Köln thriller in European Cup semi

On this day in 1979 Forest draw 3-3 with Köln in a European Cup semi-final.

Iconic match memories

Landmark European night

Goal scorer, Ian Bowyer, pictured 2003. Image: Holdenbuckley / ltlf.co.uk / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest and 1. FC Köln shared a dramatic 3-3 draw in the first leg of their European Cup semi-final at the City Ground.

Forest had to recover from a difficult start after Köln went two goals ahead, but Garry Birtles pulled one back with a header before half-time. That goal changed the feeling of the night and gave Forest a route back into a tie that could easily have begun to slip away.

The second half brought the full swing of European knockout football. Ian Bowyer made it 2-2 with a right-footed finish, and John Robertson then headed Forest in front from a Birtles cross. For a spell, the City Ground had watched Forest turn danger into control.

Köln refused to let the tie settle and equalised late with a long-distance strike, leaving the semi-final finely balanced. A 3-3 home draw was not a comfortable European result, especially at this stage, but the comeback showed Forest’s resilience under serious pressure.

For supporters, the night was thrilling and uneasy at the same time. Forest had recovered from 0-2 to lead 3-2, only for the final whistle to leave the tie open rather than resolved. The story ended brilliantly two weeks later, when Forest won 1-0 in Köln to take the semi-final 4-3 on aggregate and reach their first European Cup final.