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10 January, 1959

Tooting scare in FA Cup run to final

On this day in 1959 Forest survive an FA Cup scare away to Tooting & Mitcham United.

Cup runs and campaigns

Famous cup run

Forest came dangerously close to one of the FA Cup’s great shocks when non-League Tooting & Mitcham United held them to a 2-2 draw at Sandy Lane.

The third-round tie quickly became uncomfortable. Tooting led 2-0 at half-time through Albert Grainger and Ted Murphy, leaving Forest facing the kind of afternoon that can define a cup campaign for all the wrong reasons.

Forest’s recovery was not elegant, but it was vital. Murphy later put the ball into his own net, and Billy Gray converted a penalty to bring the First Division side level. The 2-2 draw spared Forest immediate embarrassment, but it still left them needing a replay to finish the job.

That replay came at the City Ground on 24 January, when Forest beat Tooting & Mitcham 3-0 to move on in the competition.

The scare became part of the story because of what followed. Forest survived the danger, kept going through the rounds, and eventually beat Luton Town 2-1 at Wembley to win the 1959 FA Cup.

British Pathé Footage

Sources

Tooting & Mitcham United official history; The City Ground; 11v11; FootballDatabase.eu

Forest timeline

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
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Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
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Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
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Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
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Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
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Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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