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12 March, 1988

Rice winner at Arsenal to reach semis

On this day in 1988 Forest knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup at Highbury.

Cup runs and campaigns

Reached final / semi-final / quarter-final

Nottingham Forest reached the FA Cup semi-finals by beating Arsenal 2-1 at Highbury.

A quarter-final away to Arsenal was a demanding assignment, but Forest produced the result they needed in one of English football’s most famous grounds. Brian Clough’s side had to combine resilience with enough attacking threat to make the tie theirs.

Paul Wilkinson gave Forest the lead before Brian Rice added the second. Rice’s goal came after Nigel Clough carried the move forward and picked him out with a defence-splitting pass, leaving Rice to finish and put Forest in control.

The victory is remembered because it put Forest one step from the FA Cup final. David Rocastle scored late for Arsenal, but Forest held on to win 2-1. The run ended in the semi-final, where Liverpool beat Forest 2-1, but the quarter-final win at Highbury remained a strong cup achievement in its own right.

Match Highlights

Sources

11v11; Transfermarkt; Nottingham Forest official video

Forest timeline

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MARCH
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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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Cup runs and campaigns