Michael Owen and Javier Hernandez scored second-half goals as Manchester United fought back to beat League One Southampton 2-1 in their FA Cup fourth-round tie at St Mary’s on Saturday.
The 11-times winners played a weakened side and looked in trouble after Richard Chaplow blasted home an unstoppable shot in the last minute of the first half, but United finished strongly to advance to yesterday’s fifth-round draw.
Holders Chelsea needed a late equalizer by Salomon Kalou to snatch a 1-1 draw at Everton, while Crawley Town became the first minor league team since 1994 to reach the last 16 when they beat League Two Torquay 1-0 away despite having two penalties saved.
PHOTO: AFP
Matthew Tubbs got the only goal late in the first half for Crawley, who had already knocked out league clubs Swindon Town and Derby County.
Tubbs was one of the Crawley players to have a penalty saved by Scott Bevan in a match in which both sides had a man sent off.
In two more of the weekend’s five all-Premier League ties, Aston Villa beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1 and Bolton Wanderers drew 0-0 at home with Wigan Athletic.
United manager Alex Ferguson gave goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard his debut, opted for a reserve back four, and left Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and Ryan Giggs on the bench.
It played into Southampton’s hands, and after Chaplow unleashed a screaming shot into the top corner, the home fans were dreaming of an upset.
Yet United, with Giggs and Nani introduced for the last half-hour, improved and leveled after 65 minutes from an Owen header.
Ten minutes later Giggs slid a pass perfectly into the path of Mexican striker Hernandez, who kept his cool as he stumbled to the ground to roll the ball under Southampton goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski and inside the post.
Chelsea played a full-strength team, but looked flat all day and only good goalkeeping by Petr Cech kept them in the game.
Everton, unbeaten against them in five league games, took control after 62 minutes when Louis Saha powerfully headed in a corner.
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti reacted by sending on Kalou in the 70th minute, and five minutes later the Ivorian finished off a swift counter-attack for the equalizer.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
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