For 45 minutes Sunday, tiny Yeading FC thought it could cause one of the greatest FA Cup shocks in history. But after 51 minutes, the part-timers couldn't hold off the professional might of Newcastle any longer and lost 2-0.
Craig Bellamy and Shola Ameobi scored for the Magpies.
PHOTO: AP
In Sunday's other match, Arsenal recovered from 1-0 down against Football League Championship side Stoke to win 2-1 at Highbury.
It took six matches for Yeading to reach the third round of the FA Cup, the world's oldest knockout competition open to all English soccer clubs. When it drew Newcastle, ranked six leagues above, it was the biggest gap between teams ever in the FA Cup.
Captain David Clarke led out a team that cost nothing and which included painters and decorators, a welfare fraud officer, a delivery driver and a computer analyst.
Newcastle's second-string side was still worth 30 million pounds (US$56 million).
Yeading defied its 20,000-1 odds of winning the tournament for 45 minutes.
At Highbury, the gap wasn't as stark -- Stoke is ranked 31 places below -- but the visitors shocked the Gunners when they took the lead in first-half injury time.
John Hartson scored the winner as Celtic beat Old Firm rival Rangers 2-1 in a third round match.
Hartson, who this week signed a two-year contact extension, netted in the 77th minute at close range. Chris Sutton scored the opener in the 37th minute through the legs of Rangers goalkeeper Stefan Klos.
Rangers equalized through Fernando Ricksen a minute into the second half, taking advantage of poor Celtic defending.
Celtic is three points clear in the Scottish Premier League.
"I thought we had the better chances in the game and deserved to win it but Rangers were always a threat," Celtic manager Martin O'Neill said.
It was the first match between the two Scottish giants since last November.
FC Barcelona slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Villarreal and its lead in the league was cut to seven points.
Uruguay's Diego Forlan scored twice in the 18th-round match to inflict Barcelona's second loss of the season, and encourage immediate pursuers Real Madrid and Valencia that they can still overtake coach Frank Rijkaard's team in the title race.
Madrid downed crosstown rival Atletico 3-0 earlier in the day, courtesy of two goals by Ronaldo and another by Santiago Solari.
Palermo held defending league champion AC Milan to a goalless draw, dropping Milan four points behind leader Juventus as the Serie A neared its midpoint.
Juve, which saw its lead cut to two by Thursday's draw at Parma, restored its advantage by beating lightly regarded Livorno 4-2 at home on a pair of goals by Mauro German Camorenesi and clinched the so-called "Winter title" with one round remaining.
Juventus increased its point total to 43 points after 18 matches with next weekend's games marking the end of the first half of the season.
Udinese held third place with 34 points by beating Cagliari 2-0 at home while Inter Milan scored three goals in the final two minutes plus injury time to rally for a 3-2 home win over Sampdoria at San Siro. For Inter, which has drawn 12 of its 18 matches, it was its third straight victory and gave it undisputed control of fourth place, 13 points behind Juve
FC Porto drew Rio Ave 1-1 and missed a chance to become the league leader.
Rio Ave's Eric Gaucho scored in the 29th minute but Porto's Luis Fabiano headed an equalizer in the 72nd to leave the club in second place on 30 points, one behind leader Sporting.
Ten police officers were injured after rival fans rioted before a Greek first-division soccer match in central Athens on Sunday. The game between Greek powerhouse Olympiakos Piraeus and Panionios Athens was postponed.
Police said the riots erupted after more than 600 Olympiakos fans stormed the stadium, clashing with Panionios fans and anti-riot police.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two