United force replay in 91st minute
Leading 2-1 with 90 minutes on the clock, Big Sam Allardyce must have thought that he had taken the Hammers to the 4th round of the FA Cup at the expense of the premier club in the land, but history told me that United would score in the four minutes of optional time – they win more matches in referee’s optional time than any other club and it didn’t take more than a minute for RVP to make that come true and burst the West Ham bubble.
Robin van Persie’s goal came as a result of an incredible long pass from left flank by the evergreen Ryan Giggs, who found him just outside the area, RVP made no mistake from about 12 metres and they had a replay at Old Trafford after Joe Cole had given his old boss Brendan Rodgers a clear middle finger, for letting him go on a free transfer, by setting up both Hammers’ goals in vintage Joe Cole style.
The money that Chelsea splashed out on Newcastle striker Demba Ba proved worthwile as he scored twice as Chelsea reacted to their shock midweek loss to QPR with a 5-1 win at Southampton.
Five-time winners Manchester City left Mario Balotelli on the bench following his public bust-up with Roberto Mancini, but a strong starting XI breezed past Watford 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Balotelli sat on the bench next to Scott Sinclair – the man he fouled in training to spark the fracas, and he saw Tevez open the scoring in the 25th minute with a drilled free-kick. Barry then headed home James Milner’s cross on the stroke of the interval before Lopes added a third.
Tottenham left the in-form Aaron Lennon among the substitutes as they thrashed Coventry 3-0. Andre Villas-Boas is looking for his first trophy in English football and will lead his team into the fourth round thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey(2) and Gareth Bale.
Newcastle’s nightmare season continued on Saturday as Brighton delivered the first giant-killing act of the FA Cup third round, beating the Magpies 2-0 on home soil.
Aston Villa, who are already in the Capital One Cup semi-finals, began their bid for a dual cup assault with a 2-1 win at home to Championship strugglers Ipswich Town.
Other teams to reach round four included Leicester, Derby, Blackburn, Aldershot, Huddersfield, Millwall, Barnsley and Sheffield United. — Football reporter, SportsCentral