Fa Cup 3rd Round

Here is all the news and info on the FA Cup 3rd round. I hope you let me know what you think of everything!

Forest top of the shocks at City

The day's action began at Victoria Park and it began with the round's first shock as League One Hartlepool beat Premier League strugglers Stoke 2-0.

Michael Nelson headed in Matty Robson's left-wing free-kick four minutes after half-time before David Foley sealed the win with a 25-yard volley which flew into the top right corner of the net 15 minutes from time.

Then in the 3 o'clock kick offs Nottingham Forest caused the biggest upset of the competition so far with a 3-0 win over Manchester City at Eastlands that heaps further pressure on Blues boss Mark Hughes.

The Championship side spoiled what was supposed to be a day of celebration for City, who had unveiled new signing Wayne Bridge on the pitch before kick off, when they stunned their hosts with two goals in four minutes as half-time approached.

Nathan Tyson struck first after 38 minutes with a thunderous volley from 25 yards and Robert Earnshaw made no mistake from close range for the second. City failed to improve in the second half.

It was the worst possible outcome for Hughes, who is under huge pressure to perform having been bankrolled by the club's owners the Abu Dhabi United Group, and their miserable afternoon reached a new low with 15 minutes remaining when Dietmar Hamann threw the ball straight to Joe Garner, who made no mistake with his finish from the edge of the box.

Meanwhile Chelsea were unable to book their place in the next round after being held to a 1-1 draw by League One side Southend with a goal in stoppage time. Salomon Kalou's header on the half-hour put the Blues in front but Peter Clarke was the hero for the Shrimpers.

There were shock results among teams from outside the Premier League too, with Blue Square Premier side Torquay knocking Championship outfit Blackpool out of the cup with a 1-0 win.

Torquay took the lead just after the half-hour when Matt Green latched onto a Kevin Nicholson long ball before driving past Paul Rachubka from 20 yards. Kettering added to the Blue Square Premier's representation in round four after they beat Eastwood Town 2-1 at Rockingham Road.

Arsenal suffered no such humiliation, however, as they saw off the challenge of Championship outfit Plymouth Argyle with a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium; stand-in captain Robin van Persie grabbing a brace.

And there will be no fairytale run for Barnsley this year after they lost 3-0 at West Ham. The Tykes, who knocked out Liverpool and Chelsea en route to the semi-finals last season, were behind in the 10th minute when Herita Ilunga ghosted in at the far post to tap in a Mark Noble cross from five yards. Noble added the second and Carlton Cole sealed the result in the 68th minute when he turned in Ilunga's cross.

Sunderland beat Bolton 2-1 with Djibril Cisse scoring the decisive goal, while their north-east rivals Newcastle were held goalless at Hull in another all-Premier League affair. Shay Given, who earlier this week revealed he might be prepared to leave the club, was the star of the show in the Magpies goal.

Fulham beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 with a late goal from Andrew Johnson while Middlesbrough held off a late rally to beat Blue Square Premier side Barrow 2-1 at the Riverside thanks to an Afonso Alves double.

Leon Osman broke the deadlock two minutes before half-time as Everton beat Macclesfield 1-0 at Moss Rose, while West Brom were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Peterborough, Craig Mackail-Smith forcing the replay with a close-range finish three minutes from time.

Elsewhere holders Portsmouth were held to a 0-0 draw by Bristol City.

Nottm FOrest, congrats to them, and Man City, the richest team in the world beaten by a low club, how embarassing, and Stoke, things just seem to get worse for them. Its not as bad as City tho, and Pompey, 0-0, the lower prem sides, arent doing well

Torres returns as Reds earn cup win

Riera was on target in a first half dominated by the Premier League side before Torres, on as a second-half substitute after a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, wrapped up the tie in injury time after Preston had threatened to grab an Anfield replay.

Despite a bright opening from the Championship outfit, Liverpool soon took command and fashioned their first opening in the 12th minute when Robbie Keane scuffed an effort wide from eight yards.

Steven Gerrard volleyed straight at Andy Lonergan before Richard Chaplow tested Reds goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri from the edge of the area.

Rafael Benitez's men deservedly broke the deadlock in the 25th minute, however, when the ball broke to Riera on the right. The Spanish winger looked to have squandered the opportunity to cross with his right before cutting back towards the edge of the area and lashing left-footed into the opposite corner past Lonergan.

Keane missed two more great chances for a dominant Liverpool just before the break while Daniel Agger steered a free header wide at the start of the second period.

Javier Mascherano and Gerrard both tested Lonergan from distance before North End saw a Sean St Ledger goal ruled out after a foul by Jon Parkin on Jamie Carragher.

After a sustained spell of pressure from the home side Benitez introduced the returning Torres for the disappointing Keane, with the Spain striker immediately firing well wide from distance after expertly turning Youl Mawene.

But Torres did get on the scoresheet with seconds left to play when Gerrard broke away and unselfishly squared for his team-mate to sidefoot into an empty net from two yards.

Good to see Torres score, and nice for Riera aswell. But, im sure they could have scored a few more maybe, but a win is whats important

Van der Sar: United up for the cup

With United having already reached the Carling Cup semi-finals and about to embark on an arduous period of Premier League fixtures before the European campaign erupts again next month, the FA Cup has slipped down Sir Alex Ferguson's list of priorities.

Even Van der Sar admits he would take defeat on the south coast on Sunday if it meant United could be guaranteed to successfully defend their major prizes this spring.

But the veteran Dutchman insists motivation will not be an issue against the Championship strugglers - Southampton's attitude will see to that.

"Maybe it is not our most important game but it will have been the only thing Southampton have talked about for the last two or three weeks," said Van der Sar.

"This game could have been sold out two or three times.

"Southampton are not doing that well in the Championship so this represents a good chance for them to show themselves."

An FA Cup winner's medal is the only thing Van der Sar has not collected during his three years at Old Trafford.

Although Ferguson will always wonder what would have been if he had been successful in his original pursuit of the former Ajax man in 1999, for Van der Sar, his stay in the north-west represents a perfect Indian summer.

The former Holland skipper has just agreed a one-year extension although, as he will be 39 by the time it expires, he feels that will be the time to end his illustrious career.

"I have signed for another year and I am happy with that," he said.

"Hopefully I can maintain the same level as last year but 18 months is a long time and I don't think it will go on for much longer than that."

The nearest United have come in England's oldest domestic cup competition during Van der Sar's time was a final defeat to Chelsea in 2007.

It is part of a run that has seen the Old Trafford outfit lose to the eventual winners each season since the last of their 10 triumphs, against Millwall at the Millennium Stadium in 2004.

Portsmouth's controversial victory over United last March still rankles with Ferguson and Van der Sar shares the sentiment.

"That defeat still hurts," he said.

"It would be nice to make amends, get back to Wembley and win it.

"That is one of the aims for the season. But if the same scenario as last year came about, I wouldn't mind that either."

Ferguson has pledged to use his entire 23-man squad over the next month, with plenty of changes envisaged for Wednesday's trip to Derby.

As the United boss has already pledged to stick with the players he has tended to use in Carling Cup combat for the Pride Park encounter, Southampton are set to face a near-full-strength side.

The only exceptions are set to be Rio Ferdinand due to a back injury, Patrice Evra through suspension and Carlos Tevez, who is not due back from a family visit to Argentina until on Sunday evening.

I hope Man UTD are nice to my Saints, but, im glad they wont thrash us, cos they dont need to, i hope. lol

LOL!!! 6-0 for man utd pleasae =] hehe

oo stoke lost =[ i like stoke! i guess they are concentrating on not being relegated though =/

and liverpool won .. very good match against preston =] i hoped they might draw but liverpool made it 2-0 right at the end, but preston had some good chances!

xx

Hey, I like Southampton, keep it nice, lik !0- 0 to Southampton, MUAHAHAHA