FA Cup 3rd Round Recap
With the 3rd round of the FA Cup drawing to a close, Sport Writer Lila recaps the results and gives her opinions on the teams’ performances.
Sheffield United 0-1 Cardiff City
A narrow victory for the Blades at Bramall Lane, the empty seats does raise a question of the want of replays from teams outside the Premier League.
Everton 2-0 Peterborough United
A managerless Everton progressed with a comfortable win over Peterborough, with Moyes joining shortly after.
Fulham 4-1 Watford
Fulham advanced with a convincing victory against Watford at Craven Cottage. Marco Silva is a brilliant coach, developing an exciting team that plays combative, technical football. I recommend going to a match if you live in the Fulham area.
Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Portsmouth
Wycombe continue their impressive cup run by defeating a team in the league above them.
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United
Aston Villa edged past West Ham in a closely contested match to secure their place in the next stage. Morgan Rogers is becoming a noticeable player this season!
Birmingham City 2-1 Lincoln City
Birmingham City extended their unbeaten run this season against the Imps.
Bristol City 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Routine win for Wolves, with bright left Back Ait-Nouri scoring a lovely, cushioned header.
Middlesbrough 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn secured a narrow win at the Riverside Stadium, advancing to the fourth round.
Liverpool 4-0 Accrington Stanley
Liverpool dominated Accrington Stanley at Anfield. A lovely goal from the possibly Madrid-bound Alexander-Arnold. Jota, new signee Chiesa, and young gun Danns also found the net. A no show for Darwin Nunez – who is probably off in the summer at this rate.
Leicester City 6-2 Queens Park Rangers
Leicester showcased their attacking prowess with a high-scoring victory over QPR. James Justin scored a brace, and even Wout Faes got in on the action. (I think he is the worst defender in the league. Sorry.)
Bournemouth 5-1 West Bromwich Albion
Bournemouth delivered an impressive performance to dispatch West Brom and advance. There was another brilliant display from Semenyo, a winger of high interest to Arsenal.
Brentford 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Possibly the result of the round, Plymouth pulled off a significant upset. Sitting bottom of the championship, Argyle’s Morgan Whittaker scored a long-range effort in the 82nd minute, beating a great PL side at home – who rarely lose there.
Chelsea 5-0 Morecambe
Chelsea cruised past Morecambe with a dominant display at Stamford Bridge. Ugh. They’ve drawn Brighton at the Amex, thankfully.
Exeter City 3-1 Oxford United
Exeter secured a well-deserved victory over Oxford. I’m sure a few of you Oxford rejects enjoy that.
Norwich City 0-4 Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton delivered a commanding performance to eliminate Norwich at Carrow Road. Solly March returned to the score sheet. Favourite, and star, Joao Pedro has unfortunately picked up an injury as a result.
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Luton Town
Nottingham advanced with a solid win against Luton. Nuno is a brilliant coach. He is my best bet for MOTS.
Reading 1-3 Burnley (AET)
Burnley triumphed over Reading in extra time to secure their place in the next round.
Sunderland 1-2 Stoke City (AET)
Stoke edged past Sunderland in extra time to advance in the competition. Arteta has been inspired by this team as of late.
Leeds United 1-0 Harrogate Town
Leeds United narrowly defeated Harrogate Town, with the only goal from Manchester United academy graduate Largie Ramazani.
Manchester City 8-0 Salford City
Manchester City showcased their dominance with a comprehensive victory over Salford City. There was a hattrick from James McAtee and a sympathy penalty for Jack Grealish, who scored for the first time in over a year.
Coventry City 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday (Coventry win 4-3 on penalties)
Coventry emerged victorious in a penalty shootout against Sheffield Wednesday.
Hull City 1-1 Doncaster Rovers (Doncaster win 5-4 on penalties)
Doncaster advanced after a tense penalty shootout victory over Hull City. Louis Tomlinson must’ve enjoyed this.
Tamworth 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur (AET)
Tottenham overcame a resilient Tamworth side, scoring three goals in extra time to progress. A classic Spurs ordeal – to beat Liverpool at home only to struggle away to a side in the National League.
Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United (Manchester United win 5-3 on penalties)
United’s back up goalkeeper, Altay Bayındır, made some heroic saves – including a penalty in normal time too. Arteta has got his side knocked out of essentially two cup competitions in one week. With Jesus now injured, they should make some moves in the market.
Crystal Palace 1-0 Stockport County
Crystal Palace secured a narrow win over Stockport to advance to the next round. The Catnip editor isn’t happy about this.
Ipswich Town 3-0 Bristol Rovers
Ipswich Town delivered a convincing performance to defeat Bristol Rovers. City loanee and defensive midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, returned to the scoresheet.
With all the extra time and the option of bigger sides subbing on first team players within this time, it does beg the question of why the FA insists on having it. With the scrap of replays, the best thing for the lower sides in this competition is to scrap ET and go to penalties. It protects football players from not overexerting, meaning that lower sides are more likely to progress, and ensures more chances of penalties – everyone loves penalties.
