The final whistle brought a second of relief before the celebrations truly kicked in after Nottingham Forest secured a place in the Europa League semi-finals. It should have been easier but nothing is simple at the City Ground as they made hard work of overcoming Porto, who played almost the entire match with 10 men.

Morgan Gibbs-White settled the match, to set up an all-English clash with Aston Villa for a place in the final. His goal came in the aftermath of Jan Bednarek’s early sending off and should have laid the foundations for more but Forest’s finishing was poor, forcing them to grind out the victory by surviving Porto hitting the crossbar twice. Even so, the ultimate jubilation was reminiscent of those great nights of the 1980s under Brian Clough when the club last reached this stage in Europe.

“We need to suffer together and we need to feel proud at the end of a game,” Vítor Pereira said. “The red card has an impact on the game. We played a very good first half and should have scored more goals to kill the game.”

Where the Europa League sits in Forest’s list of priorities has fluctuated over the season but Pereira selected almost his strongest team, although Elliot Anderson was absent after the death of his mother, Helen. It was a sign of intent that this club wants to go all the way to Istanbul, even with the risk of Premier League relegation still a serious possibility.

As in the first leg, Porto started quicker, threatening Stefan Ortega’s goal after 60 seconds but the goalkeeper stood strong to repel a Terem Moffi jab when through on goal. If it had gone in, the City Ground would have been silenced but instead it was roaring, knowing the significant role the supporters could play.

A hush did come over the stadium soon after when Chris Wood, who returned only recently from six months out with a left knee injury, went to ground clutching his right knee after being caught by a high boot from Bednarek. The concern dissipated from a home perspective as the New Zealander got to his feet, while the visitors awaited the review of a VAR check, which resulted in them being reduced to 10 men with 82 minutes remaining.

If the stadium was buoyant before, it was positively bouncing four minutes later when Gibbs-White made use of the additional space available, driving at the defence before his shot from 20 yards deflected off Pablo Rosario to wrongfoot Diogo Costa. The Forest captain ran to the fans and collected an Anderson shirt with the message “Family first, we are all with you”. “A very sad situation, everybody has Elliot in their hearts,” Pereira said. “The players think about him. My condolences to the family, we are here to help him.”

Wood’s recovery was short-lived and he was forced off, with Igor Jesus taking his place. It did not affect the flow of the game as Forest continued to dominate, camping out in the final third in search of a second that could finish the tie. There was plenty of endeavour and threat, with the players especially eager to focus on Sunday’s visit of Burnley, but they struggled to test Diogo Costa. Corners were causing problems, however, with Igor Jesus heading over a glorious chance and Murillo sliding wide.

Francesco Farioli indicated his plan with a quadruple change to start the second half. It did not make any difference to the direction of travel as Forest kept pushing forward and Igor Jesus forced Diogo Costa into a smart save from a first-time shot but every missed chance increased the tension.

Nerves and the crossbar were rattled when a Porto counterattack twisted and turned Forest. Seko Fofana got down the left and had the composure to chip the ball to William Gomes at the far post from where his volley assaulted the woodwork but he could only grimace as it bounced down on the wrong side. It was a warning to everyone in red that this tie was far from over.

Calm was replaced by panic as Pereira prowled the touchline, seeking a ruthless streak in his side, who managed to get only a quarter of their 20 shots on target. A little after the hour mark the centre-back Nikola Milenkovic was sent on to fortify the defence, replacing the winger Dan Ndoye, offering an indication of the Forest coach’s thinking.

When Alan Varela thrashed a shot against the crossbar with six minutes remaining, a hush descended. “We deserve to be in the semi-final but we have to accept the result on the pitch,” Farioli said.

The digital clock on the halfway line was just as compelling as the action on the pitch, every second feeling like a successful pass. It felt like an eternity for many but one worth waiting for as the flaws are quickly forgotten when a team reaches its first European semi-final for 42 years. “One of the best nights I’ve had at the City Ground, thanks to the fans and everyone that’s made it happen,” Gibbs-White said.