FA Cup fourth round: Spurs survive, Hammers exit as Iheanacho, Ndidi score in Foxes’ big win

Abuja – Harry Kane came to Tottenham Hotspur’s rescue after they were just minutes away from a stunning English FA Cup defeat away to lowly Newport County on Saturday. Fourth-tier Newport, one of several Welsh clubs who play in English domestic football, put themselves in sight of one of the all-time great upsets against eight-time FA Cup winners Tottenham. Iheanacho It was all thanks to Padraig Amond’s first-half goal. But eight minutes from time, in-form England striker Kane equalised. This was when, after Spurs had won a corner kick, he tapped in from close range following an excellent flick-on from South Korean Son Heung-Min. A 1-1 scoreline was how it finished as League Two Newport survived four minutes of injury-time to hold out for a lucrative replay at Wembley, Spurs’ temporary home. Newport, a massive 72 places behind a Spurs side who are fifth in the Premier League, sparked delirious scenes at Rodney Parade when Amond gave them a 38th-minute lead. Ben Tozer’s long throw into the box caused consternation in Spurs’ defence and Robbie Willmott’s clip across to the back post was nodded in by Amond. It seemed Rodney Parade, where Newport Rugby Club beat giants New Zealand and South Africa in the 1960s, was about to play host to another great sporting upset. But with County in sight of the last 16, boyhood Spurs fan Kane spared his side from a damaging defeat. Earlier, West Ham manager David Moyes labelled Arthur Masuaku “despicable” after the midfielder was sent off for spitting in a 2-0 defeat by Wigan. Premier League West Ham were reduced to 10 men four minutes into the second half when Masuaku saw red for spitting at third-tier Wigan’s Nick Powell. They were then already 1-0 down to the first of two goals from Will Grigg, “It was despicable,” said Moyes. “If you do that, then you’re going to get the punishment in any walk of life. “I just asked him, did he spit and he said, ‘Yes’.” Wigan have slumped down English football’s ladder since winning the FA Cup in 2013, but the League One leaders rekindled memories of that run to Wembley. West Ham were without several injured first-choice players and an upset always looked on the cards. It took Northern Ireland striker Grigg just seven minutes to score his fifth goal in as many Cup ties this season with a header beyond England goalkeeper Joe Hart. Grigg made it 2-0 from the penalty kick spot in the 62nd minute after Reece Burke’s handball in the box. “From start to finish we were the best side,” Grigg told reporters. Elsewhere, struggling Premier League sides Swansea and Huddersfield played out 1-1 draws with lower-division Notts County and Birmingham City respectively. The deadlock led to unwanted replay matches for teams whose priority is remaining in the top flight. Premier League Brighton were also on the verge of a replay until Glenn Murray’s 90th-minute winner sunk Championship side Middlesbrough 1-0. Saturday’s early kick-off saw Fousseni Diabate score twice on his Leicester debut as the Premier League club won 5-1 at Peterborough. Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho also scored twice for the Foxes, with Wilfred Ndidi making it 5-1 in stoppage-time. Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup run ended just one round after they knocked out holders Arsenal courtesy of a 2-1 defeat by Championship rivals Hull. Southampton beat Watford 1-0 as Jack Stephens marked his 24th birthday with a goal to ensure Javi Gracia’s reign as Hornets manager started with a defeat. Chelsea face Newcastle in another all top-flight clash on Sunday, while Premier League leaders Manchester City continue their bid for an unprecedented ‘quadruple’ away to second-tier Cardiff. Manchester United had made it through to the fourth round on Friday, with new signing Alexis Sanchez impressing on debut in a 4-0 win away to lowly Yeovil Town.(NAN) VO/OLAL

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Horror: Governor’s aide crushes own daughter

Image
Abdullahi Darma and daughter, Aisha Mr. Abdullahi Darma, Governor Aminu Masari’s Special Assistant on Religious Affairs, is reported to have accidentally crushed his daughter, Aisha, with his car. Punch reported that the incident occurred at Darma’s Katsina house while he was reversing the vehicle. The governor’s aide did not know that the toddler was behind the car. “The car ran over the girl and she died on the spot,” punch said. Darma also posted news of the tragic incident on Facebook, which elicited an outpouring of condolences from sympathisers and associates, many of who also besieged his residence to commiserate with him. “A few minutes ago, I got tested by God. I was reversing my car when I crushed my daughter mistakenly and she died,” he said in Hausa in the Facebook post. Darma was brief in his response on Sunday when our correspondent sought to know how the accident occurred. He described it as “an act of God.” The story is already agog in social media, especially twitt
Read more

First European Contact With Nigeria Was 1485 By The Great Benin Empire: Southern Nigeria

The first European travelers to reach Benin were Portuguese explorers in about 1485. A strong mercantile relationship developed, with the Edo trading tropical products such as ivory, peppers and palm oil with the Portuguese for European goods such as manila and guns. In the early 16th century, the Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon, and the king of Portugal sent Christian missionaries to Benin City. Some residents of Benin City could still speak a pidgin Portuguese in the late 19th century. The first English expedition to Benin was in 1553, and significant trading developed between England and Benin based on the export of ivory, palm oil and pepper. Visitors in the 16th and 17th centuries brought back to Europe tales of "the Great Benin", a fabulous city of noble buildings, ruled over by a powerful king. However, the Oba began to suspect Britain of larger colony designs and ceased communications with the British until the British Expedition in 1896-97 which resulted in a weakne
Read more

2019: Why north cannot produce consensus candidate – Junaid Mohammed

Image
How time flies. In the build up to the 2015 elections, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, a leading northern politician, was one of those who campaigned vigorously for the election of Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president. Strangely, barely three years into Buhari’s presidency, Junaid is now leading the pack to stop Buhari from going for a second term, accusing him of promoting corruption and nepotism. Mohammed: Buhari has failed and should not be voted again In an interview with Saturday Vanguard, he said Buhari should go home and rest instead of thinking of a second term, having failed Nigerians woefully during his first term which is yet to end Excerpts: You must have lifted for joy when both former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida wrote statements on why President Buhari should not be considered for a second term To be honest, none of the two letters came to me as a surprise. They merely reinforced what I have been saying in the last two or three years ago. I have been sho
Read more