Manchester United's millionaires were embarrassed Saturday, held to a 0-0 draw against Exeter in the third round of the FA Cup. Exeter is ranked 100 places below the Red Devils in the hierarchy of English soccer.
It was a bad day for the northern city of Manchester as fellow Premier League side Manchester City was ousted from the cup by Oldham 1-0.
PHOTO: AP
"I'll take a replay," Manchester United manager said Alex Ferguson, whose team is the defending FA Cup champion. "I'm not happy to get a replay, but we're still in the cup. FA Cup football is about shocks."
Four Premier League sides were eliminated from soccer's oldest knockout competition -- all beaten by lower division teams. Three other Premier League teams were held to draws -- again by lower-ranked opposition -- and face replays later this month.
Ten Premier League side gained victories.
Aston Villa fell 3-1 at Sheffield United, Crystal Palace lost 2-1 at Sunderland.
Norwich went down 1-0 at West Ham. Blackburn drew 1-1 at Cardiff and Fulham played a 1-1 tie at Watford.
Chelsea 3, Scunthorpe 1
Premier League leader Chelsea got a scare, falling behind Scunthorpe after only eight minutes on a goal from Paul Hayes. Mateja Kezman equalized in the 26th and Chelsea went up 2-1 on a 58th-minute own goal by Andy Crosby.
Iceland international Eidur Gudjohnsen wrapped up the scoring with a goal in the 86th.
Hibernian and Kilmarnock picked up victories, advancing to the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday.
Hibernian won 2-0 at home against Dundee, and Kilmarnock also won 2-0 at home playing Motherwell.
Steven Whittaker and Sam Marrow scored second-half goals from Hibernian.
Gary McDonald and Kris Boyd scored first-half goals to seal the victory for Kilmarnock.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Aaron Civale got a little wild in the right-hander’s first start for the Chicago White Sox two days after he was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers. Civale on Sunday walked four of the first seven hitters he faced in a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. The 30-year-old finished with four walks, one off his career high, while allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. He threw 65 strikes and 39 balls. Chicago trailed 2-1 when he was replaced by Dan Altavilla to start the sixth. “Not the cleanest,” Civale said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week. First couple
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down