- Nottingham Forest escaped with a victory in penalties after it was 2-2 full time
- Taiwo Awoniyi seemed to have broken his nose and had to be stretched
- Listen now: Everything is starting! Is there an agenda against Ange Postecoglou?
Devon is a lovely place for a vacation, but completely horrible for the big ones in the FA Cup. The relief for Nuno Espirito Santo is Nottingham Forest escaped from Exeter with an almighty scare and not with the complete experience of Liverpool.
The thin line of distinction there was found in a criminal shooting, where Gary Caldwell's brave souls finally ran out of steam.
After a great effort that extended far beyond two hours, Reece Cole saved his kick, Angus Macdonald hit the bar, and Forest was four by four, Neco Williams pierced the winner. Nuno swollen those cheeks and could do it.
But this was a rope. And by Ropey, we could also say that it was brilliant, because Exeter, 59 steps south on the stairs, launched an exceptional fight.
More than that, they led Josh Magennis after five minutes, and they leveled through the same man after Ramon Sosa and Taiwo Awoniyi had channeled this draw of the fourth round towards a more conventional result.
In 2-2, the team of the League one even had the opportunity to win so much before and after they lost Ed becomes a red card in their debut.
Nottingham Forest needed a penalty shooting to overcome the 10 Exeter City men on Tuesday
Ed Gurns received a red card in his debut, which means that Exeter was a short man in extra time
Taiwo Awoniyi seemed to break his nose and was treated for 10 minutes before being stretched
But gravity has a way to kick and the forest award will be a crash with Ipswich in the fifth round.
The cost, apart from the effort, was the worrying injury for Awoniyi in the detention time after a head of heads with Exeter goalkeeper Joe Whitworth. It required 10 minutes of treatment before leaving the field on a stretcher.
For Exeter, satisfaction will come from their best career since 1981. They could not match Plymouth in the felling of Liverpool, but they shook Nuno strongly.
As with Arne Slot's misadventures in Plymouth, the forest manager made 10 changes to his side, but with a key difference: his bank was loaded in case life became complicated.
He did it and more. In five minutes, the forest was behind. They were right in their belief that Magennis was out of play when the end fell, but in the absence of VAR, there was no security network.
In any case, Nuno's complaints would have been better addressed to goalkeeper Carlos Miguel for shedding Demetri Mitchell's initial shot at the foot of the striker.
The forest was leveled through Sosa, before Awoniyi was released low and hard from the edge of the area for 2-1.
That exhausted much of St James Park's noise, but some context would be fair: Awoniyi cost £ 17 million in 2022, which is approximately the annual triple exeter billing.
Forest was four for four in the shooting and will face the city of Ipswich in the fifth round of the FA Cup
At that stage, a procession seemed more likely to continue, but five minutes after the second half, Magennis fought forced in a deviation of Willy Bole in a corner.
Nuno responded by bringing his first choice goalkeeper Matz Sels for Miguel, who had injured the hamstrings, and Elliot Anderson's couple and Morgan Gibbs-White joined him.
Sels's first contribution was a salvation of Ilmari Niskanen, before Elliot Anderson and Gibbs-White approached at the other end. It turns red for a challenge to the knee in Gibbs-White gave the forest the advantage, but after the long treatment for Awoniyi, Pat Jones almost stole the discomfort before Jota Silva shook the post.
With Chris Wood joining the load from the bank, Forest had innumerable opportunities in extra time, but Exeter did not move until the shooting.