"Sucker punch" for Brighton as Ponce gives AEK late lead
Sep 21The FA Cup third round took over BT Sport this weekend and we had a legitimate bonanza of action as the big boys entered football’s oldest competition.
BT Sport broadcasted a whole host of fascinating ties including all-Premier League clashes, huge potential giant-killings and banana skins galore.
Read on for highlights, match reports and how to watch Monday's fixture on BT Sport.
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Friday 8 January
Aston Villa 1-4 Liverpool
Wolves 1-0 Crystal Palace
Saturday 9 January
Chorley 2-0 Derby
Everton 2-1 Rotherham (AET)
Boreham Wood 0-2 Millwall
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Cardiff
Norwich 2-0 Coventry
Luton 1-0 Reading
Blackpool 2-2 West Brom (3-2 pens)
Bristol Rovers 2-3 Sheffield United
Exeter 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Oldham 1-4 Bournemouth
Blackburn 0-1 Doncaster
Stevenage 0-2 Swansea
QPR 0-2 Fulham
Burnley (p) 1-1 MK Dons
Stoke 0-4 Leicester
Wycombe 4-1 Preston
Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle (AET)
Man United 1-0 Watford
Sunday 10 January
Newport 1-1 Brighton (3-4 pens)
Monday 11 January
Stockport v West Ham
Friday 8 January
Aston Villa 1-4 Liverpool
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Sadio Mane’s double helped Liverpool survive a major FA Cup scare against Aston Villa’s plucky kids.
The Reds eventually clinched a 4-1 third-round win after Louie Barry’s equaliser for coronavirus-hit Villa threatened to embarrass the visitors.
Mane struck an early opener, but Liverpool needed three quickfire second-half goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Mane and Mo Salah to end the hosts’ hopes of a stunning upset.
Villa’s first-team squad had been decimated by coronavirus, with nine players testing positive along with five staff, forcing the club to quickly call on the youngsters.
Wolves 1-0 Crystal Palace
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Adama Traore’s superb first-half goal saw Wolves progress to the FA Cup fourth round at the expense of Crystal Palace.
A bitterly cold night at Molineux was warmed up after 35 minutes by the Spain international’s thunderous 18-yard strike.
The hosts were much the better side on the night against a disjointed Palace team which included nine changes and saw talisman Wilfried Zaha start the tie on the bench as goalkeeper John Ruddy, one of two changes made by Wanderers, was never troubled.
Saturday 9 January
Chorley 2-0 Derby
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Non-League Chorley claimed an unlikely place in the FA Cup fourth round as they proved too strong for a youthful Derby side in an extraordinary tie.
Connor Hall and Mike Calveley were the men on target as the National League North side claimed a 2-0 victory in what was theoretically an upset on a freezing afternoon in Lancashire.
Yet with the Championship visitors decimated by a Covid-19 outbreak at their club, the four division gap between the sides was wiped out, handing the initiative to the part-timers.
Derby, with interim manager Wayne Rooney and their entire first-team squad isolating, were forced to field a team made up from their youth sides in order to fulfil the fixture.
Everton 2-1 Rotherham (AET)
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Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti’s gamble on resting key players almost backfired as a team registering eight changes laboured to a 2-1 extra-time FA Cup win over Championship strugglers Rotherham.
The Italian left out top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, but their replacements were second-best for much of the 120 minutes at Goodison Park.
Rotherham, with just one win in their previous nine games, made six changes of their own but looked far more cohesive and they deserved more than just Matt Olosunde’s maiden senior goal for their efforts.
Boreham Wood 0-2 Millwall
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Millwall avoided a potential banana skin at Meadow Park as they comfortably overcame Boreham Wood 2-0 to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Looking for only their second victory since the end of October, Millwall gave stating debuts to both Danny McNamara and Tyler Burey.
The National League side gave a start to Junior Morias, who returned to the Hertfordshire side on loan from St Mirren.
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Cardiff
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Lyle Taylor ended his longest goal drought since October 2017 to fire Nottingham Forest into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win against Cardiff.
The former Charlton striker – one of eight changes made by home boss Chris Hughton following last weekend’s win at Preston – took less than three minutes to claim the only goal of the game and his first in 13 outings.
Away boss Neil Harris could only watch from the stands due to a touchline ban as his side showing four changes suffered a fourth straight defeat.
Norwich 2-0 Coventry
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Norwich scored two early goals to see off fellow Championship side Coventry 2-0 in a low-key FA Cup third-round tie at Carrow Road.
An assured sixth-minute finish from Kenny McLean and a firm header from Jordan Hugill 80 seconds later settled a game that rarely hit the heights after an exciting start.
Coventry had their moments but found young goalkeeper Daniel Barden in good form and could have few complaints about the final outcome.
Luton Town 1-0 Reading
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George Moncur scored the only goal of the game as Luton beat fellow Championship side Reading 1-0 in the FA Cup.
The midfielder volleyed the only goal of the third-round tie in the first half to decide the contest at Kenilworth Road.
Blackpool 2-2 West Brom (3-2 pens)
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Sam Allardyce’s wait for a first win in charge of West Brom will continue after the Baggies were dumped out of the FA Cup by Sky Bet League One Blackpool, losing a penalty shoot-out 3-2.
Seasiders captain Chris Maxwell, playing his first game since December 19 after testing positive for Covid-19, saved spot-kicks from Kyle Edwards, Darnell Furlong and Matheus Pereira to give Blackpool their first FA Cup win over top-flight opposition since they beat Burnley 1-0 45 years ago.
The match had finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, with West Brom needing a slightly fortuitous penalty from Pereira with 10 minutes left to extend the contest after Jerry Yates and Gary Madine struck either side of Semi Ajayi’s equaliser.
Though Yates missed the opening penalty to hand West Brom the advantage, they could not take it as Maxwell saw his side through to the fourth round.
Bristol Rovers 2-3 Sheffield United
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Sheffield United secured their first win of the season as they reached the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 victory at Bristol Rovers.
Oliver Burke – with his first Blades goal since a September switch from West Brom – and Jayden Bogle added to an early Joe Day own goal as the Premier League’s basement club led three times.
Rovers defenders Alfie Kilgour and Max Ehmer equalised from set-pieces for the Sky Bet League One hosts, but United held their nerve to finally win at the 19th attempt this season.
Stevenage 0-2 Swansea
Headers from Wayne Routledge and Viktor Gyokeres ensured Swansea comfortably made the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 victory at Stevenage.
Goals early in each half ensured the Championship side were untroubled by their League Two hosts, although debutant Luke Norris missed a late penalty which could have set up an exciting finale.
Exeter 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
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Sheffield Wednesday overcame both a coronavirus outbreak and a gallant Exeter to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at St James Park.
The Owls had to shut their training ground this week due to a “significant number” of Covid-19 cases but they were still able to field a strong side against their Sky Bet League Two opponents.
Oldham 1-4 Bournemouth
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Josh King netted his first two goals of the season as Bournemouth swatted aside League Two Oldham with a 4-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium.
Forward King has missed a large chunk of the campaign due to injuries and illnesses after failing to depart Championship Cherries in the summer transfer window.
But the Norwegian returned to his best with a classy brace for his first notches since July.
King also set-up Rodrigo Riquelme, after David Brooks and Dylan Bahamboula, from the penalty spot, exchanged first-half goals.
Stoke 0-4 Leicester City
Leicester advanced into the FA Cup fourth round in comfortable fashion as the Premier League high-fliers beat Stoke 4-0 at the bet365 Stadium.
James Justin put the Foxes in front with a fine strike in the 34th minute, shortly after Sam Vokes had missed a good chance to give the Championship hosts the lead.
Marc Albrighton doubled the advantage with a 59th-minute finish, Ayoze Perez made it 3-0 with 11 minutes of normal time to go, and Harvey Barnes added a fourth two minutes later.
Burnley (p) 1-1 MK Dons
Burnley avoided an FA Cup upset with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory over League One MK Dons at Turf Moor.
The Dons led through Cameron Jerome’s 29th-minute header and looked set to beat a Premier League team in the competition for just the second time but Burnley substitute Matej Vydra grabbed an equaliser in the final minute of injury time to make it 1-1.
Dons manager Russell Martin was then sent to the stands and two periods of extra-time did not yield a goal.
Vydra saw his opening spot-kick saved by the excellent Lee Nicholls but Burnley’s debutant keeper Will Norris proved the hero with stops from Lasse Sorensen and Ben Gladwin before Phil Bardsley rolled in the winning penalty.
QPR 0-2 Fulham
Substitutes Bobby Decordova-Reid and Neeskens Kebano fired Fulham into the FA Cup fourth round at the expense of QPR.
The Premier League outfit needed extra time to see off their west London neighbours 2-0, after Lyndon Dykes had missed a gilt-edged chance to win it for Championship Rangers.
Blackburn 0-1 Doncaster
League One high-flyers Doncaster caused an upset by defeating Championship side Blackburn 1-0 in the FA Cup third round at Ewood Park.
Taylor Richards’ third goal of the season three minutes before half-time – assisted in no small part by an Aynsley Pears howler – was enough to put Darren Moore’s men into the draw for the fourth round.
Doncaster showed admirable resilience as the team 17 places higher up in the league pyramid poured forward in desperate search of an equaliser.
But a combination of backs-to-the-wall defending and a remarkable double save from debutant Ellery Balcombe ensured the visitors deservedly avenged their Carabao Cup defeat earlier this season.
Wycombe 4-1 Preston
Wycombe reached the FA Cup fourth round for only the third time in their history thanks to a dominant 4-1 win over Preston.
Goals from Fred Onyedinma, Joe Jacobson and Josh Knight had the Chairboys 3-0 up after just 25 minutes, before Emil Riis pulled one back from the penalty spot just short of half-time.
But Preston never looked like mounting a comeback, and Alex Samuel put the tie to bed with a cool finish late on to earn Wycombe their first ever home win over Preston.
Brentford 2-1 Middlesbrough
Brentford edged their way into the FA Cup fourth round with an entertaining 2-1 win over Middlesbrough.
Maiden goals for Brentford pair Halil Dervisoglu and Saman Ghoddos cancelled out Sam Folarin’s reply, also his first in a Boro shirt.
Turkish Under-21 international Dervisoglu opened the scoring just before the break, sweeping Ghoddos’ outswinging corner just inside the post.
But Neil Warnock’s side responded straight after the interval, substitute Folarin smashing home from close range after Patrick Roberts’ effort was deflected into his path.
Dervisoglu turned provider as Brentford edged ahead again just after the hour, his incisive through-ball finding Ghoddos who cut inside to slot the winner inside the upright.
Huddersfield 2-3 Plymouth
Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe described his side’s 3-2 FA Cup win at makeshift Huddersfield as “massive”.
Argyle, promoted back to Sky Bet League One last season, reached the fourth round for the first time since 2008.
“It’s massive for me,” said Lowe. “It’s the best competition in the world that we, or I as a manager, will ever enter.
“I respect it massively. I’ll watch the highlights on TV tonight with my lad.”
Skipper Joe Edwards struck Plymouth’s 70th-minute winner after they had twice been forced to come from behind against a second-string Huddersfield side.
Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle (AET)
A dour game at the Emirates produced little action of note until Emile Smith-Rowe fired Arsenal into the fourth round of the tournament with a tidy finish in extra time.
The youngster was shown a red card in the final minutes of normal time only to be handed a repreive by VAR for a tackle on Newcastle's Sean Longstaff.
Toon striker Andy Carroll spurned a pair of glorious chances for the visitors but the Gunners kept their FA Cup defence alive as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put the cherry on the cake with a much-needed goal late in the game.
Man United 1-0 Watford
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Stand-in skipper Scott McTominay secured Manchester United’s safe passage to the FA Cup fourth round with an early header against Watford.
Three days on from the galling Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made sweeping changes with crunch Premier League matches against Burnley and leaders Liverpool looming large.
McTominay was one of two survivors from Wednesday’s loss and led United out as captain for the first time, with his early header proving enough to seal an unconvincing 1-0 victory against Sky Bet Championship outfit Watford.
Sunday 10 January
Newport 1-1 Brighton (3-4 pens)
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Brighton survived a penalty shoot-out at Newport to book a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup, winning 4-3 on spot-kicks after the tie had been drawn 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Goalkeeper Jason Steele, who was at fault for Newport’s equaliser in the final seconds of normal time, made four penalty saves to send the Seagulls through.
Brighton thought they had won the tie when Solly March struck from the edge of the penalty area with just 10 seconds of the 90 minutes remaining.
But Newport saved themselves with the final act in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Steele letting Liam Shephard’s cross slip through his grasp and the unfortunate Adam Webster diverted the ball into his own net to set up extra time.
Webster, though, scored the decisive spot-kick after Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Davy Propper had been on target for Brighton, with Joss Labadie, Ryan Taylor and Jamie Proctor replying for Newport.
Monday 11 January
Stockport 0-1 West Ham
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Craig Dawson spared West Ham’s blushes as they progressed to the FA Cup fourth round with a 1-0 victory over non-league Stockport at a sodden Edgeley Park.
The driving rain left the pitch resembling a mud bath at full-time and largely negated the gulf in class between the sides, with Stockport having a couple of half-chances to claim one of the round’s biggest upsets.
But the Premier League side, 86 places above their Vanarama National League opponents, avoided a giant-killing as Dawson headed home from Jarrod Bowen’s right-wing cross seven minutes from time.
