Lowly Stevenage pulled off the giant-killing shock of the FA Cup third round yesterday, upsetting Newcastle 3-1 on a day when other Premier League clubs were sent crashing out.
Stevenage – in the fourth tier of English football and ranked 73 places below the Magpies – advanced to the next round courtesy of a second half Mike Williamson own goal, a long-range Michael Bostwick effort and an injury time strike from Peter Winn.
The Hertfordshire club were only promoted to the Football League last season, 34 years after being founded. They took a deserved lead on 50 minutes, when Stacy Long cut in from the left and fired a shot goalwards only for his shot to take a huge deflection off Williamson to wrongfoot Magpies keeper Tim Krul.
Five minutes later and Stevenage were in dreamland, Bostwick picking up the ball on the edge of the area and lashing a ferocious shot in off the post from 20 yards to spark delirium at Broadhall Way.
Newcastle’s hopes of staging a fightback unravelled in the closing minutes when second half substitute Cheik Tiote was sent off for a two-footed tackle.
Joey Barton threw Newcastle a lifeline with an injury time screamer but Stevenage responded immediately with Winn’s strike.
The result was comfortably the biggest upset on a day when the Wembley dreams of three other Premier League teams – Sunderland, West Brom and Blackpool – bit the dust.
In a match that saw former Manchester United team-mates Steve Bruce and Paul Ince come up against each other at the Stadium of Light, Ince’s Notts County scored a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Craig Westcarr and Lee Hughes.
The Black Cats pulled a goal back with a Darren Bent penalty to ensure a nervous finale but their League One opponents held on.
Southampton accounted for an under-strength Blackpool in a 2-0 win at St Mary’s with goals from Lee Barnard and Guly Do Prado.
Championship side Reading meanwhile secured their 1-0 victory over the visiting Baggies thanks to a Shane Long goal.
In the early game, Arsenal survived a scare against Leeds before snatching a last-gasp 1-1 draw against the Championship side at the Emirates.
Cesc Fabregas scored a last-minute penalty to keep the Gunners in the competition after Robert Snodgrass had given Leeds the lead, also from the penalty spot, early in the second half.
Elsewhere, the form book largely held sway although Bolton needed two goals in the last 10 minutes from Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander to squeeze a 2-0 win over non-league York at the Reebok Stadium.
Wolves meanwhile were held to a 2-2 draw at Championship side Doncaster.
Nenad Milijas put Wolves ahead on 38 minutes before Doncaster hit back with two goals in two minutes from Billy Sharp and James Hayter to lead 2-1 at half-time. But Stephen Hunt levelled for Wolves from a penalty in the second half to ensure the Premier League side’s survival.
Stoke were also held by Championship opposition, Tuncay Sanli giving them a 1-1 draw against promotion-chasing Cardiff who had taken the lead at the Britannia Stadium with a Michael Chopra goal on eight minutes.
Aston Villa relieved the pressure on manager Gerard Houllier with a 3-1 victory at Sheffield United.
The pick of the third round matches takes place today, when Manchester United face Liverpool, who will be hoping that caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish can inspire them to victory following the dismissal of Roy Hodgson yesterday.
Results and standings
FA Cup – third round
Arsenal 1
Fabregas 90 pen.;
Leeds 1
Snodgrass 54 pen.
Blackburn 1
Hoilett 77;
QPR 0
Bolton 2
Davies 83; Elmander 89;
York 0
Brighton 3
Wood 26; Barnes 45 pen.; Sandaza 90;
Portsmouth 1
Kilbey 88;
Red card: Kitson (P) 14.
Bristol City 0
Sheffield Wed. 3
Teale 49; Mellor 55; Morrison 65;
Burnley 4
Carlisle 4; Mears 21; Eagles 50; Alexander 76 pen.;
Port Vale 2
Taylor 15, 82
Burton Albion 2
Harrad 82, 90;
Middlesbrough 1
O’Neil 58;
Coventry 2
Eastwood 15; Baker 17;
Crystal Palace 1
Danns 81
Doncaster 2
Sharp 41; Hayter 43;
Wolves 2
Milijas 38; Hunt 58 pen;
Red card: Elokobi (W) 77.
Fulham 6
Kamara 32, 59, 76 pen; Etuhu 45; Gera 66; Greening 89;
Peterborough 2
Tomlin 71; McCann 86 pen;
Huddersfield 2
Arfield 7; Roberts 8;
Dover 0
Hull 2
Barmby 74, 89;
Wigan 3
Diame 21, 77; McManaman 56;
Millwall 1
Schofield 90;
Birmingham 4
Derbyshire 17, 45; Murphy 27; Jerome 72;
Norwich 0
Leyton Orient 1
Smith 20;
Preston 1
Carter 35
N. Forest 2
Anderson 50; Chambers 89;
Reading 1
Long 41;
West Brom 0
Red card: Olsson (WBA) 60.
Scunthorpe 1
Collins 46;
Everton 5
Saha 4; Beckford 33; Coleman 58; Fellaini 73; Baines 83;
Sheffield Utd 1
Ward 48 pen.;
Aston Villa 3
Walker 9; Albrighton 33; Petrov 90;
Red card: Young (AV) 78.
Southampton 2
Barnard 53; Do Prado 88;
Blackpool 0
Stevenage 3
Williamson 50 og; Bostwick 55; Winn 90+2;
Newcastle 1
Barton 90+1;
Red card: Tiote (N) 71.
Stoke 1
Tuncay 45;
Cardiff 1
Chopra 8;
Sunderland 1
Bent 81 pen.;
Notts County 2
Westcarr 5; Hughes 75;
Swansea 4
Monk 25; Pratley 35; Van der Gun 68; Sinclair 82;
Colchester 0
Torquay 1
O’Kane 6;
Carlisle 0
Watford 4
Mingoia 66; Sordell 68, 82; Graham 90;
Hartlepool 1
Sweeney 45
West Ham 2
Spector 29; Piquionne 90;
Barnsley 0
Second round – replay
Lincoln City 3
Clapham 6; Facey 24; Grimes 48;
Hereford 4
Manset 4, 72; Fleetwood 36, 43;
Red card: Green (H) 90.
Playing today
Chelsea-Ipswich - 16:00
Leicester-Man. City - 17:00
Man. Utd-Liverpool - 14:30
Tottenham-Charlton - 14:30
Next fixtures
Tuesday: League Cup semi-finals, first leg 20.45 West Ham vs Birmingham.
Wednesday: League Cup semi-final, first leg 20.45 Ipswich vs Arsenal. Premier League 21.00 Blackpool vs Liverpool.
Saturday: Premier League 16.00 Chelsea vs Blackburn; Man. City vs Wolves; Stoke vs Bolton; West Brom vs Blackpool; Wigan vs Fulham. 18.30 West Ham vs Arsenal.
Sunday: Premier League 13.00 Birmingham vs Aston Villa; Sunderland vs Newcastle. 15.05 Liverpool vs Everton. 17.10 Tottenham vs Manchester United.
League One
Bournemouth 3 - Plymouth 0
Dagenham 0 - Rochdale 1
Exeter 1 - MK Dons 1
Oldham 2 - Swindon 0
Tranmere 3 - Walsall 3
Yeovil 2 - Brentford 0
Standings: Brighton 43; Bourne-mouth 39; Southampton 37; Huddersfield 36; Charlton 34; Sheffield Wed., Peterborough, MK Dons 33; Oldham, Hartlepool 32; Rochdale, Colchester, Brentford 31; Plymouth, Exeter 30; Notts County 29; Carlisle, Swindon 28; Leyton Orient 27; Tranmere 26; Yeovil 23; Bristol Rovers 22; Dagenham, Walsall 18.
League Two
Accrington 1 - Bury 0
Aldershot 1 - Oxford Utd 2
Bradford 1 - Barnet 3
Crewe 3 - Wycombe 0
Northampton 1 - Cheltenham 1
Shrewsbury 1 - Morecambe 3
Southend 2 - Chesterfield 3
Stockport 1 - Gillingham 5
Leading standings: Chesterfield 45; Rotherham, Wycombe 40; Port Vale 39; Crewe, Bury 35; Shrewsbury, Cheltenham 34; Gillingham 33; Oxford 32; Bradford 30; Torquay United 29; Accrington Stanley, Northampton 28.