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Padraig Whelan·5 February 2022
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Padraig Whelan·5 February 2022
It was fourth-round weekend in the FA Cup – with Manchester United already suffering a shock on Friday night.
Here is what went down from Saturday’s collection of games.
Scorers: Kane 14′, 66′; March 24′ (OG), Bissouma 63′
Tottenham put on a show in London as some jaw-dropping goals helped Antonio Conte’s side beat Brighton 3-1.
While the opening moments were a nervy affair with both sides testing the other, it took one lapse in judgment from Brighton to see the hosts side take the lead.
A sloppy touch from Adam Webster allowed Harry Kane to perfectly curl his strike into the top corner from outside the box for 1-0.
Things would then get even better for Spurs after a darting run up the pitch from Emerson Royal ended in the right-back beating goalkeeper Robert Sánchez from an incredibly tight angle thanks to a deflection.
Coming out after the break, Brighton ramped up the pressure as they looked to pull themselves back in the game and some incredible individual work from Yves Bissouma cut the deficit in half.
However, Spurs would go on to restore their two-goal lead after Kane secured a brace just three minutes later when he pushed the ball over the line.
Brighton continued their hunt for more but the likes of Neal Maupay and Pascal Groß couldn’t trouble Hugo Lloris. Another boost for Tottenham fans was seeing new signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur make their debuts.
Scorers: Gundogan 6′, Stones 13′, Mahrez 54′ 57′; Carvalho 4′
Manchester City survived an early Fulham onslaught to beat the west London side 4-1 to progress to the FA Cup fifth round.
Despite Pep Guardiola naming a strong side it was Fulham who took the lead as Fabio Carvalho finished off a sweeping counter-attacking move.
But the lead didn’t last long as Ilkay Gundogan was on hand inside the area to claim City’s equaliser after only six minutes.
And City’s quality told after 13 minutes as John Stones latched on to a corner to head the Premier League champions into the lead.
The game died down somewhat but into the second half City had the chance to get their third of the game as Grealish was fouled inside the area.
It was Riyad Mahrez who stepped up from the spot and dispatched with ease into the top corner.
And the Algerian managed to get his second of the game soon after, latching on to a pass from Kevin de Bruyne and finishing well.
Scorers: Penny 19′; Rice 90+1′, Bowen 120+1′
West Ham scored in the final minute of both normal time and extra-time as they cruelly ended Kidderminster’s FA Cup dreams in gut-wrenching fashion and avoid a massive upset.
Non-league Kidderminster took a shock lead when the visitors failed miserably to deal with a cross into the box and Alex Penny lashed home the loose ball for an advantage which his side held until the final moments.
It looked like they had pulled off one of the FA Cup’s greatest ever shocks, only to heartbreakingly concede on 91 minutes as Declan Rice cut in from the left and fired high into the net to rescue his side and send the tie to extra-time.
After killing the Kidderminster dream in the final minute once, the Hammers incredibly repeated the feat with the last kick before a penalty shootout loomed as Jarrod Bowen pounced at the back post after the ball was fired across goal to send his side through in dramatic fashion.
Scorers: Azpilicueta 41′, Alonso 105′; Gillesphey 8′
Chelsea survived a huge scare and needed Kepa Arrizabalaga to pull off a late penalty save as they edged past Plymouth and into the FA Cup fifth round.
Without Thomas Tuchel absent due to a positive COVID-19 test, his mood was soured further after Argyle took a shock lead eight minutes in when Macaulay Gillesphey nodded in a free-kick from the left flank.
However, the Blues responded well and hit the bar twice through efforts from Mateo Kovačić and Callum Hudson-Odoi before the Croatian then rattled the post to make it three attempts off the woodwork.
But they eventually did break the visitors’ resistance shortly before half-time when captain César Azpilicueta produced a fine flick from a low cross on the right to equalise and ultimately send the contest to extra-time.
There, Chelsea took the lead for the first time after 105 minutes of action when Marcos Alonso netted from a Kai Havertz delivery but with two minutes left on the clock, Plymouth were awarded a penalty but failed to take the chance to stay alive in the cup as Kepa pulled off the save which sent his side through.