NOTTINGHAM FOREST HISTORY
Ipswich FA Cup thriller ends 3-3
On this day in Nottingham Forest history in 1981 Forest draw 3-3 with Ipswich in the FA Cup quarter-final.
Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town shared a six-goal FA Cup quarter-final draw at the City Ground.
The 3-3 scoreline gave the afternoon the feel of a proper cup tie: open, tense and unresolved. Forest were facing one of the strongest English sides of the period, and the match demanded both resilience and attacking response.
Trevor Francis, Colin Walsh and John Robertson scored for Forest, with Robertson’s goal coming from the penalty spot. The goals kept Forest alive in a tie that swung back and forth without being settled on the day.
The draw kept Forest in the FA Cup, but it did not give them control of the quarter-final. The replay came three days later, and Ipswich won 1-0, ending Forest’s FA Cup run before the semi-finals. The City Ground match remained the dramatic high-scoring part of a tie that ultimately turned against Forest.
Sources
The City Ground; 11v11; FA Cup records
Forest timeline
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