Forest Green fall short of famous FA Cup upset against Derby

Chris Hutchings may very well be the most famous caretaker since groundskeeper Willy from The Simpsons, but he did his job prospects no harm as Derby left it late to sneak past non-league Forest Green Rovers.

Hutchings has taken temporary charge of the Rams following Paul Jewell's shock departure, and passed this job interview with distinction.

But it was a particularly tough result for the Conference outfit who were inspired throughout.

Hutchings admitted: "We're just relieved to be in the next round. It was a classic Cup tie, my heart was up and down like a yo-yo.

"The lads battled away and it was one of those games after a strange week, but I'm not thinking too much about the future."

Rovers raced into a two-goal lead inside a frantic opening 20 minutes in front of a record crowd at the Gloucestershire side's New Lawn ground.

On 14 minutes a long ball rebounded off Martin Albrechtsen's back and fell in to the path of Jonathan Smith, who curled home a beautifully flighted half-volley from 20 yards.

The second strike saw Simon Clist's through-ball pick out Alex Lawless, who burst through to shoot past keeper Roy Carroll.

The Rams were battered but rallied back into the tie, thanks to the mercurial right boot of midfielder Kris Commons.

The Scotland player's 40th-minute set-piece saw Rob Hulse's first header tipped onto the crossbar but then Hulse buried the rebound.

On the brink of the interval, Commons' mazy run through the home defence saw him brought down by Jerry Gill. His next free-kick picked out Albrechtsen, who headed home the equaliser.

With County probing for another strike the Championship side were stunned on 72 minutes when Paul Stonehouse exchanged passes with Lee Fowler before unleashing a 20-yard thunderbolt.

But four minutes later County muscled their way back into the thrilling tie, with Hulse heading on for midfielder Paul Green to coolly lash home.

The cruel fate of the Cup saw sub Steve Davies turn party pooper with an 87th-minute penalty after Darren Jones was sent-off for bringing down Commons.

Rovers boss Jim Harvey said: "The penalty was heartbreaking but you cannot blame Darren."

Man of the Match
Kris Commons: Won the game for Derby with a set-piece delivery, and was a class act throughout.

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