Beefy Bites: Manchester United and Arsenal go at it and Tottenham squeak past Tamworth
A blockbuster Third Round weekend served up the best of the FA Cup and highlighted its problems
With no Premier League or Championship action this weekend, the focus in England has been on knock-out football.
The FA Cup is underappreciated from the Third Round onwards these days but the luck of the draw worked out rather well for advocates of Ol’ Big Ears. Genuine upsets are few and far between by definition but Third Round weekend delivered plenty to enjoy.
While a lot of games were predictably one-sided, many were close. One of them in particular was not expected to be so. All in all, a win for tradition in the face of scandalous scheduling and deep-rooted disparity.
Happy birthday Aston Villa
One of Friday night’s FA Cup matches took place at Villa Park, where Aston Villa marked their 150th anniversary with gusto. The most visible symbol of the occasion was a special limited edition kit inspired by the black shirt and white shorts they used for a few of their early years.
The football gods were likely displeased, of course, and Villa’s performance for the first hour and more left an awful lot to be desired. Opponents West Ham United took the lead early through Lucas Paquetá, their first scorer under new manager Graham Potter. Villa laboured. Eventually a big slice of luck got them level.
Villa had previously been denied a corner but the decision to award them the one from which they equalised was baffling. Amadou Onana prodded in a loose ball to make it 1-1 before Morgan Rogers tucked in the winner to put the Villans into the Fourth Round. Finally.
Ten Red Devils dump out the Arsenal
After an evenly matched and slightly ill-tempered first half that never quite rose to a simmer, Manchester United took the lead six minutes into the second half of an entertaining FA Cup tie at Arsenal.
Alejandro Garnacho put on the afterburners and slowed down in time to pick out Bruno Fernandes, who moaned up a storm in the first half but thundered in a cracking opener.
A stupid red card for Diogo Dalot gave the Gunners a way back into the game and they equalised immediately, Gabriel finding the net with a swinger from the resulting free kick after United failed to clear.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the 69th minute and it wasn’t very nice for United, who were unhappy about a soft decision as the game finally ignited. Martin Ødegaard failed to make it 2-1 from the spot – United goalkeeper Altay Bayındır was in the way, United defended superbly throughout extra time and a penalty shoot-out was required.
United won it. That’s all that really matters after all that. The holders go on.
Leeds pick their moment
One of the more overlooked ties to come out of the FA Cup Third Round draw was Harrogate Town of League Two visiting Championship leaders Leeds United. The teams are a smidge over 20 miles apart by road but couldn’t be farther apart in the game.
The Sulphurites are at their historical peak. I’ve seen them play at home this season and there’s an awful lot to like. Daniel Storey was there too, having the time of his life. They gave a good account of themselves but were unable to reach the Fourth Round for the first time.
After digging in hard for the first half of a gripping tie, Harrogate put Leeds through their paces in the second half. In the end, a moment of incisiveness paid off on the Leeds left. A chipped cross found Largie Ramazani unmarked and he made sure his header gave goalkeeper James Belshaw no chance.
Leeds finally caught Harrogate out just once and it was enough. The visitors rallied again after the goal. Corners and long throw-ins from Ellis Sims were a threat but Leeds kept them largely at arm’s length to book a place in the next round.
Tamworth give Spurs a scare
On 2nd December, National League side Tamworth were drawn at home to Tottenham Hotspur. On 3rd December, I went to the Lamb to watch Coventry Sphinx. Tamworth won 2-0 that night and four of the players who appeared were in the starting line-up on 12th January and took Spurs to extra time in the FA Cup Third Round.
It took Tottenham 100 minutes plus stoppage time to score. It was a scrappy goal enabled by a clever free kick and a mis-hit Dominic Solanke shot five minutes from the end of the first period of extra time. But Spurs scraping through – 3-0 in the end – wasn’t the real story in Staffordshire.
Jaz Singh was brilliant. Dan Creaney was brilliant. Tom Tonks was brilliant. Beck-Ray Enoru was brilliant. Tottenham’s utter lack of quality attracted most of the matchday attention but the Lambs played out of their skins. Just wonderful. They should have been looking forward to a replay in North London with a trip to Villa on the line.
Saddlers spank Tranmere to stride towards promotion
League Two leaders Walsall worked their arses off to get Saturday’s game against Tranmere Rovers on despite freezing conditions and they were rewarded handsomely with a 5-1 home win that left them 13 points clear at full time.
The Saddlers were dominant throughout. Tranmere’s goal to make it 2-1 was a shock to the system after the visitors had been reduced to ten men by the dismissal of Sim Finley in the first half, but Jamille Matt’s second of the game – his 100th goal in the EFL – made the game safe early in the second period.
Jamie Jellis and Nathan Lowe then added to Matt’s double and a first goal of the season from Ryan Stirk, which had made it 2-0 before Finley’s sending off in a pretty spicy encounter. 19-year-old Stoke City loan striker Lowe is League Two’s top scorer with 15 goals this season.
Incidentally, this week’s main issue of the newsletter will be about Walsall’s charge towards League One. Subscribe here to read it first thing tomorrow.
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