United, Spurs to play 4th-tier teams in FA Cup
09 Jan 2018
LONDON — Manchester United and Tottenham will play away at fourth-tier clubs in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
United was drawn Monday to face Yeovil in southwest England for the second time in four seasons. The 12-time cup winner won 2-0 on the 2015 trip in the third round.
Tottenham will go to south Wales to play Newport in just under three weeks.
English Premier League leader Manchester City could also be playing at a League Two side if Mansfield beats Cardiff of the second tier in a replay.
There are two guaranteed all-Premier League encounters, with Liverpool hosting West Bromwich Albion, and Southampton playing Watford.
If Chelsea beats Norwich in a replay, the Premier League champion will play Newcastle.
Nottingham Forest’s reward for eliminating holder Arsenal is an away game against fellow second-tier side Hull, which lost the 2014 final to the Gunners. Coventry, the 1987 cup winner who is in the fourth tier, will play MK Dons after ousting Premier League struggler Stoke.
Another shock in the third round saw Leicester held by Fleetwood to 0-0. The replay winner plays Fleetwood’s fellow third-tier side, Peterborough.
Brighton beat Palace 2-1 on VAR debut
Substitute Glenn Murray grabbed Brighton and Hove Albion a 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory over rivals Crystal Palace Monday as video technology made its bow in England.
It was the first time the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system had been used in English football for a one-off trial, but was never needed to overturn any decision by referee Andre Marriner at the Amex Stadium.
There was some confusion over the winning goal in the 87th minute, though, as former Palace striker Murray bundled in the winner with his knee following a freekick to score his seventh goal this term.
Palace players protested to the officials after the game that the ball had touched Murray’s arm after his knee, but replays suggested the right decision had been made.
Earlier, midfielder Dale Stephens gave the host a 25th-minute lead by rifling a shot through Wayne Hennessey at the Palace goalkeeper’s near post.
Mali forward Bakary Sako, making just his fourth start of the season, hammered home a brilliant equalizer for Palace midway through the second period from long range to cap an excellent individual display.
But Murray came off the bench to take Brighton through, and it will travel to Championship side Middlesbrough in the fourth round at the end of January. — AP