English FA Cup 2011/2012

[NEMO]

Frazier Campbell comes off bench to earn replay against Middlesbrough


Frazier Campbell came off the bench to score in his first game since August 2010 and earn Sunderland an FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round replay against their north-east rivals Middlesbrough.

The former England Under-21s striker has been out with a knee injury for nearly 18 months, but returned to action at the Stadium of Light as a half-time substitute to net on the hour-mark cancelling out the visitors lead.

Barry Robson had put Boro in front on 16 minutes as the Championship side looked to send their Premier League opponents out of The Cup, but in the end both sides went into the hat for the Fifth Round draw.

A hamstring strain kept Sunderland skipper Lee Cattermole out against his old side but the Black Cats fortunes have been transformed in recent weeks since the arrival of Martin O'Neill, and his side started the match as heavy favourites.

Boro boss Tony Mowbray handed a first start to recent signing Lukas Jutkiewicz as he plotted the downfall of their opponents

Sebastian Larsson had the first chance of the game for Sunderland, but he headed Stephane Sessegnon's cross high and wide. Two minutes later Sessegnon won his side a free kick just outside the right of the box. David Vaughan stepped up and curled an in-swinging effort just over the bar.

Despite this pressure, it was ‘Boro who were to take the lead thanks to a sublime strike from Robson.

Under pressure from Marvin Emnes, Black Cats defender John O'Shea managed to head clear at the second attempt, but the ball fell perfectly for Robson to strike a left foot volley past the 'keeper and inside the far post.

Buoyed on by their lead, the Teessiders looked in control and soon created another chance, this time Emnes firing wide from a long range effort. Craig Gardner then came close for Sunderland, forcing a save from Danny Coyne moments before he did find the net.

Gardner controlled a cross from the left 12 yards from goal, skipped past the defence before turning and hitting a low drive past Coyne and into the net.

The crowd erupted, but the referee spotted the raised flag of his assistant, and after consultation the goal was ruled out, Connor Wickham adjudged to have been offside.

As the half came to a close, the visitor's should have doubled their lead. The impressive Faris Haroun strode forward towards to area and he fed the ball to Jutkiewicz. The striker saw his drive saved by Simon Mignolet, with Haroun slicing the rebound straight back to Jutkiewicz, but he fired wide of the post.

O'Neill introduced Campbell at half time, with the striker replacing Wickham for a long-awaited return and he was to come back with a bang and keep his time in The Cup.

With 59 minutes played, the Sunderland defence cleared a Boro corner and the ball dropped for Robson on the half way line. The Scotland international's attempted pass was cut out by James McClean, who drove forward towards goal before squaring the ball to his right into the path of Campbell who finished with his right to mark a memorable comeback.

Spurred on by the noise in the stadium, Sunderland tried to raise the pressure on the Middlesbrough defence that was to suffer a blow on 80 minutes when 'keeper Coyne was forced off through injury, with teenager Connor Ripley replacing him.

With the seconds ticking away, Sunderland were trying their hardest to break through the fantastic defence of Middlesbrough, but their efforts were in vain as the Teessiders deservedly held on for a replay in what promises to be another sizzling game at the Riverside in nine days’ time.

 

[NEMO]

Arsenal manager still enchanted by The FA Cup.


Arsene Wenger still holds The FA Cup in the highest esteem and would love the chance to win the tournament for the fifth time this season.

Ten-times FA Cup winners Arsenal will be hoping to end a two-game losing streak to book another appearance in the Fifth Round of the world's oldest cup competition.

Arsenal's last win in any competition came in the previous round when they beat Leeds 1-0 with a trade mark strike from returning Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

In the wake of last Sunday's 2-1 home defeat against Manchester United in the Premier League, Arsenal remain 18 points behind leaders Manchester City.

With a league title challenge now looking highly unlikely, The FA Cup and Champions League represent Arsenal's best chance of breaking a trophy drought which has now lasted nearly seven years.

Wenger said: "I love The FA Cup, I think it's a top-level competition and I will always fight to win it. I won it four times and lost one Final. I always try to win every single competition.

"If you look at my record you will see The FA Cup is important for me. You look at the record of all the other teams, I think our record is better than all of them over the past 15 years. Even last year we went for four trophies. How many teams go for four trophies this season?

"I think we always try to go for everything and for a long time last year we went for trophies late in the season, and we stilll try to do the same and try to win The FA Cup."

Arsenal's opponents this Sunday are seven-times FA Cup winners Aston Villa who have only lost two of their 11 away games in the league all season.

The trip to the Emirates is unlikely to hold much fear for Villa - they have lost only one of their five previous games there.

Wenger is conscious of the danger posed by Aston Villa: "If you look at Villa's team sheet they are a very good side, they can especially produce good results away from home because they are dangerous on counter-attacks. We are taking this game with complete focus."

To add spice to the encounter, Aston Villa are currently managed by Alex McLeish, the man who masterminded Birmingham City's 2-1 victory over Arsenal in last season's League Cup Final.

Wenger revealed that Henry could be in the squad to face Aston Villa on Sunday, along with midfielders Mikel Arteta, Francois Coquelin and defender Bacary Sagna.

However, Jack Wilshere's injury nightmare continues. The 20-year-old England and Arsenal midfielder has not played since England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Switzerland in June last year.

Wenger explained that Wilshere has suffered another setback in his recovery from an ankle injury sustained in pre-season: "He has pain again in his ankle, and he has done nothing special. Just pain, so we stopped him training straight away. ... He is seeing a specialist today ... as soon as I know more we will let you know. I can't give you any [timescale] because I could be completely wrong."

 

[NEMO]

Deflected Will Buckley strike knocks Newcastle out of FA Cup.


Brighton & Hove Albion advanced to the Fifth Round of The FA Cup with Budweiser for the second season running, having outfought Newcastle in a 1-0 victory at the Amex Stadium.

Alan Pardew’s men were made to pay for Leon Best not taking two good first-half chances and a third in the second half as Brighton’s Will Buckley took centre stage for the Seagulls and scored on 76 minutes via a deflection off Newcastle defender Mike Williamson.

An uneventful first half brought about very few chances with both teams reluctant to take the game to their opponent.

Newcastle edged the possession and from that it presented Best with what turned out to be the away side's clearest opportunity. The first, a ball from ex-Lille midfielder Yohan Cabaye played over the Brighton defence to the on-running striker, only for Best to skew his shot wide of the post. Then a deep cross from defender Danny Simpson into the penalty area was headed back into the six-yard box by Shola Ameobi only for the Best to nod wastefully over.

While Brighton looked comfortable on the ball, they caused the Newcastle backline very few problems, even in the absence of their influential centre back Fabricio Coloccini. Right midfielder Buckley created Brighton’s best moves and caused Newcastle's Italian left-back Davide Santon some concern.

But the north-east side men came out into the second half with some much needed tempo. Things sparked into action when Ameobi turned his defender well to lay the ball off to Best who had drifted in from the left wing. The striker timed his run well but his low shot from just inside the box was well saved by Brighton 'keeper Peter Brezovan.

Against the run of play, Brighton broke the deadlock through danger man Buckley. A Newcastle corner broke to the midfielder, who raced towards the opponents penalty area where he fired a low shot which deflected off defender Mike Williamson and looped over the helpless Tim Krul.

Best’s missed chances were now looking like they might haunt the Magpies and with the absence of Demba Ba to the African Cup of Nations, the manager was running out of options.

But with seven minutes of normal time remaining, Alan Pardew made a triple substitution in a last throw of the dice. It almost paid dividends as Newcastle pushed for an equaliser and had good grounds for a penalty when Ashley Barnes lunged at a shot from Cabaye in the penalty area and appeared to block it with both hands. Referee Lee Probert waved it away.
But Brighton held on for victory despite four minutes of added time. They will learn their fate for the Fifth Round tomorrow afternoon where they will be one of two Sussex teams left in the last 16.

 

[TXT]

Keputusan Semasa

66' Arsenal 3 - 2 Aston Villa

33' [0 - 1] R. Dunne
45' [0 - 2] D. Bent
54' [1 - 2] R.v. Persie (pen.)
57' [2 - 2] T. Walcott
61' [3 - 2] R.v. Persie (pen.)

 

[NEMO]

A round-up of today's Fourth Round games, including a shock at Hull City.

FA Cup experts Crawley Town produced the upset of the day as they beat Hull 1-0 at the KC Stadium.

Steve Evans’ side captured the imagination last season with a swash-buckling run to the Fifth Round where theynarrowly lost to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

And the League Two side have reached that stage for the second season running by beating their Championship opponents thanks to a 57th-minute goal from the prolific Matt Tubbs.

But The FA Cup journey is over for Crawley’s fellow League Two high-flyers Swindon Town who lost 2-0 at Leicester.

Jermaine Beckford, who scored ahat-trick against Nottingham Forest in the Third Round, continued his fine FA Cup form with both goals at the King Power Stadium to put Paolo Di Canio's Swindon out.

There was no slip up for Stoke in their difficult trip to Championship Derby. This had been ear-marked as a potential banana skin for Tony Pulis’ side but Cameron Jerome settled the nerves after five minutes before Roberth Huth wrapped up victory nine minutes from time.

Birmingham were the biggest winners on Saturday, thrashing League One Sheffield United 4-0 at Bramall Lane.

Nathan Redmond, only 17, opened the scoring with a fierce strike after 18 minutes and Adam Rooney doubled their advantage seven minutes before the interval.

Wade Elliot ended any hopes of a second-half come-back with Birmingham’s third just before the hour-mark before Rooney completed the rout with his second 12 minutes from time.

United’s same-city rivals Sheffield Wednesday face a replay following their 1-1 draw at Blackpool while Millwall and Southampton also face a replay after playing out a 1-1 draw at The Den.

Stevenage are also into the hat for Sunday's draw after beating Notts County at Broadhall Way thanks to an own goal from Magpies defender Damion Stewart.

In the all-Premier League ties which kicked off at 3pm on Saturday, struggling Bolton edged into Round Five at the expense of in-form Swansea with a 2-1 win. And Norwich carried their eye-catching League form into the Cup by producing the same result away at West Brom.

 

[NEMO]

Darius Henderson earns Millwall a replay against Southampton.


Darius Henderson and Rickie Lambert share many similarities.

Both are robust swash-buckling centre forwards adept at leading the line who both plunder their fair share of goals. It is their subtle technical qualities that are sometimes forgotten when the plaudits are distributed. If there were any doubts on this front they were eradicated at The Den.

With time in short supply, Millwall’s marksman produced a moment of decisiveness to salvage a deserved draw. Controlling a looping cross from the left, the in-form front man, held off the close attentions of defender Dan Harding dispatching a hooked volley past Bartosz Bialkowski in the Saints’ goal.

Henderson is currently in the midst of an Indian summer. The forward had scored two hat-tricks in the last five days before adding his 100th career goal here. A replay was the least Kenny Jacket’s Lions’ deserved. Their unrelenting effort and endeavor contributing to a pulsating FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round tie.

Lambert, however, struck first in the battle of the sharpshooters. The opener was clinical in both design and dispatch but also against the tide of momentum. Saints’ young midfield tyro, Ben Reeves, slipped a ball into the path of onrushing full-back Dan Harding. His cross was expertly headed beyond David Forde in the Millwall goal by Lambert. It was the marksman’s 18th goal of a profitable campaign and a demonstration of the forward’s talents. Until then the south coast side had admired the attacking third from afar.

Occupying opposite ends of the Championship table, it would have been understandable if these two sides’ arrived with a sense of distraction. Nigel Adkins side are in touching distance of West Ham’s perch at the division’s summit, whereas the Lions proximity to the drop-zone affords few moments for comfort. The pause from the travails of the League campaign proved liberating in a enthralling FA Cup tie.

The Lions’ snarled into the opening exchanges. Moving the ball quickly into wide areas the visitors were under no illusions of the proceeding task. Beneficiaries of the home-side’s willingness to move the ball quickly into wide areas, wingers Liam Feeney and James Henry ensured an uncomfortable introduction for the Saints’ raft of incumbents – they made seven changes from their last game.

Millwall's two wide men should have seen Kenny Jacket’s side ahead inside two minutes. Henderson expertly steered James Henry’s looping right wing cross into the path of Feeney, whose low swerving drive arced away from Southampton goalkeeper Bialkowski’s left- hand to rattle the post.

Feeney’s scampering feet repeatedly beguiled Saints’ backline. Millwall will rue their early profligacy. On-loan striker Harry Kane lacked the dexterity to successfully redirect James Henry’s beguiling corner before Saints’ goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski was forced to react quickly to avert Henderson’s volley after the striker had barged through the visitors’ backline.

The narrative remained consistent for large durations of the second period with the game played almost exclusively in the Saints’ penalty box. Millwall propelled a succession of corners into the Saints’ penalty box but to no avail; defender Darren Ward heading over with the goal gaping.

First-half protagonists Liam Feeney and Liam Trotter were again synonymous with the Lions’ most progressive passages of play in the second period; it was only Dan Harding’s block at the Saints’ front post that prevented Feeney adorning the scoresheet.

For all Millwall’s effort Saints’ substitute Lee Holmes had two opportunities in the final stages to put Nigel Adkins’ men into the draw for the Fifth Round. Firstly the wide man forced Forde into a smart save, before he inexplicably headed wide from a matter of yards.

The two Championship sides will do battle again in the replay a week on Tuesday. Henderson and Lambert will be gunning for each once more.

 

[NEMO]

KUYT LEAVES IT LATE TO OUST UNITED

Dirk Kuyt emerged from the bench to fire Liverpool into The FA Cup with Budweiser Fifth Round at the expense of their fierce rivals Manchester United.

With less than three minutes left on the clock, the Dutchman raced onto Andy Carroll’s flick on and planted an emphatic strike past David De Gea at his near post.

The north-west rivals had looked set for a replay after Daniel Agger and Ji-Sung Park had traded first-half goals. But as United sat back late on, Kuyt was on hand to settle the tie at the first time of asking.

The visitors to Anfield were without two of their most potent goal threats in Wayne Rooney and Nani who both missed out through injury. But it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s side who controlled the early exchanges and almost opened the scoring through Antonio Valencia who struck the post with a 16th-minute effort.

But, after 21 minutes, Liverpool took the lead through Agger. The Danish defender took advantage of some hesitancy from visiting goalkeeper De Gea to nod Kenny Dalglish’s side ahead. There were suggestions that the Spanish 'keeper was struggling with a side injury and the manager sent Anders Lindegaard to warm up on the sidelines.

But it was his opposite number Pepe Reina who was next to pick the ball out of his net. It was Park who finished well, but he owed a lot to Rafael who had outmuscled Jose Enrique and then cut the ball back for him to finish with a crisp, low effort.

The strike ensured the two sides were level at Mark Halsey’s half-time whistle, and it was the least the visitors deserved for a decent first-half performance.

However, they, and their hosts, struggled to create much in a fiercely-competitive second half and the prospect of an Old Trafford replay was looming large.

But up-stepped Kuyt, who had replaced Jamie Carragher after 63 minutes, to make it 2-1 in front of the Kop.

Carroll climbed highest to flick on Reina's long goal kick and Kuyt, who has struggled in front of goal all season, took the chance like a striker brimming with confidence, hammering fiercely past De Gea.

And he went within inches of a second shortly afterwards when Carroll’s back-post header came back off the woodwork but his follow-up trickled just wide of the post.

The miss mattered little, though, as Liverpool held on for the victory.

 

[NEMO]

MATA ON THE MARK


Chelsea’s name will be in the hat for The FA Cup Fifth Round draw on Sunday, after they got Saturday’s action underway with a win against west London rivals Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

With the build-up to the match shrouded in talk about the alleged events which took place the last time these two sides met here in the Premier League, it often seemed as though all eyes were elsewhere at times with Chelsea skipper John Terry receiving a fiery reception from the home fans right from the first moment he emerged for the warm-up until his departure back into the tunnel at full-time.

Inbetween that, the England captain was unphased throughout the game, leading his team through an often scrappy affair which was in many ways typical of a local derby.

Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas will be happy with his team’s progress though, and whilst they shaded the game overall, they had to rely on a hotly-disputed penalty from the game’s outstanding player Juan Mata in order to see off Mark Hughes’ outfit.

It was a fairly frenetic start to the game, the atmosphere in the ground no doubt aiding that, and it was Paddy Kenny who made the first real save of the game in the 12th minute, when Chelsea broke away from a Rangers free-kick at the other end. With the ball worked quickly through to Mata, his low left-footer was parried to safety by Kenny.

With 30 minutes gone, there was still little between the teams and both goalkeepers had remained relatively under-used with Raul Meireles’ dipping volley just over the bar being one of the few noteworthy efforts.

In response, Rangers’ best effort in the first half came ten minutes before the break when Tommy Smith picked out Shaun Wright-Phillips in space on the left but after cutting inside Branislav Ivanovic, he fired high and wide of the target.

Chelsea emerged for the second half with a little more purpose in their play, with Mata forcing another save from Kenny through a thumping shot straight at him, before Fernando Torres put two players on the floor with a sharp turn in the box to set up Daniel Sturridge, but his power-driver went just over the bar.

Mata didn’t have to wait much longer to beat Kenny though, as he put his side in the lead just after the hour mark from the penalty spot. It looked a harsh decision on Rangers, as referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after Sturridge tumbled under Clint Hill’s challenge whilst trying to meet Malouda’s cross from the left. The Spaniard didn’t let that distract him though, sending Kenny the wrong way and clipping a shot into the corner.

With seven minutes of added time following lengthy treatment to Chelsea midfielder Ramires, Rangers finally found some momentum in the latter stages, with Luke Young forcing Petr Cech into a smart save at full stretch with his low angled shot but their hopes of earning a replay disappeared when Wright-Phillips fired the rebound well over the bar.

For Chelsea though, they will head on into the Fifth Round and no doubt be keen to continue their impressive FA Cup record of recent years.

 

[TXT]

FuLL Time ResuLT

FT Sunderland 1-1 Middlesbrough
FT Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Chelsea
FT Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
FT Blackpool 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
FT Bolton Wanderers 2-1
FT Derby County 0-2 Stoke City
FT Hull City 0-1 Crawley Town
FT Leicester City 2-0 Swindon Town
FT Millwall 1-1 Southampton
FT Sheffield United 0-4 Birmingham
FT Stevenage 1-0 Notts County
FT West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Norwich City
FT Brighton 1-0 Newcastle United
FT Watford 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
FT Everton 2-1 Fulham

 

[PainKiller]

next game
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Sheffield Wed v Blackpool, R4R, 19:45
Southampton v Millwall, R4R, 19:45

Saturday, 18 February 2012
Chelsea v Birmingham, R5, 15:00
Crawley Town v Stoke, R5, 15:00
Everton v Blackpool/Sheff Wed, R5, 15:00
Liverpool v Brighton, R5, 15:00
Millwall/Southampton v Bolton, R5, 15:00
Norwich v Leicester, R5, 15:00
Stevenage v Tottenham, R5, 15:00
Sunderland/Middlesbrough v Arsenal/Aston Villa, R5, 15:00