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3 January, 2009

Man City stunned 3-0 in FA Cup

On this day in 2009 Forest stun Manchester City 3–0 away in the FA Cup.

Cup runs and campaigns

Giant-killing campaign
Goal scorer Rob Earnshaw, pictured 2010.
Goal scorer Rob Earnshaw, pictured 2010. Image: Jon Candy / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nottingham Forest delivered a major FA Cup shock by beating Manchester City 3-0 at the City of Manchester Stadium.

City were already being reshaped by new wealth and expectation, while Forest were struggling near the foot of the Championship. The gap in profile made the result feel bigger, but Forest did not play like a side hoping merely to survive the afternoon.

Goal scorer Rob Earnshaw, pictured 2010.
Goal scorer Rob Earnshaw, pictured 2010. Image: Jon Candy / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nathan Tyson opened the scoring with a fine volley from around 20 yards after Micah Richards’ headed clearance fell to him. Robert Earnshaw doubled the lead before half-time after Chris Cohen dispossessed Pablo Zabaleta and the move ended with Earnshaw diverting Matt Thornhill’s mishit shot into the goal. Joe Garner completed the win after Dietmar Hamann’s poor throw-in went through the City defence and fell to him.

Caretaker manager John Pemberton was still in charge, with Billy Davies waiting to formally begin his new job. That gave the day an unusual place in Forest history: a cup upset delivered between managerial eras. The run did not go much further, as Forest drew 1-1 at Derby County in the fourth round before losing the replay 3-2 at the City Ground.

Sources

ESPN; The Guardian; Sky Sports

Explore more Nottingham Forest history

Browse the timeline to discover more events from this day and beyond:

JANUARY
18
Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
22
Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
26
Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
31
Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
8
Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
12
Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
16
Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
22
Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
25
Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
29
Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
5
Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
12
Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
19
Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
11
Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
18
Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
23
Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
31
Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
7
Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
21
Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
27
Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
2
Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
5
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
12
Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
19
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
27
Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
30
Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
2
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
5
Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
16
Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
23
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Bournemouth
30
Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
6
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brentford
10
Fulham 20:00 Nottingham Forest
20
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Manchester United
27
Everton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
3
Nottingham Forest 20:00 Newcastle
13
Tottenham 15:00 Nottingham Forest
20
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Aston Villa
10
Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
17
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
24
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Sunderland
1
Brighton 15:00 Nottingham Forest
8
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Crystal Palace
15
Arsenal 15:00 Nottingham Forest
23
Nottingham Forest 15:00 Ipswich
30
Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest