FA Cup round up

Everton substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure scored an extra-time winner as they edged a determined Rotherham United 2-1 in their absorbing FA Cup third round tie at Goodison Park on Saturday.

After 90 minutes the score was 1-1 with Cenk Tosun’s first Everton goal since Nov. 2019 cancelled out by a 56th minute strike from Rotherham’s American right back Matthew Olosunde.

However, three minutes into extra time the hosts got the decisive goal when Doucoure latched onto James Rodriguez’s through ball before sliding it past goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.

With five-time FA Cup winners Everton resting top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brazilian forward Richarlison, Turkish international Tosun was handed a rare opportunity to lead the attack and got on the scoresheet inside 10 minutes.

The visitors responded with a string of chances and were rewarded 10 minutes into the second half when Olosunde swivelled in the box before slotting the ball past keeper Robin Olsen.

Everton thought they had grabbed the winner near the end of normal time when Tosun struck in the 86th but his effort was ruled offside by VAR and it was left for Frenchman Doucoure to secure a spot in the fourth round of the competition.

Elsewhere, 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 ¹
League One Blackpool produced one of the biggest shocks of Saturday’s FA Cup third-round action by beating West Brom on penalties, while non-league Chorley eliminated a youthful Derby side that had been affected by Covid-19.

Premier League West Brom lost 3-2 on penalties after the two sides had drawn 2-2 after extra time to complete a miserable return to Bloomfield Road for Baggies boss Sam Allardyce, who used to manage Blackpool.

Lancashire part-timers Chorley overcame the depleted Championship club Derby 2-0 at Victory Park, the National League North side’s third victory over English Football League opposition in this season’s competition.

“I’m ecstatic, really proud,” Chorley boss Jamie Vermiglio, a primary school headteacher, said after goals by Connor Hall and Mike Calveley earned the Magpies a place in the fourth round for the first time.

“We’ve made around £250,000 before today, goodness knows what it’ll be now. It’ll certainly be £300,000 or £400,000.

“We could possibly get to £500,000 now and for a club like us, not only does it save us, it enables us to grow.”

The tie had been in doubt because of freezing temperatures and Vermiglio added: “We had volunteers sleeping here overnight and used hairdryers and kettles to make sure the game was on.”

Chorley play in the sixth tier of English football, four tiers below Derby.

Elsewhere, League One Doncaster Rovers won at Championship side Blackburn Rovers, while Sheffield United, rooted at the foot of the Premier League table, suffered a scare at League One Bristol Rovers before securing a first win since 11 July.

There are no fans present at any of the third-round ties because of a stay at home order for millions in the UK amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But people were spotted leaning out of bedroom windows of homes surrounding Chorley’s Victory Park ground to catch their win over Derby.

The match had been in doubt because of overnight sub-zero temperatures but Chorley groundsman Ben Kay spent all night under a giant protective cover on the pitch to make sure it was playable.

“We didn’t have much choice,” Kay said. “Everything had to be done to get the game on. The pitch has been frozen since 27 December.”

Chorley’s players celebrated in the changing room after the game with a loud rendition of Adele’s Someone Like You.

Premier League clubs fall at first hurdle

As well as West Brom, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa also fell at the first hurdle after losing their all-Premier League games on Friday to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool respectively.

The third round is where clubs from the top flight and Championship enter the famous competition.

Newcastle also went out after losing 2-0 at holders Arsenal, extra-time goals by Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sending the Gunners through.

Sheffield United were not the only Premier League team to suffer a scare before going through. Burnley needed a last-minute goal to force extra time and then a penalty shootout to overcome League One side Milton Keynes Dons.

Everton and Fulham both needed extra time to see off Championship sides Rotherham and QPR respectively.

Leicester City had no such problems as they ran out 4-0 winners at Stoke City while Manchester United, in the late game, beat Watford 1-0.

Adama Traore netted a spectacular winner to ensure dominant Wolverhampton Wanderers progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup at Crystal Palace’s expense.

Wolves bettered their opponents in every statistic at Molineux but required a moment of individual inspiration from Traore to seal a narrow 1-0 win.

Despite the glaring absence of fans at all grounds around the country, the magic of the cup was well and truly alive during a weekend which included memorable shocks, spectacular goals and one unprecedented mismatch.

There were big wins for non-league Chorley, League Two Crawley and League One Blackpool, though eighth-tier Marine were ultimately unable to threaten a colossal upset against Tottenham Hotspur.

From the Herculean behind-the-scenes efforts to unlikely debuts and emergency signings, here are a few things you might have missed over an eventful few days.

National League North side Chorley will be hoping for a fourth-round glamour tie after overcoming a Derby County side decimated by a coronavirus outbreak – a result which justified groundsman Ben Kay’s heroic efforts to ensure Saturday’s match could go ahead.

With temperatures threatening to freeze the pitch at Victory Park, Kay camped out under a tent on the playing surface on Friday night to keep a careful eye on the situation.

It was far from a straightforward night as a generator keeping the tent up stopped working for four hours and staff were even pouring hot water on to the grass as kick-off approached.

“I FaceTimed him [Kay] at 2am knowing he was staying at the stadium and he wasn’t positive. One of the heaters had blown and he was worried we wouldn’t get the tie on,” manager Jamie Vermiglio said.

“I FaceTimed him again at 6am and someone else answered the phone and showed him fast asleep in the middle of the pitch. He’d slept here to make sure we got it on – it’s incredible really.”

The kids are all right

An Aston Villa starting XI composed of seven under-23 and four under-18 players fought valiantly against Premier League champions Liverpool on Friday after a coronavirus outbreak at the club’s training ground meant none of the first-team squad could feature.

A huge upset appeared a possibility for 60 minutes following 17-year-old Louie Barry’s equaliser against a Reds side containing the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Jordan Henderson, before three goals in a five-minute spell abruptly ended their challenge.

And what better way for the youngsters to unwind after all their hard work than pizzas for all on the minibus home?

A dream come true

It was so comfortable for Crawley Town against Premier League opponents Leeds United that TV personality Mark Wright was given a late cameo at the end of the League Two side’s 3-0 win.

Yet, rather than a publicity stunt, 33-year-old Wright – a Tottenham youth-team captain as a teenager who also had stints with the West Ham United and Arsenal academies – wants another shot at professional football.

And what an occasion it was for him to make his dream a reality, as John Yems’ side tore apart Marcelo Bielsa’s visitors on Sunday to reach the fourth round.

Morecambe were unable to produce a stunning upset of their own, as the Shrimps lost 4-0 to top-flight Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

And on a huge day for the League Two club, they paid tribute to their former defender Christian Mbulu – who died, aged 23, in May 2020 – by displaying a framed picture of him on the substitutes’ bench.

It was a touching gesture for a player described as an “extremely popular member of the squad”.

It wasn’t to be for minnows Marine, who undoubtedly would have had to produce the greatest FA Cup shock to beat Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham on Sunday.

The Northern Premier League Division One North West outfit, a competition-record 160 places below Spurs in the football pyramid, signed up a last-minute reinforcement one day before the tie. They agreed a loan deal with neighbours Clitheroe for player-manager David Lynch – purely for the cup game.

Clitheroe agreed to release Lynch for 14 days to allow him the “tremendous opportunity”. Unfortunately, he never got his chance to face the likes of Gareth Bale and remained an unused substitute as the eighth-tier club’s extraordinary FA Cup adventure ended with a 5-0 defeat.

It was, of course, not the only example of the football community pulling together for this tie, as a remarkable effort by Tottenham fans helped Marine sell over 30,000 virtual tickets for the match at the 3,185-capacity Marine Travel Arena.

Premier League Leeds United suffered the biggest upset of the FA Cup third round when they fell to a 3-0 defeat by fourth-tier Crawley Town on Sunday but Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a 5-0 win at minnows Marine AFC.
West Ham United laboured into the FA Cup fourth round after a late Craig Dawson header gave them a 1-0 win at National League (fifth tier) site Stockport County on Monday.

The Hammers created few chances on a muddy pitch before central defender Dawson met a Jarrod Bowen cross from the right and steered the ball into the bottom right corner past home goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe in the 83rd minute.

Manchester City and Chelsea also eased through with comfortable victories against lower-league opponents but Brighton and Hove Albion needed penalties to win at fourth-tier Newport County.

A brilliant solo strike from Nick Tsaroulla in the 50th minute put League Two Crawley in front after a first half in which Leeds had caused them few problems.

Three minutes later the West Sussex club were 2-0 up after an error from Leeds keeper Kiko Casilla who let an Ashley Nadesan shot squeeze in at the near post.

The impressive Nadesan had a hand in Crawley’s third when his low shot was parried out by Casilla, only for Jordan Tunnicliffe to pounce and drill the ball home.

Crawley’s best run in the FA Cup came in 2012, when they reached the fifth round — the only other time they have made it past the third round.

Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham travelled to Merseyside to face eighth-tier Marine, no doubt with some degree of trepidation given the Cup has never produced a bigger mismatch.

The part-timers play in the Northern Premier League, Division One North West, 161 places below Spurs in the English football pyramid.

COVID-19 restrictions denied Marine fans the chance to see the club’s biggest ever match but some supporters were able to get close to the action — watching from their back gardens which overlook the tiny ground.

The non-league side nearly gave Spurs a shock in the 20th minute when Neil Kengni struck the bar with a long-range effort which former England keeper Joe Hart opted to leave only for the ball to dip late and strike the woodwork.

Yet four minutes later Carlos Vinicius opened the scoring and quickly added a second — both finishes coming from close-range.

Another Brazilian, Lucas Moura, then curled in a free kick for the third before Vinicius completed his hat-trick in the 37th minute with a left-footed curler.

Alfie Devine came on as a substitute at the break to become Spurs’ youngest player at 16 years and 163 days old and scored on the hour with a well-taken strike that zipped in the near post.

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Brighton narrowly avoided another upset as they needed penalties to beat League Two Newport County in South Wales.

Solly March looked to have won the game with a fine strike in the 90th minute but Brighton keeper Jason Steele made a mess of a cross in the sixth minute of stoppage time and the ball flew in off Albion defender Adam Webster.

But, after extra time stayed goalless, Steele made amends with four excellent saves in the shootout and Webster too redeemed himself with the winning spot-kick.

Bernardo Silva scored two goals and Phil Foden another as Manchester City strolled to a 3-0 win over Championship (second-tier) Birmingham City.

Portuguese midfielder Silva scored his first goal at the Etihad Stadium in over a year when he fired the ball into the top corner in the eighth minute after Birmingham defender George Friend failed to clear.

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It’s Wolves’ third win over Palace at home in the last 12 months and Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have managed clean sheets in all of them,

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