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Tuesday February 1, 2011

Spurs Fall To Fulham!

FA Cup holders Chelsea earned a 1-1 draw and a fourth-round replay with Everton after substitute Salomon Kalou came to their rescue at Goodison Park.

Louis Saha had headed the Toffees in front just after the hour mark, but Kalou's precise finish 15 minutes from time earned Chelsea a replay in a hard-fought encounter.

Everton were rewarded for a good spell of pressure when Saha got behind John Terry and rose highest to powerfully head home a Leighton Baines corner in the 62nd minute.

The visitors hung in there though and Seamus Coleman was denied from close range by a combination of Terry and Michael Essien before Chelsea were level. Sub Kalou picked the ball up on the edge of the box and fired a low angled shot just inside Tim Howard's far post.

In another all-Premier League early match, Robert Pires' first goal for Aston Villa helped them continue their recent dominance over Blackburn Rovers in cup competitions with a 3-1 win at Villa Park.

The former Arsenal star restored Villa's lead after Ciaran Clark's opener had been cancelled out by Rovers substitute Nikola Kalinic.

Nathan Delfouneso further increased Villa's lead, and even the red card after 62 minutes for defender Nathan Baker for a challenge on Junior Hoilett failed to halt their progress.

Forgotten men Stuart Parnaby and Kevin Phillips were the heroes as Birmingham City carved out another cup day to remember by coming from two down to beat local rivals Coventry City 3-2 and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Blues were on a high after booking their place in the Carling Cup final in midweek but they were brought back down to earth as Marlon King and Richard Wood put the visitors two up with 26 minutes gone.

David Bentley reduced the deficit before half-time with a stunning strike from 25 yards for his first Birmingham goal and, after a sustained spell of pressure, two goals in six minutes from Parnaby and Phillips midway through the second half completed the turnaround.

Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martinez saw his side shrug off their poor league form and force a replay against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.

Martinez made eight changes to the team that lost at Aston Villa and his largely young side did him proud in a 0-0 draw.

In fact, veteran goalkeeper Mike Pollitt had a quiet afternoon as Bolton struggled to test the opposition defence.

Javier Hernandez's smart finish helped Manchester United avoid an upset against Southampton at St Mary's.

The home side bossed the first half and deservedly broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time, with Richard Chaplow smashing the League One side ahead.

While Southampton dominated possession, United's introduction of Nani and Ryan Giggs 13 minutes into the second half swung the tie.

The pair gave Sir Alex Ferguson's side the width they craved and helped the visitors come from behind to secure victory with two goals in 10 minutes.

Michael Owen equalized with his first goal since September, before Hernandez ghosted in to wrap up the tie with a quarter of an hour remaining.

Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to net another late penalty as 10-man Arsenal laboured into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win over League One Huddersfield Town at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners, who made sweeping changes from the midweek Carling Cup semi-final win over Ipswich Town, took the lead when Nicklas Bendtner's angled shot deflected in off Terriers skipper Peter Clarke on 22 minutes before then losing Samir Nasri with a hamstring problem, and saw Sebastien Squillaci sent off for blocking Jack Hunt's surging run.

Alan Lee headed a deserved equalizer for the Terriers, but Fabregas won it from the spot after Jamie McCombe was adjudged to have pushed Bendtner over.

Robert Huth's late goal earned Stoke City a first FA Cup triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the fourth-round derby tie at Molineux.

The former Chelsea defender headed home a Matthew Etherington free-kick with 10 minutes remaining.

But Wolves spurned a golden chance to earn a replay when Thomas Sorensen saved a last-minute penalty from Nenad Milijas.

Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick as West Ham United put their Carling Cup semi-final misery behind them and marched into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.

Forest hit back from conceding an early goal to Obinna by going in front with efforts from Dele Adebola and David McGoldrick.

However Obinna put the home side level at the break and completed his treble from the penalty spot early in the second half. 

Edin Dzeko's first Manchester City goal saved the Blues' blushes as Notts County forced an FA Cup fourth-round replay after this 1-1 draw.

It looked like the world's oldest Football League club were about to send England's most expensive team tumbling out of the competition when Neal Bishop put them ahead on the hour.

But 10 minutes from time, Dzeko turned home a low Micah Richards cross to earn Roberto Mancini's men a second attempt to progress.

Fulham cruised into the last 16 of the FA Cup with a surprise 4-0 win over London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage.

Danny Murphy scored from the spot 11 minutes in before he added a second penalty three minutes later after Michael Dawson was sent off for tugging back Moussa Dembele in the box.

Brede Hangeland stabbed home to make it 3-0 before Dembele rifled home a blistering strike just before half-time to seal the impressive win and set up a fifth round tie at home to either Bolton or Wigan.

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