© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, 12 out of 16 matches of the 4th round of the English Football Association Cup (FA cup) took place. Among the bigger surprises were "West Ham" failing at home against "Watford" and "Middlesbrough" drawing with third league "Bristol City". In total, two matches on Saturday ended in a draw, so they will have to be replayed.
An intense match took place between "Birmingham" aiming to return to the Premier League and "Reading" making their debut this year. In the 3rd minute, the guests took the lead when Dave Kitson scored the first goal of the season. At the end of the first half, Leroy Lita doubled the score with a precise header.
In the previous round, "Newcastle" defeated "Birmingham" 5-1, but this time Martin Taylor softened the blow by scoring in the 47th minute. The second half, which was closely contested, was sealed by a precise shot from L. Lita from a distance of 12 meters. The hosts managed to reduce the difference, but that didn't stop "Reading" from reaching the quarterfinals of the English cup for the first time in 72 years.
"Middlesbrough", the 3rd league leaders, took the lead 2-0 away against "Bristol City" within 23 minutes. However, the hosts, who haven't lost at home since August last year, showed character and managed to equalize, so everything will be decided later at the "Riverside" arena.
"Fulham" newcomer Italian Vincenzo Montella scored another goal and helped his team thrash "Stoke" 3-0.
For the second time this season, "Tottenham" faced "Southend". Last time, Southend eliminated "Man Utd" in the League Cup quarterfinals, while in the quarterfinals of that tournament, "Tottenham" fell only after extra time. This time, things went better for the London club. They took the initiative from the start, earned 15 corners in total, and celebrated victory with a score of 3-1.
In the duel between two struggling Premier League underdogs, "West Ham" and "Watford", the latter triumphed. The victory for the visitors was sealed by Anthony McNamee's goal, which he scored capitalizing on goalkeeper Roy Carroll's mistake. This win was joyful for "Watford," especially because the last time they won at "West Ham" stadium was back in 1984.
In the last match of the day, "Man Utd" and "Portsmouth" faced off. The hosts, whose strike partners in the match were two Scandinavians - Henrik Larsson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, started the match energetically but failed to score quickly. The hosts dominated most of the game, while "Portsmouth" did not shy away from long-range shots.
However, Manchester's footballers crushed the opponents at the end of the match. After coming on as a substitute and showing excellent athletic form, Wayne Rooney scored two decisive goals. Pedro Mendes managed to reduce the gap, but "Man Utd" held on to the victory.
Statistics:
"Luton Town" (II division) 0 - 4 "Blackburn" 10‘ [0 - 1] Matt Derbyshire 37‘ [0 - 2] Benni McCarthy 56‘ [0 - 3] Matt Derbyshire 74‘ [0 - 4] Morten Gamst Pedersen
"Barnet" (IV division) 0 - 2 "Plymouth" (II division) 67‘ [0 - 1] Hasney Aljofree (from 11 m.) 83‘ [0 - 2] Scott Sinclair
"Birmingham" (II division) 2 - 3 "Reading" 3‘ [0 - 1] Dave Kitson 41‘ [0 - 2] Leroy Lita 47‘ [1 - 2] Martin Taylor 82‘ [1 - 3] Martin Taylor 90+5‘ [2 - 3] Sebastian Larsson
"Blackpool" (III division) 1 - 1 "Norwich" (II division) 48‘ [0 - 1] Darren Huckerby 52‘ [1 - 1] Ian Evatt
"Bristol City" (III division) 2 - 2 "Middlesbrough" 4‘ [0 - 1] Yakubu Aiyegbeni 23‘ [0 - 2] Malcolm Christie 53‘ [1 - 2] Richard Keogh 59‘ [2 - 2] Scott Murray
"Crystal Palace" (II division) 0 - 2 "Preston" (II division) 46‘ [0 - 1] David Nugent 83‘ [0 - 2] Kelvin Wilson
"Derby County" (II division) 1 - 0 "Bristol Rovers" (IV division) 82‘ [1 - 0] Paul Peschisolido
"Fulham" 3 - 0 "Stoke" (II division) 11‘ [1 - 0] Voncenzo Montella 39‘ [2 - 0] Brian McBride 54‘ [3 - 0] Tomasz Radzinski
"Ipswich" (II division) 1 - 0 "Swansea" (III division) 64‘ [1 - 0] Alan Lee (from 11 m.)
"Tottenham" 3 - 1 "Southend" (II division) 12‘ [1 - 0] Robbie Keane 50‘ [2 - 0] Jermaine Jenas 69‘ [2 - 1] Freddy Eastwood (from 11 m.) 76‘ [3 - 1] Mido
"West Ham" 0 - 1 "Watford" 42‘ [0 - 1] Anthony McNamee
"Man Utd" 2 - 1 "Portsmouth" 77‘ [1 - 0] Wayne Rooney 84‘ [2 - 0] Wayne Rooney 87‘ [2 - 1] Pedro Mendes
Match pairs for Sunday: "Arsenal" - "Bolton" "Chelsea" - "Nottingham Forest" (III division) "Man City" - "Southampton" (II division) "Wolves" (II division) - "W.B.A" (II division)"
