The draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup provided some tantalising fixtures, with the potential for lower league clubs to upset their supposedly superior opposition. While the likes of Chelsea, Derby, and Swansea City managed to avoid being the subject of an upset, others weren’t so lucky.
Manchester City, who are currently second favourites in the Premier League winner odds, tore Burnley apart 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium to leave them with a chance to complete the quadruple this season.
Clubs from the Championship and the Premier League saw a ‘cupset’ occur, we take a look back at the stunning results of the fourth round.
Middlesbrough vs Newport County
Former Premier League side Middlesbrough had the opportunity to defeat giant killers Newport County at the Riverside in the fourth round, but despite fielding a team that was more than capable of defeating Newport, the Welsh side refused to be beaten.
Although the first half finished 0-0, soon after the restart centre back Daniel Ayala gave Boro the lead and it was expected that the Championship side would hold on to a win. However, the fairytale is not over for Newport yet. Former Middlesbrough academy player Matthew Dolan scored an equaliser in the 93rd minute to take the game to a replay.
With Middlesbrough now having to travel to Wales on a cold Tuesday night, they could follow in the footsteps of 2015/16 Premier League champions Leicester City in tasting defeat at Rodney Parade.
Shrewsbury Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
League One strugglers Shrewsbury Town took on a Wolves team that defeated current Premier League leaders Liverpool in the previous round, but this would be anything but plain sailing for the Premier League side.
Greg Docherty opened the scoring shortly after the half time break before Luke Waterfall doubled the League One side’s lead. An upset was on the cards before Raul Jiminez got a goal back to help Wolves calm their nerves with 15 minutes left to play.
As full time approached, Shrewsbury looked to have secured an incredible victory in the fourth round, however, they were denied by Matt Doherty in the 93rd minute. It was still an upset in that they prevented Wolves from winning, but not quite the upset Shrewsbury manager Sam Ricketts was hoping for.
Millwall vs Everton
Millwall are no strangers to causing FA Cup shocks, having reached the 2004 FA Cup final to set up a showdown with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, a team that featured Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Everton team they faced in this season’s fourth round was an inconsistent one having lost to Premier League strugglers Southampton a week prior to this match. Brazilian attacker Richarlison put Everton into the lead shortly before half time to reduce doubts of a ‘cupset’ but Lee Gregory equalised in added time to leave the teams level at half time.
Turkish striker Cenk Tosun restored Everton’s lead in the 72nd minute before Millwall again equalised, as Jake Cooper scored three minutes later to send the crowd wild. The Den would erupt into madness in added time at the end of the match as Murray Wallace scored a 94th minute winner to send Millwall into the next round at the expense of their Premier League opponents.
AFC Wimbledon vs West Ham
West Ham were well aware of the dangers of playing a League One side having been beaten 2-0 away to eventual League One winners Wigan Athletic in last season’s competition. They came into this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Bournemouth and must have been hoping that the club who currently sit bottom of League One would be easy pickings for the Premier League stars.
The first half was all Wimbledon as the south Londoners entered half time 2-0 to the good, and firmly in control of the tie. A third goal courtesy of Scott Wagstaff looked to have all but finished the Premier League side off.
Things weren’t that simple and West Ham’s Lucas Perez breathed life back into the match in the 57th minute before Felipe Anderson made the score 3-2 on the 71st minute to produce a nervy final 20 minutes for the Wimbledon fans.
Those nerves turned to joy in the 88th minute as Toby Sibbick scored a close-range header to make the score 4-2 and seal Wimbledon’s progression into the fifth round of the FA Cup, for the first time in their history.
Feature Image via Shutterstock
For more news, click here
For more original features, click here
Player and manager profiles archive
Young Lions, Part 1 – Phil Foden
Young Lions, Part 2 – Mason Mount
Young Lions, Part 3 – Reiss Nelson
Young Lions, Part 4 – Emile Smith Rowe
Young Lions, Part 5 – Ademola Lookman
Young Lions, Part 6 – Callum Hudson-Odoi
