FA CUP FOURTH ROUND: SATURDAY’S DRAMA AND UPSETS

Written by: Floyd Nkanyane

Manchester City survived a scare at Leyton Orient, while Newcastle edged a thrilling contest at Birmingham in a day filled with cup drama across England. Here’s a FLO Report of Saturday’s matches:

Manchester City Rescued by De Bruyne at Orient

In a classic FA Cup encounter, Manchester City needed Kevin De Bruyne’s intervention to secure a 2-1 victory against League One’s Leyton Orient. The hosts took a spectacular lead through Jamie Donley, the Tottenham loanee scoring an extraordinary 40-yard effort that went in off goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. City equalized through Rico Lewis’s deflected shot before De Bruyne, continuing his impressive FA Cup record of 26 goal involvements since 2016, scored the winner. The victory comes at a crucial time for City, who face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ipswich Town Impress at Coventry

Ipswich Town demonstrated their strength in depth with a commanding 4-1 victory at Coventry City. Jack Clarke’s double and goals from George Hirst and Jadon Philogene secured the win. The match, despite being delayed due to congestion, saw McKenna’s side bounce back impressively from their recent league setback against Southampton.

Bournemouth Continue Strong Form

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth secured a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park against Everton. Young talents Ben Winterburn and Daniel Jebbison featured prominently, with Jebbison scoring along with Antoine Semenyo’s penalty. Despite Carlos Alcaraz’s impressive debut for Everton, hitting the post with a free-kick, the Cherries maintained their strong recent form.

Burnley’s Defensive Masterclass

Burnley’s remarkable defensive record continued with a 1-0 win at Southampton, courtesy of Marcus Edwards’ second-half winner. The Clarets have now kept 10 clean sheets in their last 11 matches, having conceded just nine goals in 31 Championship fixtures this season.

Fulham Edge Past Wigan

Rodrigo Muniz’s brace helped Fulham secure a 2-1 victory at Wigan Athletic. Despite making 10 changes, Marco Silva’s side dominated possession, particularly in the opening stages where they maintained 90% of the ball.

Newcastle Survive Birmingham Thriller

In an entertaining encounter, Newcastle United emerged 3-2 winners at St Andrew’s. Joe Willock’s brace, including the winner, and Callum Wilson’s goal helped the Magpies progress, though Dan Burn’s injury concern could impact their upcoming fixtures.

Brighton’s Comeback Against Chelsea

Brighton overcame Chelsea 2-1 in an impressive comeback victory. After falling behind to a Verbruggen own goal, Georginio Rutter’s header and Kaoru Mitoma’s winner turned the game around. The result extends Chelsea’s poor run of form, with just three wins in their last ten matches across all competitions.

Fourth Round Results:

Fri, Feb. 7

Man United 2-1 Leicester City

Sat, Feb. 8

Leeds United 0-2 Millwall

Leyton Orient 1-2 Manchester City

Coventry City 1-4 Ipswich Town

Preston North End 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers (Wycombe won 4-2 on penalties)

Stoke City 3-3 Cardiff City (Cardiff won 4-2 on penalties)

Southampton 0-1 Burnley

Everton 0-2 Bournemouth

Wigan Athletic 1-2 Fulham

Birmingham City 2-3 Newcastle United

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Chelsea

What’s next for Premier League Clubs?

The fourth round continues with several key fixtures, including Plymouth vs Liverpool and Aston Villa vs Spurs on Sunday. The fifth-round draw is scheduled for Monday, February 10th, with the next round’s matches set for March 1-2.

Sun, Feb. 9

Blackburn Rovers vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Plymouth Argyle vs. Liverpool

Aston Villa vs. Tottenham

Mon, Feb. 10

Doncaster Rovers vs. Crystal Palace

Tue, Feb. 11

Exeter City vs. Nottingham Forest

This weekend’s matches have maintained the FA Cup’s reputation for drama and unpredictability, with several Premier League sides facing significant challenges from lower-division opposition to controversial decisions without the assistance of VAR, let’s just say can we have more DRAMA on Sunday, Pretty Please!