Arthur Okonkwo was Wrexham’s hero as the Championship outfit knocked out Nottingham Forest 4-3 on penalties in an Emirates FA Cup third-round thriller.
A captivating contest ended 3-3 after extra time, with Forest substitute Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring twice as the visitors fought back from 2-0 and 3-1 down.
Neither side could find a winner in extra time and it came down to spot-kicks, in which Okonkwo saved from Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson as third round proper weekend started with an upset.
Sean Dyche made eight changes to the side which earned a crucial win at West Ham in midweek and the visitors were first to threaten, Jesus unable to keep his effort down when well placed.
Forest thought they had taken a 17th-minute lead when Douglas Luiz fired an acrobatic effort past Okonkwo but his effort was ruled out for handball. The same player then saw a free-kick saved as the two-time winners continued to threaten.
The Championship hosts grew into the contest, however, and came close when Sam Smith fizzed a low shot just the wrong side of the post.
The hosts then raced into the ascendancy with two goals in the space of three minutes. Liberato Cacace was first to find the net, picking up possession after Hutchinson had his pocket picked on the edge of the box before finding the bottom corner for his first Wrexham goal.
The home fans were in dreamland shortly afterwards when Nathan Broadhead found Ollie Rathbone, who kept his cool to slide his finish under Matz Sels and double his side’s advantage.
Dyche made a triple change at the break, introducing Neco Williams, Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White, and it had the desired effect as the top flight side began to pile on the pressure.
Okonkwo kept out Luiz and Dan Ndoye and, after Broadhead was smartly denied by Sels at the other end, Forest halved the deficit when Jesus hung in the air and headed in via the post.
Wrexham thought they had breathing space when captain Dom Hyam stooped to head in George Dobson’s superb free-kick delivery but their two-goal advantage lasted less than two minutes as Hutchinson’s cross found its way to Hudson-Odoi, who picked out the bottom corner.
The end-to-end action continued in a classic cup tie, Sels denying Ryan Longman and Callum Doyle blocking Williams’ effort as both sides kept attacking at full throttle.
And there was still time for another twist as Forest forced extra time in style, Hudson-Odoi taking down Nicolo Savona’s pass on his chest and volleying superbly into the far corner with less than a minute remaining.
Dan Scarr headed wide for Wrexham in the first half of extra time while Forest came close through Williams and Hudson-Odoi, who tried his luck from range in search of his hat-trick but missed the target.
Jesus and Hutchinson had chances in the second period of the extra 30 minutes but no winner was found and spot-kicks were required to separate the teams.
James McClean fired over for Wrexham but Jesus was immediately denied by Okonkwo. Jay Rodriguez’s successful effort piled the pressure on Hutchinson and the winger’s low penalty was saved as Forest, who won three shootouts en-route to the semi-finals last season, bowed out.
Penalties were also required at Stadium MK, where Oxford United survived a scare to get past MK Dons.
Aaron Collins’ opener was cancelled out by Will Lankshear as a hard-fought contest ended 1-1 after extra time. The Us scored all four spot-kicks while Jonathan Leko and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans missed for the hosts.
Elsewhere, 2013 winners Wigan Athletic knocked out higher division opponents as they won a Lancashire derby by 1-0 at Preston North End.
Harrison Bettoni’s left-footed strike broke the deadlock on 75 minutes and the closing stages were filled with drama. Callum Wright blazed a penalty over as Wigan spurned the chance to double their lead and they almost paid for it, but Brad Potts’ last-gasp leveller was ruled out for offside
Jon Brady’s first game in charge of Port Vale ended in victory as League One’s bottom side kept their morale-boosting cup run going, Jordan Shipley’s goal in first-half stoppage time securing a 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town.
