Nottingham Forest suffered a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on the weekend.
But it could’ve been so different for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as they cracked the woodwork three times.
Morgan Gibbs-White was blown away by the Forest supporters, who completely outsung the Man City fans.
“Your support was the best I’ve ever seen. Sorry we couldn’t get the job done. Five more finals to go,” Gibbs-White wrote on his Instagram.
Teenage defender Zach Abbott provided another positive for the Tricky Trees as he impressed on only his third appearance for the club.
Abbott took to Instagram after the game and received a message from a £40m-rated Nottingham Forest target.
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Nottingham Forest target Chris Rigg sends Zach Abbott message after FA Cup defeat
Nottingham Forest have been tracking Sunderland’s Chris Rigg since November, having impressed in the Championship over the last 18 months.
The 17-year-old wonderkid is valued at around £40m, though, Forest may be able to land his signature for less if the Black Cats fail to gain promotion via the play-offs.
Rigg is Abbott’s teammate at youth level for England, and he left a supportive comment underneath his Instagram post on Monday.
Abbott wrote: “A day I will never forget. Thank you to the fans for making this day so special. It was a dream come true.”
Rigg replied: “Someboy.”
Newcastle United midfielder Lewis Miley also praised the Forest centre-back: “Love it lad.”
Abbott shares conversation he had with his Dad after Man City clash
It’s been a whirlwind 72 hours for Abbott, whose stock has rapidly risen among Forest fans after starring at Wembley.
Nuno hailed Abbott after the game and tipped him to have a ‘bright future’ with the Tricky Trees, who haven’t had enough academy graduates in recent years.
The 2006-born shared a heartwarming conversation he had with his father following the defeat against Man City.
“Me and my Dad were just speaking about when we were here for the play-off final (vs Huddersfield), I was 15 and he had to accompany (me) because I wasn’t old enough to get a ticket by myself.
“So yeah it was a great moment for us and yeah they just said keep it going, you’ve done yourself proud, you’ve done us proud.
“It’s just made me hungry for more and more really… what a day, what a day.”
After a super performance, it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see Abbott retain his place against Brentford on Thursday evening.
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