Championship side Birmingham City were scared in their FA Cup third round draw as they needed two second-half goals to come from behind and beat League One strugglers Forest Green .
The fiery hosts led 1-0 at the break after a blistering start that brought in a superb early strike from Ben Stevenson.
But recalled striker Lukas Jutkiewicz equalized just after the break.
And new man Kevin Long scored his first goal since joining from Burnley to book a fourth-round draw at Blackburn.
Rovers, bottom of Ligue 1, have made five new signings so far in the January window. And, although three of them were tied for the cup, they got off to a great start, fueled by Stevenson’s rocket.
The former Wolves and Coventry youngster has previously scored just once for Forest Green – in this season’s EFL Trophy at Newport since arriving from Colchester in the summer of 2021.
But when he received the ball in space, 25 yards out, he launched a superb right-footed curler into the top right corner for his first New Lawn goal.
And the lead would then have been doubled if local skipper Baily Cargill’s shot had not been knocked down by Neil Etheridge recalled.
He was one of five changes to the side beaten 4-2 by Bristol City on Saturday – the Blues’ fourth straight league defeat – along with loan pair Manny Longelo and Hannibal Mejbri, Wales midfielder Jordan James and the veteran forward Jutkiewicz.
And the Championship side were somewhat muted, failing to land a blow before the break. But, after a triple substitution at half-time involving Tahith Chong, Alfie Chang and Max Colin, the visitors suddenly saw a transformed team.
First top scorer Scott Hogan was only denied by a fine full save from Lewis Thomas. Then, just two minutes later, Jutkiewicz drilled a right-footed low shot from the edge of the box for just his second goal of the season.
But, just after the hour mark, the Blues survived a double scare in a frantic scramble when Etheridge twice came to the rescue. He first hit Regan Hendry’s left-footed shot off the bar before heroically denying Matty Stevens the rebound.
Within four minutes the Blues were ahead as Long held on to the lead to head home in a crowded penalty area scrum – and that reserved the former Burnley man with the tantalizing prospect of a trip to Ewood Park on 28 January.
Forest Green boss Ian Burchnall told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:
“We were outstanding in the first half and fully deserved to go up front. But we didn’t score that elusive second goal.
“Then they changed shape at half-time and it took us 10 minutes to get used to it.
“They took their two chances and we didn’t take ours. And you can’t do that against a team at this level with this kind of quality. It’s as simple as that.
“We would have loved to have reached the fourth round for the first time. But it was still a good night. The fans were great. When they support us like that, it gives us a real boost.”
Birmingham City boss John Eustace told BBC Radio WM:
“The first half was tough for us. We weren’t aggressive. We weren’t up front. And being down 1-0 at Forest Green is as difficult as it gets.
“But the half-time changes were positive and worked. The substitutes made a huge difference. Alfie Chang in particular did very well.
“And what a world-class double save from Neil Etheridge. He didn’t stop talking about it for 20 minutes – and he has every right, to be fair.
“Most importantly, the second half showed that we were together. When you go through a tough time, like we are, it’s so important to show the character we have. Hopefully now is a turning point for us. .”
