FA Cup Results 23rd January Part 2

Derby County 1-0 Doncaster Rovers
Robbie Savage set up the only goal as Derby knocked the technically high-flying Doncaster out of the Cup. High-flying Doncaster? Mad. Brian Stock completed his first full match since returning from injury – and came close to scoring. Gareth Roberts could have got an assist if his team-mates had responded to his cross quicker and John Oster could have scored if he hadn’t generously decided to pass and let someone else score. Gareth and John were also on the pitch the whole time although John perhaps wished he was somewhere else when Robbie dispossessed him and Derby went on to score.

Notts County 2-2 Wigan Athletic
Jason Koumas was again left out of the squad and Wigan suffered, going 2-0 down before they finally managed to get two goals and force a replay. I like to think it’s not a coincidence that they struggled without Jason but unfortunately it probably is. If you don’t want him Wigan, just sell him to Cardiff. They need someone who can replace Joe Ledley and Jason needs a club who appreciates him.
Well done Notts County!

Preston North End 0-2 Chelsea
Not a surprise really. Preston’s Paul Parry is injured after all and Chelsea are, well they’re not the worst team in the world. But at least Darren Ferguson got further in the Cup than his dad did. But while Paul might not have played, every Hereford United fan bar one voted him into the Team of the Decade.

Reading 1-0 Burnley
Reading have done it again. Knocking Burnley out isn’t as impressive as knocking Liverpool out but two giant-killings in a row is not something every team can achieve. Simon Church played the first 64 minutes and caused a lot of trouble for Burnley, coming close to opening the scoring as Reading again proved to be the stuff of Premier League teams’ nightmares.

Southampton 2-1 Ipswich Town
As Ipswich are still near the bottom of the Championship and Southampton would be near the top of League One if they weren’t so naughty, this certainly wasn’t as big a surprise as some of the other giant-killings. But it’s a giant-killing nevertheless and although Lloyd James did concede a free kick in a dangerous area, it didn’t prove costly and League One will be represented in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Leeds United
Why do people announce the Man of the Match when the game is still going on? What’s the point of that? It’s Man of the Match, not Man of the First Seventy Minutes of the Match or whenever it was they announced it.
Not that I’m saying Gareth Bale didn’t deserve to be Man of the Match. He was brilliant both in defence and attack, he had a big role to play in both the moves that led to Tottenham’s goals and I’m sure at least one of his free kicks would have gone in if the goalkeeper hadn’t happened to be in the right place at the right time. He nearly scored too. I don’t know why Robbie Keane had such a go at him though, Robbie knows all about nearly scoring so he should have had more sympathy.
But as soon as you say someone’s doing really well, you jinx it don’t you? And Gareth’s had quite enough to do with jinxes already. Announce Man of the Match at the end instead, it won’t take a minute.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Crystal Palace
This isn’t the worst result in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Oh no. But it was a bit of a shame. Palace have been going really well lately but it’s just typical that when Wayne Hennessey finally gets a game in goal and Sam Vokes is getting his first start of the season, they go and let in two goals from a Championship side. But Neville Southall thinks Wayne will get back into Wolves’ side and becomes one of the best goalkeepers in the world - and he should know – and even Mick McCarthy said Sam was excellent. Wayne and Sam – just pretend Crystal Palace are Scotland and you should do fine. And maybe you’ll have Dave Edwards to help you by then.