FOREST GREEN travelled to a Scarborough Athletic side managed by a former Manchester United Champions League winner last night.
The two sides had met earlier this month, with Forest Green beating their non-league opponents.
GettyFormer Man Utd ace managed his side in the FA Cup last night[/caption]
GettyHe has managed his hometown team since 2021[/caption]
The League Two side thought they had booked a round two clash with Blackpool following their comprehensive win.
But following an admin error between Forest Green and the FA, the match was forced to be replayed last night.
Forest Green were deemed to have fielded an ineligible player in the first match, due to him only being on loan.
They failed to notify the FA that they had permission from his parent club to play.
David Horseman’s side were not thrown out of the FA Cup, but were forced to face Scarborough again, under unusual conditions.
The replay took place at Scarborough’s Flamingo Land Stadium, with the FA making the unprecedented decision to allow the home side to keep 100 per cent of the gate receipts.
Forest Green were also not granted accommodation expenses.
Fans may have spotted a familiar face in the home dugout, albeit sporting a very different look to his playing days.
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Jonathan Greening sported flowing long brown locks during his Premier League days with Man Utd,West Brom and Middlesbrough.
Now managing his hometown club Scarborough, Greening has short hair with a grey beard.
On the touchline last night he wrapped up warm, donning a Scarborough Athletic beanie hat.
He has managed Scarborough since 2021 and even guided them to promotion from the Northern Premier League.
Last night he watched his side give Forest Green an FA Cup scare.
The underdogs went 1-0 up on 29 minutes via Ryan Qualter’s scrappy goal.
Among the 2,500 fans crammed into the Flamingo Land Stadium, many sensed an upset.
But Forest Green soon hit back, levelling five minutes later via Tyrese Omotoye close-range finish.
Callum Morton put the visitors 2-1 up shortly after the break, with Sean Robertson then making it three.
Scarborough refused to give up and pulled one back on 86 minutes through Luca Colville.
But Matt Stevens clinched a 4-2 win for Forest Green a minute from time, despite many in the home crowd feeling he was offside.
After the game, Greening, now 44, admitted that he was proud of his side’s efforts.
He said: “They came up here the day before and stayed in a hotel, whereas our players were up at 7am for work this morning and only got here an hour before kick-off, so that’s the difference in preparation for the game.
“But I thought the lads put in another really strong performance. We deservedly took the lead and we hit the post and could have had a penalty before we had them rocking at 3-2.
“Unfortunately, one mistake meant we ended up losing 4-2. Over the course of the three games, though, we have played five really good halves of football against a strong League Two team.
“There was only the first half at their place when we were 3-1 down that needed to be better.”
GettyJonathan Greening wore a very different look at Man Utd[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationHe had long hair while playing for England youth sides[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationGreening kept his long locks while playing for West Brom and Middlesbrough[/caption]