Non-league Burton Albion held mighty Manchester United to an FA Cup third-round 0-0 draw on Sunday while struggling Championship side Leicester sent seven-time champions Tottenham crashing out.
Goalkeeper Saul Deeney was Burton’s hero, making a stunning save with his legs from Ritchie Jones in stoppage time as, for the second year in a row, the 11-time winners of the world’s oldest cup tournament were blanked by non-league opposition, having been held by Exeter at Old Trafford last year.
At the Walkers Stadium, meanwhile, Leicester came back from 2-0 down to beat Spurs 3-2 with Mark de Vries grabbing a 90th-minute winner.
Manchester United rested several top stars such as captain Gary Neville, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, but Sir Alex Ferguson included Wayne Rooney and Christiano Ronaldo among his substitutes at the Pirelli Stadium.
But Burton, who play in the Conference, the fifth tier of English football, edged the opening period and then battled bravely after the break to hold on for a draw.
Manager Nigel Clough was already looking forward to the replay at Old Trafford.
”I don’t know how much this will mean to the club in financial terms, but if you had seen the look on my players’ faces at the end, you would realise it will mean an awful lot more for them just to get the chance to play at Old Trafford,” he said.
Ferguson preferred to focus on the romantic element of the result rather than his own disappointment.
”We didn’t want a replay and I didn’t expect one. If we had taken our chances, we wouldn’t have had to play one, but the money will give Burton a lifeline, just as it did for Exeter last year,” said the United boss. ”They worked their socks off and there is nothing wrong with the result as far as football is concerned.”
At the Walkers Stadium, Jermaine Jenas put Tottenham ahead after 20 minutes when he tapped home the loose ball after Michael Dawson’s header came back off the post.
Canada fullback Paul Stalteri smashed home a stunning second four minutes before the interval, but Elvis Hammond gave the hosts hope when he scrambled home Leicester’s first three minutes later.
Former Rangers midfielder Stephen Hughes turned home Joey Gudjonsson’s pass on 57 minutes and then Mark de Vries netted the winner in the last minute, although he looked suspiciously offside.
Shock casualties
Fulham became the first shock casualties of the third round as they crashed 2-1 to League Two side Leyton Orient at Craven Cottage.
Goals from Craig Easton and Joe Keith proved enough to secure Orient’s passage into the fourth-round draw, despite Collins John’s second half reply.
”We’re having our Christmas do tonight; we told the players we’d have it after this match,” said Orient manager Martin Ling.
”The chairman [boxing promoter Barry Hearn] is picking up the tab. They deserve it and we’ll let them enjoy themselves. They’ll have lots of girls chasing after them now. They’ll have a few drinks and rightly so.”
Meanwhile, Fulham boss Chris Coleman was fuming at his players.
”The defeat was down to a sense of arrogance. There was also a lack of effort and enthusiasm,” he said. ”I’m gutted, absolutely gutted. I didn’t show Orient any disrespect because they’re a good team who have a good manager and play good football. I showed them respect, but the players didn’t.”
Fulham — who were missing influential midfielders Steed Malbranque and Papa Bouba Diop — missed a 69th-minute penalty from John who saw Orient keeper Glyn Garner beat away his weak spot kick.
The visitors took the lead on 17 minutes, against the run of play, through Easton’s crisp strike and Keith’s deflected shot just before half-time doubled their lead.
Following a half-time roasting from manager Chris Coleman, Fulham came out determined to atone for their first-half showing and John fired the hosts back into the match on 50 minutes.
At the Stadium of Light, Premiership strugglers Sunderland ensured they would not suffer the same fate by overcoming non-league Northwich 3-0 thanks to goals from Neill Collins, Dean Whitehead and France under-21 striker Anthony le Tallec.
Northwich’s hopes of causing an upset seemed over after six minutes as Collins scored from a corner.
They stayed in the game until four minutes before the break when Whitehead turned in a cross from Jonathan Stead and the tie was all but over.
On-loan Liverpool forward Le Tallec tapped home the third from six yards 20 minutes from time after intense pressure from the Premiership team. — Sapa-AFP