Tottenham bounced back from a disastrous start to book their
place in the FA Cup fourth round with a pulsating 4-2 win against Burnley at White Hart Lane.
Marvin Sordell's stunner and Ross Wallace’s deflected
free-kick put the visitors ahead after eight minutes, before Brazilian
midfielder Paulinho halved the deficit moments later.
Roberto Soldado missed a brilliant chance before the break,
but was let off the hook when Etienne Capoue
scored his second Spurs goal to pull the sides level.
And the hosts blew their opponents away in the second half,
with Vlad Chiriches and Danny Rose completing a
home victory.
A sparse White Hart Lane was treated to a sparkling start
with three goals coming inside the opening ten minutes.
Sordell put the visitors in front, latching onto Kieran
Trippier’s searching pass before rifling the ball past Michel Vorm with a sensational, first-time strike
three minutes in.
Burnley’s second came five minutes later, as Wallace’s
curling free-kick wrong footed the former Swansea goalkeeper via a wicked
deflection off Soldado.
But the Spaniard made amends instantly for Mauricio
Pochettino’s side, flicking the ball into the path of Paulinho who duly smashed
the ball past Tom Heaton with a clinical finish.
However, Soldado wasted a wonderful chance to bring Spurs
level before the break, inexplicably hitting the woodwork from point-blank
range, although the hosts did find an equaliser moments later, Capoue made no
mistake with a driven effort from a Ben Davies pullback.
And Spurs’ comeback was complete four minutes after the
restart, Chiriches profiting from some calamitous goalkeeping from Heaton to
head home from close range.
The home side then extended their advantage, Soldado showing
great composure to pick out Rose with a low cross, and the 24-year-old hammered
the ball into the net with an expert finish.
Two contentious penalty decisions were waved away by referee
Craig Pawson as Spurs pushed for a fifth with Soldado, Capoue and Townsend
coming close, but four proved to be enough to mark Tottenham’s progression.
Ipswich 0-1 Southampton
Shane Long’s superb finish ensured Southampton’s progression
in the FA Cup, eliminating a disappointing Ipswich at
Portman Road.
The Irishman’s precise strike in the first-half won the tie
for Ronald Koeman’s side in a game bereft of quality, and they will now face
fellow Premier League opponents Crystal Palace in the fourth round.
Stephen Hunt was denied the Tractor Boys’ opening goal with
the referee’s assistant ruling the former Hull winger’s effort out for offside,
before Long netted impressively on 18 minutes after industrious work from James
Ward-Prowse.
The England under-21 international then came a whisker away
from Saints’ second with a ranging effort. Dusan Tadic, Southampton’s
match-winner against Manchester United
on Sunday, was a constant threat while Fraser Forster did well to keep out
Darren Ambrose’s header.
But, despite some wasteful finishing from Saints, Mick
McCarthy’s side were unable to pull level as Southampton eased through.
Bradford 4-0 Millwall
Bradford ran riot against ten-man Millwall at Valley Parade
to book a glamorous fourth round tie against Chelsea.
Lions defender Mark Beevers was dismissed six minutes into
the encounter after tangling with James Hanson, and the Bantams took full
advantage two minutes later when the 27-year-old rose highest to bury a header
past Republic of Ireland international David Forde.
Matters got worse for Ian Holloway’s side when Jon Stead
stabbed the ball home from close-range, before Andy Halliday converted Filipe
Morais’ cross for the Bantams’ third.
Billy Knott completed the rout on 57 minutes, benefiting
from a goal-mouth scramble to poke the ball home from eight yards out.
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