Brian Howard and Luke Steele proved that the romance of the FA Cup can still ignite unexpected passions.
Tyke That; United cruise; James on form; Lampard ton
Brian Howard and Luke Steele proved that the romance of the FA Cup can still ignite unexpected passions as Barnsley stunned Liverpool at Anfield.
The Tykes'
last-minute triumph which dominated the headlines on fifth-round weekend owed as much to on-loan goalkeeper Steele as it did to skipper Howard's winning goal.
Steele began the week expecting to be warming the bench for West Brom as the Baggies travelled to Coventry, but ended it as man-of-the-match after frustrating Rafa Benitez's multi-million pound Premier League stars after his emergency loan switch.
Benitez was without Fernando Torres and left Steven Gerrard on the bench until the 75th minute, but was left red-faced by the Championship side and must now focus all his attentions on the forthcoming UEFA Champions League showdown with Serie A leaders Internazionale amid further speculation over his future.
Drubbing
Arsenal were another side left licking their wounds on Saturday night, leaving Old Trafford on the wrong end of a
4-0 drubbing by an eager
Manchester United side.
The Red Devils' comprehensive triumph could also inflict an important psychological blow on their title rivals as they look to reduce the Gunners' five-point advantage at the top of the league table.
Arsene Wenger's men were already 3-0 down prior to Emmanuel Eboue's second-half dismissal for a clumsy high tackle on Patrice Evra, before Nani went through his entire repertoire of showboating skills to rub salt into their wounds.
David James produced another goalkeeping master-class as
Portsmouth rode their luck to edge out
Preston at Deepdale.
The restored England No.1 kept out Simon Whaley's penalty and produced several other superb saves before the unfortunate Darren Carter put through his own net in the fourth minute of added time.
Century
Frank Lampard brought up a century of
Chelsea goals as the FA Cup holders
ended Huddersfield's dreams at Stamford Bridge.
The England international, back in action after a thigh injury, opened the scoring to reach his milestone and then grabbed goal No.101 after the break.
League One outfit
Bristol Rovers are the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition after Rickie Lambert's
deflected late free-kick saw off
Southampton at The Memorial Stadium.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink rolled back the years with a sublime finish to help
Cardiff overcome Championship rivals
Wolves with
two early goals at Ninian Park.
And
West Brom humbled managerless Midlands rivals
Coventry 5-0, taking full advantage of the dismissal of Sky Blues skipper Michael Doyle just after the interval.
Already leading through Chris Brunt's early opener, the
ruthless Baggies hit four more in the final 31 minutes to make it a day to forget for the Ricoh Arena faithful.
The Championship duo could be joined by a third club from the second tier as
Sheffield United and
Middlesbrough must meet again at The Riverside after their clash at Bramall Lane ended in a
0-0 draw.
