the bar with Baleba closing him down.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 90+7 mins
19:12 , Luke BakerWebster is down for a while and receiving treatment. Lewis Dunk is warming up as a replacement if needed in the Brighton defence.
Webster might have to try and run it off though because Brighton have used all three of their substitute windows, so they won’t be able to bring Dunk on until the start of extra-time. This delay will add to the eight minutes of injury-time anyway
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 90+4 mins
19:09 , Luke BakerDominguez with a nice little ball to Elanga at the byline, he cuts it back and Brighton scramble away. Ball back into the box but a lunging Elanga can’t connect.
Decent passage of play for Forest but hard to see a goal coming before extra-time.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 90+2 mins
19:06 , Luke BakerAnderson drives forward - great little run and he’s tripped by a lunging Gomez. Free-kick out towards the left wing for Gibbs-White to curl into the box.
He does, it’s a great ball and Murillo is in space at the back post but he gets a poor contact, shanks his shot and it bounces harmlessly into Verbruggen’s gloves.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 90 mins
19:05 , Luke BakerForest’s defence really is rock solid. Milenkovic and Murillo are a superb centre-back pairing. They crowd out Pedro as this game ticks every closer to the extra 30 minutes.
We’ll have eight minutes of additional time.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 88 mins
19:03 , Luke BakerYellow card for Dominguez for dissent as he gestures at the referee after disagreeing with a decision. Needless.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 80 mins
18:55 , Luke BakerThis match looks to be heading inexorably towards extra time right now. Maybe that will commentator’s curse thing... We can but hope.
Things have got cagey again after the drama of the previous 15 minutes.
Another Brighton sub as Diego Gomez comes on for Ayari in midfield.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 77 mins
18:52 , Luke BakerElanga, who has looked lively since coming on, bursts down the left and fizzes a low ball across the face of goal. Gibbs-White is sliding in at the back post but it’s just a little too far in front of him.
He clatters into the post after lunging for it. Ouch! Looks like it hurt but he’s up and should be able to run off the knock
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 75 mins
18:50 , Luke BakerOooh, that’s a nasty one for Rutter who slips on the slick surface and falls really awkwardly.
He looks uncomfortable after treatment from the medical staff and he gingerly hobbles off the pitch. Unlucky for Brighton as they probably wouldn’t have done that double sub. Brajan Gruda comes on for him.
The Forest corner is too far for Anderson at the back post
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 68 mins
18:46 , Luke BakerThe Forest bench are livid at the overturning of that penalty, but I think it was the right decision. Would have been a very soft one.
NO PENALTY! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 65 mins
18:41 , Luke BakerTwo penalty appeals from Forest and they’re awarded the second one! Spot-kick to the visitors.
Mitoma slides into Anderson on the byline, doesn’t get the ball and his arm catches the leg of Anderson, bringing him down.
Hardly the worst tackle... He says Anderson’s foot comes down on his arm rather than it being a foul.
And we’ll have a VAR check. Peter Bankes heads to the pitchside monitor.
And it’s overturned! No penalty for Forest. Bankes explains to the crowd, saying no foul is committed and the restart will be a drop ball.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 63 mins
18:38 , Luke BakerA first yellow card of the game as Estupinan clatters Dominguez, through the side of him. Clear yellow, especially after going through the back of Yates in the first half and not receiving a card.
Elanga takes the free-kick from the right, a slightly flappy punch clear from Verbruggen
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 61 mins
18:36 , Luke BakerBrighton have absolutely been the better side in this second half. They surge forward again and Milenkovic does well to nod away Minteh’s dangerous cross.
Forest feel they need to change something, so it’s a double change as Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi come on as two new wingers, with Awoniyi and Danilo subbed off. Not sure who’ll play centrally in that front three of the two subs and Gibbs-White. Maybe Elanga?
We have a break in play and, as the sun has now gone down in Brighton, Ayari and Minteh can break their Ramadan fast. They quickly take on some fluids and a bit of food on the sideline.
CHANCE! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 57 mins
18:32 , Luke BakerGood corner by Estupinan to the edge of the six-yard box, where Hinshelwood has lost his man, swivels his neck but powers a header wide.
Not an easy angle but a good chance for Hinshelwood. If he’d received a call from Van Hecke behind him to leave it, the Dutchman would have had a clear sight of goal with his header.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 55 mins
18:30 , Luke BakerMitoma’s ball in is aimed towards Welbeck at the near post but Sels is alert to come off his line and grab it.
Much more urgency from Brighton and they then win a free-kick about 35 yards out on the left. Ayari floats the ball towards Van Hecke and his header is well blocked for a corner by Yates
SAVE! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 49 mins
18:24 , Luke BakerDanilo with a reverse ball to Awoniyi in the channel before it’s worked back inside to Gibbs-White whose rising effort from 25 yards is tipped over the top by Verbruggen. Maybe it was going just over the top but the Brighton stopper had to be sure
Anderson’s corner is dealt with by the Seagulls defence. Much livelier opening to this second half and the crowd are responding accordingly.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 47 mins
18:21 , Luke BakerBetter ball movement from Brighton, it’s worked to Welbeck in the box and blocked away for a corner.
Ayari curls it into the near post, half-cleared but played back in to Rutter who turns Williams and shoots from a tight angle but over the crossbar. More promising, though.
HALF-TIME! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest
18:04 , Luke BakerAnd that’s half-time. This game hasn’t really sparked into life yet - limited clear-cut chances for either side in a cagey match.
Forest maybe had the better of it but Brighton started to settle towards the end of the first half.
We’d like some more genuine action after the break though.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 43 mins
18:02 , Luke BakerBaleba has been very quiet in this game. Indicative of Brighton’s struggles but Forest haven’t created much that’s clear-cut.
As I say that, Baleba takes aim from 20 yards. He chests the ball down and lashes it towards goal but it’s narrowly wide. Sels probably wasn’t saving that had it been on target.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 34 mins
17:51 , Luke BakerNot the most convincing moment from Sels in the Forest goal as he’s tested for the first time.
Estupinan decides to have a go from basically central Brighton – he’s miles out and his shot is more of less down the middle but bounces in front of Sels and he unconvincingly scoops the ball away with his arms. Luckily there are no Brighton players following in. It was a bit awkward but not that awkward
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 31 mins
17:48 , Luke BakerAina gets in behind Van Hecke but his ball from the byline is scrambled away in the centre of the box. Brighton struggling to get into a rhythm here.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 28 mins
17:45 , Luke BakerBest moment for Brighton so far as Ayari lasers a first-time shot towards goal from distance and it deflects wide.
Estupinan’s corner is towards Van Hecke at the back post but play is quickly stopped for a foul and Forest can clear.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 21 mins
17:37 , Luke BakerAnother Forest corner as Hinshelwood slides in to block the ball behind.
It falls dangerously in the box but it’s bundled behind for another corner. Anderson with the outswinger, a shade too high for Milenkovic and Minteh completes the clearance.
SAVE! Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 17 mins
17:34 , Luke BakerFirst save of the game as the ball spins to Awoniyi to the right of the Brighton goal, he strikes it low across the keeper but Verbruggen sticks out a foot to make a decent stop.
It was pretty well-struck by Awoniyi, who has replaced the injured Chris Wood up top for Forest today, but a save Verbruggen would always expect to make
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 14 mins
17:30 , Luke BakerCagey stuff so far in this quarter-final
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 12 mins
17:29 , Luke BakerMinteh forced to concede the corner with a good tackle on Williams but again it’s well defended initially by Brighton and then a Forest player is caught offside to end any lingering danger.
Brighton 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 6 mins
17:23 , Luke BakerThe atmosphere is rocking here at the Amex. A real big fight feel to this one - both sides know winning the FA Cup is a very realistic goal this season.
We were wondering how Forest would line up with their midfield today and it appears that Yates and Anderson are sitting in front of the back four, Dominguez a little further ahead and Danilo out to the left.
Forest looking shaky in the FA Cup
16:40 , Will CastleA lot has been made of Nottingham Forest’s stellar season this term, and rightly so. They are third in the Premier League and already boast 22 points more than they achieved last season with nine games left to go.
However, things haven’t been as smooth sailing in the cup, needing penalties on two occasions on their path to the quarter-final stage.
After a 2-0 win over Luton Town, they struggled against League One Exeter, being held to a 2-2 draw before progressing 4-2 on penalties. They then played out a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town last time out before coming through another shoot out.
Things have been a bit more convincing for Brighton, who overcame Championship side Norwich in the third round before impressively eliminating Chelsea and then Newcastle, although they did need extra time in the last round when Danny Welbeck netted the winner at St James’ Park.
Brighton v Nottingham Forest line-ups
16:33 , Luke BakerWith the line-up confirmed, we now know that Danny Welbeck is preferred to Joao Pedro up front and young Swedish midfielder Yasin Ayari is trusted in the engine room alongside Carlos Baleba.
Meanwhile, for Forest, the unfortunate injury blow suffered by Chris Wood while on international duty means Taiwo Awoniyi is given a chance to start up front.
The formation appears to be a 4-2-3-1 or maybe a 4-4-1-1, with Nuno eschewing his normal back three and wing-backs for a back four. Nicolas Dominguez, Elliot Anderson and Ryan Yates all look set to start as a trio in the middle of the park
Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Rutter, Mitoma; Welbeck
Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson, Yates; Danilo, Gibbs-White; Awoniyi
Brighton seeking to avenge humiliation
16:00 , Will CastleBrighton’s last meeting with Nottingham Forest was one they won’t be able to forget for a long, long time.
Thrashed 7-0 at the City Ground earlier this year, Brighton fell to the knees of high-flying Forest, with a Chris Wood hat-trick propelling the hosts to the rout.
A result that could easily derail a season, Brighton have since found form and go into today’s clash with their tails up.
They’ll be desperate to inflict some revenge on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side by curtailing their dreams of FA Cup glory.
