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NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
29 November, 1977

4-goal win over Villa in cup run

On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1977 Forest beat Aston Villa 4–2 in the League Cup during a trophy-winning campaign.

Cup runs and campaigns

Famous cup run
Goal scorer Peter Withe, former Nottingham Forest player, pictured 1982.
Goal scorer Peter Withe, former Nottingham Forest player, pictured 1982. Image: Marcel Antonisse / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest’s League Cup run gathered pace with a 4–2 win over Aston Villa at the City Ground.

Brian Clough’s side did the decisive work before Villa could properly recover. Larry Lloyd headed in from John Robertson’s corner, Viv Anderson added another header from a Robertson cross, and Peter Withe made it 3–0 with a tap-in after John McGovern’s shot. Tony Woodcock then stretched the lead to 4–0 after half-time.

Goal scorer Peter Withe, former Nottingham Forest player, pictured 1982.
Goal scorer Peter Withe, former Nottingham Forest player, pictured 1982. Image: Marcel Antonisse / Anefo, via Wikimedia Commons

Villa scored twice late on, but Forest had already taken control of the fourth-round tie. The win kept alive a cup campaign that would become part of the club’s breakthrough season.

Forest went on to beat Bury, then Leeds United over two legs, before facing Liverpool in the final. After a 0–0 draw at Wembley, John Robertson’s penalty won the replay 1–0 at Old Trafford.

The Villa win now sits as one of the important early steps in Forest’s 1977–78 League Cup success, a trophy lifted in the same season as the league title.

Sources

The City Ground; 11v11; Transfermarkt

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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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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Leeds 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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