Nottingham Forest 1-1 Ipswich Town (5-4 on penalties): Matz Sels’ shootout save sends Forest through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup

When George Hirst lit the fuse on the last of the fifth-round ties with the opening goal, there would have been Ipswich Town fans in the jubilant away end praying the stars were about to align.

Hirst’s father David had scored for Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup final in 1993, the same year Ipswich last reached the quarter finals. But Nottingham Forest are not in the business of accepting their fate. Not this season under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Forest fought back through Ryan Yates, who headed an equaliser to take the tie into extra time, and Matz Sels was the hero of the penalty shootout, just as he was in the fourth round at Exeter City.

The Belgian goalkeeper denied Jack Taylor in the tenth spot kick of the shootout after nine perfect penalties at the Trent End.

‘One of the goalkeepers is going to be the hero,’ Sels told ITV afterwards. ‘I’m happy I could help the team into the next round. It was the only penalty I went to the right corner. Before the game, you study penalties and I took the wrong corner but that one was right.’

Taylor sank to his knees in despair. It was his second costly miss of the season, after one in the Carabao Cup upset against AFC Wimbledon in August.

The Belgian goalkeeper is mobbed by his grateful team-mates after a dramatic shootout

George Hirst (No 27) celebrates heading Ipswich into a 53rd-minute lead at the City Ground

Nuno threw aside his usual reserve and sprinted across the pitch in delight. He was later seen carrying Ola Aina around the pitch on his back during the celebrations.

‘He told me he was so tired, both teams were exhausted,’ said Nuno. ‘But winning helps with recovery. I’m so happy, honestly.

‘We have many hopes on the FA Cup. We focus on the Premier League but the FA Cup is always in our minds. We want to go as far as can. Let’s give it a good go. Our fans helped us, and we are delighted for them. We proceed on our journey together.’

Forest have now won all four of their FA Cup ties that have ever gone to penalties, and they go to Brighton in the last eight, one win from Wembley Stadium.

‘Mixed emotions,’ said Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna. ‘It is a really disappointing way to go out, but I’m really proud. We came into the game and with a lot of challenges and we got more challenges as the game went on, with injuries on the pitch.’

Ipswich defenders Axel Tuanzebe and Cameron Burgess were forced off with muscle injuries at half time following an otherwise forgettable first 45 minutes. Ibrahim Sangare had the only real effort at goal with a diving header from a corner which slid wide of the back post.

Ipswich were content to sit deep and deny Forest space to counterattack into, but they came out after the interval and took the lead from a corner delivered by Ben Johnson to Hirst, unmarked beyond the back post. His header zipped down and off the turf and between the legs of goalkeeper Sels.

Nuno sent on his cavalry. First, Morgan Gibbs-White and Eliot Anderson. He also had Chris Wood was stripped and ready to come on, when Yates scored the equaliser, a header from six yards to convert a cross from the right by Anthony Elanga.

Nottingham Forest’s Ryan Yates rises to nod in his side’s leveller in the FA Cup last-16 clash

Just minutes after his goal, Yates netted again but soon saw his effort ruled out by the referee

Callum Hudson-Odoi missed a number of chances to score the winning goal for Forest

Liam Delap takes a tumble in the box under pressure from Morato but no penalty is awarded

A joyous Nuno Espirito Santo sprints onto the City Ground pitch after the shootout to celebrate yet another memorable moment in a special season for the Forest boss and his team

Wood put his tracksuit top back on and returned to the bench for a few more minutes as his team continued to pour forward. Yates found the net with another header from close range but was just offside and Callum Hudson-Odoi clipped the bar with a curler from the edge of the box.

Ipswich spent most of the closing stages and the entire 30 minutes of extra time pinned inside their own half, breaking out only occasionally but they wanted a penalty when Liam Delap carried the ball from inside his own half on the break to the edge of the Forest penalty area where he fell under a challenge.

Referee Tony Harrington showed no interest in awarding a foul. And when the penalties did come around it was Sels destined to be the hero once again.