Nottingham Forest beat Sheffield United in the Championship play-off semi-finals last night.
Nottingham Forest won the first leg 2-1 at Bramall Lane. But Sheffield United would replicate that scoreline at the City Ground to take the game to extra time, and all the way to penalties.
It was an entertaining game, unfortunately marred by events unfolding after the game. But nothing has taken away from the outstanding performance that Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba put in.
He made a number of key saves throughout the tie, saving a couple of close range efforts from Blades forward Iliman Ndiaye to keep Forest in the game, before keeping three of Sheffield United’s five penalties out.
His save against Conor Hourihane’s penalty was particularly impressive, staying put in the middle of his goal before sticking out an arm to tip the Irishman’s penalty onto the crossbar.
And after the game, the 28-year-old goalkeeper posted this message on Twitter:
"Samba Samba Samba…" I and we really want to thank all the fans, through the difficulty we did it all together tonight. The strength you gave me. I'll never forget that ❤️ One last step, we have conquered and we will conquer 🙏🏾 #dreamcometrue #godisgreat pic.twitter.com/YLKlzscsz4
— Brice Samba (@samba_brice) May 17, 2022
Heading to Wembley…
Nottingham Forest then will play Huddersfield Town in the Championship play-off final at Wembley later this month.
It promises to be an exciting encounter between two sides who’ve enjoyed fantastic seasons in the Championship, with a place in the Premier League up for grabs.
Samba will again be key for Forest in the final. It’s another game that could go all the way to penalties and after his heroics last night, both he and Forest fans should have hope if the game v Huddersfield does go down to spot kicks.
The Championship play-off final is on Saturday, May 29th at Wembley Stadium, with the game kicking off at 4:30pm.
