The FA Cup Fourth Round – in 60 Seconds

If you’re an extremely quick reader, that is…

The shock of the round (although looking at the form perhaps not so much…) was Swansea’s 2-0 at holders Portsmouth, abruptly ending the Premiership side’s defence of the trophy. There were no other ‘shocks’ per se – but replays were well earnt by Burnley at West Brom, by Doncaster against Villa, and by Cardiff against Arsenal. Kettering were hugely unlucky to get such reward against Fulham, with two last gasp goals eventually killing off the gallant non-leaguers.

There are also replays in two of the all-Premier league ties, with the Merseyside derby ending 1-1 and Sunderland and Blackburn fighting out a tepid 0-0. United beat Spurs 2-1 in the other top flight clash.

There were routine victories for Chelsea, Hull, and West Ham against lower-league opposition, and ‘Boro eventually saw off a strong challenge from Wolves to win 2-1. Sheffield Utd saw off Charlton (the worst side in the country on current form), Coventry nicked a slightly fortunate 1-0 against Torquay, and Watford crept past Palace in a 4-3 thriller.

Finally, and somewhat Irishly as it was the first game of the round on Friday night, Nigel Clough’s return to the City Ground earned Derby a replay after a 1-1 draw. The winners of that will play Man Utd in Round 5 – a huge incentive – see the full 5th round draw below…

FA Cup fifth-round draw (Ties to be played on 14/15/16 February):

Sheff Utd v Hull
Watford v Chelsea
West Ham v Middlesbrough
Sunderland/ Blackburn v Coventry
Derby/ Nottm Forest v Man Utd
Swansea v Fulham
Liverpool/ Everton v Doncaster/ Aston Villa
Cardiff/ Arsenal v West Brom/ Burnley

Fourth round replay dates:

Tuesday, 3 February
Arsenal v Cardiff (1945 GMT)
Burnley v West Brom (1945 GMT)

Wednesday, 4 February
Aston Villa v Doncaster (1945 GMT)
Blackburn v Sunderland (2000 GMT)
Everton v Liverpool (2000 GMT)
Nottm Forest v Derby (1945 GMT)