NECO WILLIAMS scored the winning penalty in a shootout as Nottingham Forest survived a huge scare in Devon.
With the game tied at 2-2 after 23 MINUTES of stoppages and another half an hour of extra-time, the game went to penalties.
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Heartbreaking for the League One minnows, Rees Cole and Angus MacDonald failed to convert theirs and Williams stood up to fire the decisive penalty to win 4-2 in the shootout.
Josh Magennis had Forest rocking when he fired Exeter into a fifth-minute lead.
Romon Sosa and Taiwo Awoniyi turned the game on the head by half-time, but a Willy Bony own goal, deflecting a Magennis effort past his own keeper, after the break set-up a cracker.
Exeter were reduced to ten men when debutant Ed Turns was sent off with four minutes left after being given a straight red for a late tackle on Morgan Gibbs-White.
The Grecians sit a whopping 58 places below Forest in football’s pecking order.
And the Premier League club made ten changes to their starting line-up with only Danilio keeping his place from the side that thumped Brighton 7-0.
But any complacency that this was going to be a stroll was dispelled within five minutes.
Demetri Mitchell found space on the left edge of the box to shoot with his left-foot.
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Keeper Carlos Miguel made a complete pig’s ear of it by fumbling the ball.
And Magennis was on hand to fire home the rebound into the empty net.
Forest tied the scores through a piece of good individual skill you would expect at the top level.
Sosa, who scored in the third round win over Luton, was at it again by riding a couple of Exeter tackles after being played in by Ibrahim Sangare before expertly placing a shot past Whitworth.
Whitworth produced a great piece of goalkeeping when he somehow managed to fling himself full-length to claw a Jack McMillan volley round the post.
But Forest moved in front with a piece of lovely quality from Awoniyi.
Sangare played a lovely pass into the Forest ace, with his back to goal and crowded by four Grecians defenders.
And he turned on a six-pence on the end of the box to curl a superb shot past Whitworth.
But Exeter were back in it after the break.
From a corner, Miguel could only palm a Magennis header straight back to the striker, who shot low through a crowded six-yard box.
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The ball took a deflection off Boly to beat the keeper.
It proved to be the last piece of the action Miguel saw as he hobbled off with a hamstring injury, with regular Matz Sels coming on.
And how they needed the Belgium keeper when Niskanen exchanged passes with Magennis before his powerful low effort was saved.
With 20 minutes left it was time for Forest to start bringing on their big guns. First Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White replacing Ryan Yates and Sangare.
Gibbs-White combined with Anderson before seeing his powerful low shot kept out by Whitworth.
Exeter were dealt a blow with four minutes left when Turns was given a harsh straight red by ref Andrew Kitchen. His tackle was a little late on Gibbs-White but the official deemed it too high.
Whitworth and Awoniyi collided two minutes into the 10 added for stoppages.
Both players received treatment but the Forest striker needed ten minutes of medical treatment to a head injury before being carried off on a stretcher
Chris Wood came on as the game had another eight minutes to go as the clock passed 10pm.
And Pat Jones almost snatched a famous victory in the NINETEENTH minute of stoppage time but fired an angled effort inches wide of the left post.
Then incredibly Jay Bird was put through but his effort was kept out by Sels.
And then in the 23rd minute stoppage time Gibbs-White rattled the bar.
Wood saw a brilliant header kept out as Forest laid siege in extra time but Exeter held on for pens, before a heartbreaking end for the hosts.
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