Nottingham | Ange Postecoglou made to wait for his first Forest win

Swansea City 3 - 2 Nottingham Forest

Swansea stunned Forest with a dramatic late comeback to reach the last 16 of the Carabao Cup and extend Ange Postecoglou’s wait for a first win in charge.

Author | Steffan Ingram

Stadium | Swansea.com Stadium

Forest looked to be cruising after an Igor Jesus double in the first half put them firmly in control. The Brazilian, a £10m summer signing from Botafogo, scored his first goals for the club, the opener coming after 15 minutes when he pounced on a deflected effort from Omari Hutchinson. His second arrived just before half-time when James McAtee’s neat play on the right allowed Hutchinson to set him up for a simple finish.

Swansea, winners of this competition in 2013, appeared beaten at that stage. But the tie turned in the second half. Cameron Burgess gave them a lifeline with a glancing header from Eom Jisung’s corner and belief surged through the home crowd.

The stadium erupted three minutes into stoppage time when Zan Vipotnik converted Liam Cullen’s cross to level the tie and set up the prospect of penalties. Forest’s collapse was complete four minutes later when Burgess struck again, firing in after the visitors failed to clear a corner.

For Forest, it was a bruising exit from a competition that delivered their last major trophy in 1990. For Swansea, it was their most significant cup result since dropping out of the Premier League.

Progress for 'Angeball' but plenty of work to do

After defeat at Emirates Stadium, Postecoglou promised this would be the game where the first signs of his influence on the team he inherited from Nuno Espirito Santo would be visible.

At the very least, the Australian will have learned more about his squad after giving first starts to signings who cost close to £120m over the summer.

He could take encouragement from Igor Jesus, the striker known as the “Little Frog”, who seized his chance to score his first goals in the south Wales rain. His second in particular carried the hallmarks of Postecoglou’s philosophy, a flowing move that sliced Swansea open and left him with a straightforward finish.

There were glimpses too of Juventus loanee Douglas Luiz’s quality, while Hutchinson and McAtee offered further promise.

Yet the outcome underlined the scale of the task facing the former Spurs manager. It was Swansea who played with the urgency and front-foot intensity usually associated with “Angeball”.