Old Boys FA Cup Round-Up
Despite Preston falling at the first hurdle against Premier League Liverpool, there was a good number of former Lilywhites involved in this weekend's FA Cup 4th round.
Firstly, at Stamford Bridge, Tommy Miller was part of the Ipswich starting eleven that were unable to cause an upset against star-studded Chelsea. Michael Ballack put the home side ahead before Alex Bruce, son of five time FA Cup winner Steve, equalised after 34 minutes. However, Chelsea were not to be held by another lower league club as Michael Ballack put Chelsea back in front before Frank Lampard made it three from long distance to seal a 3-1 win.
One man who was part of a lower league side that did hold Premiership opposition to a draw was Brian Stock. Stock played the whole of Doncaster Rovers' 0-0 draw with Aston Villa at the Keepmoat Stadium to force a replay.
Dickson Etuhu kept his place in the Fulham starting line-up for the West London club's trip to Kettering. Etuhu was replaced by Danny Murphy on 69 minutes which proved to be a great decision by Roy Hodgson as the former Liverpool midfielder was on hand to put Fulham into a 77th minute lead. Westcarr equalised for the non-league fit with 7 minutes to go but the Premier League side showed their class by netting in the 88th and 89th minute to seal a 4-2 win. Andy Johnson got the third whilst Bobby Zamora, the man who broke Preston hearts in Cardiff back in May 2005, got the fourth.
Pompey were unable to defend their FA Cup crown after being on the receiving end of the upset of the round. Swansea City added weight to the claims that the Welsh outfit were a team in the ascendency by seeing off Tony Adams' Portsmouth with a 2-0 win. David Nugent kept his place in the Portsmouth starting eleven but was substituted at half-time.
David Healy was handed a rare start for Sunderland ahead of the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. Healy thought he had done enough to see his side through to the 5th round but his 65th minute strike was ruled out by referee Lee Probert for offside. Sunderland will travel to Ewood Park for the replay on Wednesday 4th February.
Keeping with the strikers theme, Tamas Priskin was given the nod to lead the Watford attack on Saturday. The Hornets had the visit of Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace to contend with if they wanted to book their place in the 5th round. They did just that by seeing off Palace in a thrilling seven goal encounter. With the score at 4-1 heading into the final 7 minutes, Palace looked dead and buried, but thanks to two goals from Paul Ifill, the finish was not quite so comfortable for Watford gaffer Brendan Rogers.
Graham Alexander was back in his midfield holding role for Burnley as the Clarets travelled to the Hawthorns to take on West Brom. Alexander was on hand to net a 25th minute penalty to give the visitors the lead but thanks to goals from Koren and Kim, the lead was reversed heading into half-time. Just when the Clarets looked to be heading out of another cup competition, Martin Paterson popped up at the far post to score an 89th minute equaliser to force a replay.
Defender Matthew Hill played the full ninety minutes for Wolves' 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on Saturday. Alfonso Alves put 'Boro ahead before Sam Vokes equalised just after the hour mark. However, Dutchman Emnes netted an 83 minute winner to see Gareth Southgate's side book their place in the 5th round.
On Sunday, David Moyes' Everton forced a draw from rivals Liverpool with a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Joleon Lescott put the visitors ahead before an error from Tim Howard allowed Steven Gerrard to equalise just after the restart. Carlo Nash was an unused substitute for the Toffees.