Arsene Smarting Over Trophyless Cabinet

Arsenal line-up: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Rosicky, Nasri, Song, Wilshere, Arshavin (Chamakh, 77'), Van Persie (Bendtner, 69')
Birmingham line-up: Foster, Carr, Johnson, Ridgewell, Jiranek, Bowyer, Larsson, Gardner (Beausejour, 50'), Ferguson, Fahey (Martins, 83'), Zigic (Jerome, 90')

The first main silverware (excluding the Community Shield) went up for grabs yesterday as the Carling Cup final took place at Wembley. Arsenal were looking for their first piece of silverware in six years and the clear favourites over Alex McLeish's Birmingham. There was controversy early on as Bowyer was flagged offside when he looked onside and was brought down by Szczesny in just the third minute. Unusually the League Cup final saw two teams both looking to attack and go for the jugular straight away. Both teams created chances without any real venom until Birmingham won a corner in the 27th minute. Any questions about the inexperienced Polish keeper were well and truly asked with the corner met by Zigic in front of Szczesny and the Serb headed through the keeper's hands to give Birmingham the lead. Arsenal gained momentum following the goal but Foster and his defence kept a stern grip of the lead. Six minutes from half-time Jack Wilshere struck the crossbar and the rebound fell to Arshavin on the edge of the box. After rounding a couple of players, the Russian crossed the ball to Van Persie and the Arsenal captain equalised.

The second half saw Birmingham dealt a big blow with Craig Gardner suffering a knock to lead to his substitution just five minutes after the restart. News got worse for Birmingham as Roger Johnson also picked up a injury but was able to carry on through the pain. The Blues came the closest to re-taking the lead when Keith Fahey smashed the post on the hour mark. With Johnson and also Jiranek not looking their fittest, Arsenal decided to take advantage by bringing on Chamakh and Bendtner. Arsenal launched into wave after wave of attacks with Foster having an invincible display in front of the watching Fabio Capello. There was also heroic defending from the injured quarters with everyone throwing their bodies in the way to block Arsenal attacks. The game was almost certain to go into extra time despite the introduction of Obafemi Martins. But Arsenal obviously had other ideas; Birmingham cleared their lines after yet another onslaught and Szczesny looked comfortable enough to gather the ball. Somehow Koscielny decided to get in the way and a lack of communication saw the ball bounce of the pair of them into the path of Martins, the Nigerian was more than happy to tap the ball home to give Birmingham the Carling Cup victory. Arsenal's six year long wait for a trophy should have come to an end but take nothing away from the heroic Birmingham performance as Arsene Wenger has to keep fuming for a while longer.

Birmigham Needed Extra Time and Liverpool Win Again

The second leg of the second semi-final needed extra time to decide who would be facing Arsenal in the first final of the season. West Ham took a 2-1 aggregate advantage to St.Andrews after Foster's blunder. Boosted by it, West Ham came out extended their aggregate lead when Carlton Cole broke the deadlock just after the half hour mark. Birmingham pulled one back fourteen minutes into the second half with a goal from Lee Bowyer to equalise on the night. Roger Johnson forced extra time with a goal eleven minutes from time to make it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate (the only scoreline that would bring penalties). But the tie was won just four minutes into extra time when Craig Gardner became a Blues hero, making 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Arsenal are clear favourites for their piece of silverware since 2005 but Birmingham could well spoil the party.

In the Premiership, Liverpool hosted Fulham in their re-arranged winter match. Only one goal settled the tie but it was a rather unlucky one. It came seven minutes into the second half when a shot bounced off the post to hit Pantsil and rebound into the net to give Liverpool their first home win under Dalglish. The win lifts them up to seventh in the table and are firmly pushing for a Europa League spot.

Arsenal Overturn Deficit, Villa Win Two On the Bounce and United Get Lucky, Again

Tonight's action saw the first second leg of the Carling Cup semi-finals plus two re-arranged Premiership matches. After beating Arsenal 1-0 at Portman Road, Ipswich had the unenviable task of holding their lead at the Emirates. Manager Paul Jewell had only just been given the job prior to the first leg and therefore didn't manage Ipswich for it. But his side held Arsenal for 61 minutes until Nicklas Bendtner put the Gunners 1-0 ahead and level on aggregate. From there it looked to be only one winner and Laurent Koscielny made it 2-0 just three minutes later to give Arsenal the lead in the tie. Captain Fabregas was in top form tonight and deserved a goal to put the tie to bed with thirteen minutes left to go. Arsenal book their place at Wembley with their final opponents being named tomorrow as Birmingham clash with West Ham in their second leg.

Back in the Premiership, the DW Stadium held an untelevised meeting between Wigan and Aston Villa. Again there were no goals until the second half but Gabriel Agbonlahor gave Villa the lead just five minutes after the restart. Villa, who had momentum after seeing off Manchester City at the weekend, were awarded a penalty in the 62nd minute and captain Ashley Young sent Ali Al-Habsi the wrong way. Wigan pulled one back with ten minutes remaining thanks to James McCarthy but Villa held on for a second consecutive victory. The win moves Villa up to thirteenth but most teams around them have a game in hand.

Harry Redknapp said that if Manchester United remain unbeaten all season it would be a miracle. Well it was some sort of miracle for Manchester United to gain all three points away at Bloomfield Road. The speculation was all about Charlie Adam's possible move but by kick-off all that was forgotten as Adam became Blackpool's influential captain and playmaker again. United failed to maintain possession for most of the first half and their defending at set pieces was dreadful. Blackpool took full advantage and shook the Premiership after just fifteen minutes when a Charlie Adam corner wasn't defended and former United youngster Craig Cathcart was on hand to head home. United didn't learn from their mistakes and went two down two minutes before half-time; another Adam corner was flicked on from Nani and DJ Campbell pounced to head Blackpool 2-0 up. The second half didn't get much better and it should've got worse when Rafael looked to have barged into Varney in the box, but referee Peter Walton gave nothing. The tide of the match after the tactic of the match was played; an underwhelming Rooney was brought off after 66 minutes for Hernandez. They immediately started playing fast flowing football that a tiring Blackpool team couldn't deal with and Berbatov pulled one back with eighteen minutes left. Just two minutes later United equalised when Hernandez was put through by Giggs and the Mexican touched it past Kingson. Three minutes later an unfortunate clash of heads between Rafael and Harewood left Rafael dazed and in a heap. Reports at the minute say it's just concussion with worried brother Fabio leaving by his side down the tunnel. After that timely delay, United carried on where they left off and Berbatov broke free following a quick break and slotted past Kingson to make 3-2 and to win the game with two minutes of normal time left, but they still had to endure another ten minutes of injury time. The lucky win sees United go five points clear at the top with still a game in hand over Arsenal.

Big Upsets In League Cup and Premier League

Yesterday served up two big matches in the League Cup and the Premiership, in which both gave quite a shock. The first leg of the second semi-final of the League Cup was at Portman Road where Ipswich met Arsenal. Arsenal are clear favourites for the cup and were favorites to thrash Ipswich after they were defeated 7-0 by Chelsea on Sunday in the FA Cup. New manager Paul Jewell watched his team perform before taking the helm after the match and it proved to be a good watch. Only one goal separated the sides and it didn't come from a fairly strong, lacklustre Arsenal side. The winner came twelve minutes from the end via a solo run from Tamas Priskin.

The other shock came in the Premiership at Bloomfield Road. Kenny Dalglish was looking to put Saturday's first game in charge behind him after that defeat to Manchester United. But his first Premiership game didn't quite go to plan either against Blackpool. It was the first re-arranged Premiership match due to the winter weather and Liverpool struck first after just three minutes with a goal from Torres. The lead only lasted nine minutes however until Gary Taylor-Fletcher equalised for the home side. The winner came 21 minutes from time with a goal from DJ Campbell to seal defeat for Dalglish and Liverpool. The result sees Liverpool in thirteenth place, just four points from the relegation whereas Blackpool stay in the top-half of the table.

England's Calamitous Goalkeeping Continues

After Joe Hart's blunder on Sunday to allow Leicester the draw in the FA Cup, it was the the first leg of the first semi final of the League Cup. West Ham hosted Birmingham at Upton Park and bad news for England was that another top English goalkeeper made an awful blunder to allow their opponents the win.

Avram Grant's job is still very much on the line despite their 2-0 win in the FA Cup. Brighter news for the Hammers though is that Wayne Bridge is looking likely to join on loan from Manchester City. As for Birmingham, Alex McLeish's side were looking at a real prospect at bringing some silverware back to the Midlands. It was the home side that started strongly and after three glorious chances in as many seconds Mark Noble eventually found the net from an incredibly acute angle. The second half didn't go West Ham's way, however, as Birmingham found an equaliser just nine minutes after the restart; Liam Ridgewell finding the with a powerful header. It got even worse for West Ham just three minutes later when Victor Obinna had a quick rush of blood, or rush of stupidity, and kicked out at Seb Larsson and deservedly received a red card. The blunderous moment came twelve minutes from time when Carlton Cole struck a relatively soft shot to the right of keeper Foster, he looked have made sufficent ground to comfortably save it but the ball somehow managed to go through Foster's legs and roll into the net. Giving West Ham a 2-1 lead going into the second leg at St.Andrews and giving Avram Grant slightly more job security.

A quick note on the FA Cup, the final third round tie was played yesterday between Wycombe and Hereford. After two goals on Saturday in the second round replay, his second being the ultimate winner, Mathieu Manset was on hand to score the only goal after 32 minutes to set up a fourth round tie away to Sheffield Wednesday.

Birmingham Win Derby as Ipswich Shock Baggies

The other semi-finalists were confirmed yesterday as the Carling Cup witnessed the bitter Midlands derby and Ipswich hosted West Brom. The Midlands derby was everything a derby should be, with a penalty, controversial decisions and three goals all it was missing was a red card. After a quick start from both sides, Lee Bowyer was brought down in the box by Richard Dunne and referee Chris Foy had no option but to signal to the spot. Seb Larsson stepped up and converted to put the Blues ahead of Villa. They could have been two ahead shortly after when a penalty area scramble saw the ball just about go over the line, however the linesman flagged for offside and the goal didn't side, controversially. The only thing it might have been for was Jerome being offside when the initial ball came in but it didn't make it to him and the goal probably should have stood. After that, Villa came back and were level on the half hour mark thanks to a goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor who continues his fine scoring form against Villa's bitter rivals.

The second half saw a decrease in quality football as both teams lost the ball too cheaply but Villa were overall on top. The attacked Birmingham continuously but mixture of over passing and not being able to find that killer final ball meant that the score remained 1-1. The Midlands derby has been notoriously known lately for late winners, usually in Villa's case, and that's what happened again at St.Andrews. Although this time it was Birmingham who were the heart breakers when Nikola Zigic scored with six minutes remaining, after his shot took a wicked deflection. With the holders and now last year's runners-up out, Birmingham now face a two-legged semi-final against West Ham.

Arsenal will travel to Portman Road in their first leg of the semi-final after Ipswich shocked West Brom by beating them 1-0. A penalty from Grant Leadbitter after 69 minutes saw Roy Keane's side place themselves into the semi-finals.

United Get Hammered as Arsenal Progress

Last night saw two of the Carling Cup quarter-finals take place, holders Manchester United travelled to bottom of the Premiership West Ham and Arsenal hosted Premiership strugglers Wigan.

A picturesque, wintry Upton Park witnessed a moment of history as Manchester United's 29 match unbeaten streak came to grinding halt in fascinating fashion. United, however, came out the stronger as Sir Alex Ferguson continued his policy of mixing youth with experience. Gabriel Obertan almost put the visitors ahead after six minutes but a magnificent save from Rob Green pushed the ball onto the post and was then cleared. That was as good as it got for Manchester United as West Ham started to come into the game and terrorise a very fragile looking United defence. West Ham thought they had took the lead on the quarter of an hour mark when Victor Obinna's shot took a wicked deflection to beat Kuszczak all ends up. Referee Mark Clattenburg had a talk with his assistant and came to the conclusion that the deflection was off ex-United starlet Jonathan Spector who was standing in an offside position, replays showed that it was the correct decision. However just seven minutes later Obinna played a little lofted ball into the box where Spector was on hand to head the ball past Kuszczak to score his first senior goal in English football. United didn't get much better and continually allowed Spector and co to run great distances with the ball right up until they got to the penalty area. This allowed Spector to grab his second goal eight minutes before half-time and Manchester United were left reeling.

After a half-time hairdryer, Ferguson decided to bring on Macheda for Bebe in search of at least two goals. It didn't improve their performance and United's vulnerable defence proved the downfall again in the second half. It took just eleven minutes before West Ham struck again to virtually put the game to bed, Carlton Cole was the goalscorer. Cole then added a second just ten minutes later after Obinna fond him in the box and Evans allowed him to turn so easily before slotting the ball home. The 4-0 defeat was the first defeat for Manchester United for thirty games and the first since Coventry in 2007 in this competition. As for West Ham, it's their first semi-final appearance in the League Cup for 21 years.

West Ham will be joined by Arsenal in the semi-finals after they beat Wigan 2-0 in The Emirates. Antolin Alcaraz flicked a corner into his own net three minutes before half-time to give Arsenal the first half lead. A 67th goal from Nicklas Bendtner sealed the victory for the rather strong Arsenal side.

Carling Cup Quarter Final Draw

With eight teams left in this year's Carling Cup and only one non-Premiership side remaining everyone was eager to find out who they were playing in yesterday's draw. Joint favourites Arsenal will have a home tie against Roberto Martinez's Wigan. The tie of the round will be at Villa Park as Aston Villa Host their bitter rivals Birmingham. Avram Grant's West Ham will be hosting the defending champions Manchester United. Leaving West Brom with the only non-Premiership team as they will travel to Portman Road to face Roy Keane's Ipswich.

Carling Cup 4th Round Part 2

The remaining three ties took place on Wednesday with no real surprises again but some very good action, with two of the ties going into extra time. The first was between West Ham and Stoke, who met a last month in the Premiership which finished a 1-1 draw. The man who got Stoke's equaliser in that match opened the scoring in this one; Kenwyne Jones after just six minutes. This time the man who scored West Ham's opener in the other match got the equaliser in this one six minutes from time, Scott Parker forced extra time. Again six minutes into extra time the game got a third goal from Da Costa for West Ham before Victor Obinna sealed the victory two minutes before the end.

The other all Premier League affair didn't go into extra time. It was at St. James' Park between Newcastle, who knocked out Chelsea, and Arsenal, who knocked out Tottenham. It looked very close between the sides and was going to go in at half-time goalless until goalkeeper Krul scored an own goal for Arsenal. Arsenal then took the momentum in the second half and doubled their lead eight minutes into it via Theo Walcott. Substitute Nikolas Bendtner netted a third on his return to football after an injury spell seven minutes from the end. Walcott was then on hand to finish off a typical Arsenal move two minutes from time to make the final score 4-0.

The other game of the night saw Aston Villa host Championship side Burnley. Villa thought they had won it at the death when the rejuvenated Emile Heskey scored four minutes from the end. But they were mistaken as Clarke Carlisle forced extra time from a free-kick just before stoppage time. Stewart Downing put Villa back in the lead six minutes into extra time with a stunning strike but were down to ten men four minutes later when Marc Albrighton was given red for last man. Villa held on though and are the final name to be in the draw for the quarter finals on Saturday.

Carling Cup 4th Round Part 1

Five of the eight fourth round ties of the Carling Cup took place yesterday with a whole heap of goal action. The only all Premiership tie was between holders Manchester United and Wolves, as usual Sir Alex Ferguson made a whole host of changes to promote the youth culture. The first half had nothing to cheer about with both teams lacking killer instinct in the final third, however the second half was completely different containing five goals. The first goal took eleven minutes in the second half from a very promising Bebe, he looked very impressive in his first United start and deserved the goal. Although it did take a huge deflection off Elokobi before going just behind the line where Foley was on hand to clear it, but the goal rightly stood. The lead only lasted four minutes when the inexperienced Ben Amos was unable to get to a corner which left the goal gaping for Elokobi to equalise and become the first player for Wolves to score at Old Trafford for thirty years. With twenty minutes left United took the lead again through a very nice finish form Ji-Sung Park but again their failure to hold a lead continued as Foley scored his first goal for Wolves six minutes later to make it 2-2. With extra time looming, Ferguson looked to Javier Hernandez to come off the bench and to save United for the second time in three days. His prayers were answered as the Mexican held his nerve to dummy a defender and put the ball past Hennessey to put United into the quarter finals with a 3-2 win.

Roberto Martinez was treated to a fourth round tie at home against his former club Swansea. He received a frosty reception from the visiting crowd but Wigan would ultimately gain the last laugh as they progressed into the quarter finals. Mauro Boselli scored his first Wigan goal six minutes into the second half to put them ahead before Ben Watson scored from the spot in injury time to win 2-0.

Leicester also succumbed to Premier League opposition in the shape of West Brom. Simon Cox opened the scoring after 21 minutes to give Di Matteo's side the half-time lead. Leicester equalised eight minutes into the second half through an own goal from Nicky Shorey. For the second time in as many weeks Somen Tchoyi was able to capitalise from a goalkeeping error as Logan fumbled the ball into his path after 62 minutes to restore West Brom's lead. Steven Reid made it 3-1 eleven minutes from time before Cox rounded off the scoring in injury time.

The only tie without a Premier League side was between Roy Keane's Ipswich and Northampton, who eliminated Liverpool in the third round. A shock was on the cards again as the League 2 side took the lead through Liam Davis after sixteen minutes. The lead only lasted ten minutes as Carlos Edwards equalised for Ipswich. Damien Delaney then gave Ipswich the lead just before half-time then Tamas Priskin sealed the 3-1 victory two minutes from the end.

After removing Everton in the third round, Brentford were looking to repeat the feat away to Birmingham. Sam Wood gave the League 1 side the lead after 68 minutes and it looked to be enough before veteran Kevin Phillips forced extra time with a last minute equaliser. The match eventually went to penalties which Birmingham won 4-3 to become the fifth name in the quarter final draw which will take place on Saturday.

Carling Cup 4th Round Draw

The big tie of round four of the Carling Cup was the first tie to be drawn out of the hat; Newcastle's campaign doesn't get any easier after Chelsea as they will face Arsenal at home. Birmingham get to to host another League 1 side after beating MK Dons, Brentford, who eliminated Everton, will be travelling to St.Andrews. After a late win against Preston, Wigan will host another Championship side in Swansea. Last year's runners-up Villa will host Burnley who took out Premier League opposition Bolton in the last round. Leicester will host Premier League West Brom the Walkers Stadium with holders Manchester United at home to Wolves. The third and final all Premier League tie will be at Upton Park as West Ham entertain Stoke and giant killers Northampton will travel to Roy Keane's Ipswich.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Round-Up, Part 2

If Tuesday's action didn't really provide you with enough mouth watering football, then yesterday's action most certainly would have done as there were shocks galore. The first of three all Premiership ties was held at Villa park as Gerrard Houllier took charge of Villa for the first game as they took on Blackburn. The visitors took the lead through Gael Givet eleven minutes before half-time. However Villa fought back and substitute Emile Heskey equalised just before the hour mark. Heskey then provided a couple of assists that were turned in by Ashley Young on 75 and 77 minutes to give Houllier a 3-1 win on his debut.

Wigan were nearly involved in a shock at home to Preston; former Blackburn player Keith Treacy put Darron Ferguson's side ahead. But two late goals, first from Jordi Gomez after 87 minutes and then in stoppage time from Charles N'Zogbia saw Roberto Martinez's side just scrape through into the draw on Saturday.

Holders Manchester United had a shock start against Championship side Scunthorpe at Glanford Park. The home side set out the better side and took a shock lead after a great strike from Josh Wright just under twenty minutes. United started getting back into the game but still had to rely on Kuszczak to make a few good saves. Scunthorpe's lead only lasted four minutes as Darron Gibson scored a perfectly weighted lob and from there there was only going to be one winner. Chris Smalling scored his first Manchester United goal after flicking a Park cross past keeper Murphy. Michael Owen finished the game off with his first goal just four minutes into the second half and Park made it four after 54 minutes. Park was then denied a second after his shot was parried but the rebound was scored by Owen to make it 5-1. Arguably Scunthorpe's best player of the night Martyn Woolford earned a consolation goal in stoppage time to make the final score 5-2 to the holders.

The other three ties all finished as cup shocks as Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all suffered defeats. Chelsea took an early lead against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge, young Patrick Van Aanholt scored his first senior goal after six minutes. However the visitors went 3-1 ahead through Ranger after 27 minutes, Ryan Taylor five minutes later and Ameobi four minutes into the second half. Two goals from Nicolas Anelka after 70 minutes and then a penalty three minutes from time put Chelsea level and it looked like extra time. However a late injury to Benayoun saw Chelsea having to play with ten men and Ameobi scored the winner with a header to knock Ancelotti's side out.

Manchester City surrendered a 1-0 lead away to West Brom to also be knocked out; Jo scored after just under twenty minutes. Gianni Zuiverloon equalised after 55 minutes after Given pulled off some good saves. But Simon Cox gave west Brom the lead and the win just two minutes later.

The biggest shock however did come at Anfield as the cloud over Merseyside gets even darker. League Two side Northampton won 4-2 on penalties after first going behind early thanks to a Jovanovic goal after 9 minutes. Billy Mackay equalised after 57 minutes and the tie went into extra time. Northampton then did the unthinkable and took the lead thanks to Michael Jacobs eight minutes into extra time. Liverpool were rocking but substitute David Ngog did equalise four before full time but Liverpool were lucky not to go 3-2 behind shortly after as they managed to scramble a shot off the line. Penalty misses from Ngog and young Nathan Eccleston saw that Northampton become the only League 2 side into the fourth round.

Carling Cup 3rd Round Round-Up, Part 1

Tuesday saw the first half the Carling Cup 3rd Round draw compete for places in Saturday's fourth round draw. Interestingly enough the draw conjured up a lot of 'same division' pairings and the first all Championship affair came from Fratton Park as Portsmouth took on Leicester; the visitors got off to a great start when defender Michael Morison put Leicester ahead after three minutes. Lloyd Dyer doubled their lead two minutes from half-time to give Portsmouth an even harder task in the second half. A comeback looked very much in doubt when Richard Hughes was sent off after 66 minutes but the ten men of Pompey did score a consolation thanks to new signing Liam Lawrence eight minutes from the end.

Swansea also secured an away win to progress into the fourth round. They beat league one side Peterborough 3-1 at London Road. Ex-Chelsea youngster Scott Sinclair opened the scoring for Swansea after just five minutes. However their lead didn't last long as Craig Mackail-Smith equalised two minutes later for Posh. Sinclair grabbed his second to give Swansea a lead at half-time with four minutes left to play. Sinclair went on to get his hat-trick and to seal the victory for Swansea twelve minutes from time eliminating one of few League One clubs in the third round.

The other all Championship tie was a the New Den as Millwall entertained Roy Keane's Ipswich; the would be the visitors who again opened up the scoring, Tamas Priskin after 23 minutes. Gareth McAuley added a second in first half stoppage time to give Roy Keane an easy-ish half-time team talk. Steve Morison pulled one back for Millwall after 62 minutes but the score finished 2-1 to Ipswich.

There were three all Premiership ties on the night, the first was at the Britannia where Stoke hosted Fulham; A rare goal from defender Danny Higginbotham put the hosts in front after 23 minutes before Kenwyne Jones netted the 2-0 victory eleven minutes from time to see the Potters into the Fourth Round.

The Stadium of Light also saw an all Premiership tie as Sunderland played against West Ham in a game where the newbies shone. Frederic Piquionne put the Hammers ahead ten minutes from half-time but their lead only six minutes as Asamoah Gyan equalised for Sunderland. Victor Obinna provided the winner just before the hour mark to see Avram Grant's side into the Fourth Round.

Birmingham were dealt an easier tie at home to MK Dons, three goals in four minutes was enough to see off the challenge from the League 1 side. New signing Alexander Hleb scored after 24 minutes before in form Craig Gardener doubled Brum's lead, Nikola Zigic rounded off the four minute rout. MK Dons managed to get a consolation from substitute Aaron Wilbraham with ten minutes to go.

Owen Coyle was handed a return date with his former club Burnley at Turf Moor. However it would be the Clarets who got the last laugh after a first half stoppage time goal from Wade Elliot was enough to see off Coyle's Bolton.

Wolves were close to being on the end of a Cup shock when Notts County forced extra time. Lee Hughes actually gave the League One side the lead after 57 minutes and were eight minutes away from winning until Liam Chilvers conceded a penalty and was sent off; Nenad Milijas scored the resulting penalty. Wolves then took the lead just two minutes into extra time thanks to Steven Fletcher, substitute Kevin Doyle then doubled the lead in the first half stoppage time. Kevin Smith pulled one back with six minutes remaining but Doyle made it 4-2 in the final minute of the game.

The shock of the round came from Griffin Park as Brentford managed to beat struggling Everton. Seamus Coleman did give the Toffees an Early lead after six minutes but Gary Alexander equalised four minutes before half-time. Charlie MacDonald could have won it for Brentford before extra time after Coleman fouled Weston in the box, however Jan Mucha saved it. The game did eventually go into penalties and the League One side won 4-3.

The big game of the day came from White Hart Lane as Tottenham battled the old enemy Arsenal, both teams fielded a mixture of youth and experience to give the derby an edge. Defender Henri Lansbury gave the visitors the lead after fifteen minutes in front of the watching Arsene Wenger, who was given a touch-line ban for this game after his outburst on Saturday. Half-time substitute Robbie Keane equalised four minutes into the second half with a little help from the blunderous Fabianski. Extra-time ensued and the youth of Tottenham threw away the tie; Samir Nasri was brought down in the box just two minutes into extra time, the Frenchman then went onto convert the following penalty. Four minutes later Arsenal were awarded another penalty as Chamakh was tugged down by young Steven Caulker, Samir Nasri then stepped up to convert his second penalty to make it 3-1. David Bentley had a glorious chance just before half-time but he put his six yard header wide. With their tails down Tottenham conceded a free-kick twenty-five yards from goal and were caught unaware by a quick free-kick that put Arshavin through one-on-one with deputy goalkeeper on loan Stipe Pletikosa, the Russian made no mistake a rounded off a 4-1 victory for Arsenal.