London, Feb 5 (BUS): When the FA Cup fourth round match went into injury time, West Ham were facing a humiliating loss to sixth-tier side Kidderminster.
Alex Penney scored in the 19th minute for the third-placed team in the Northern League that was ahead of the millionaires from London, who are only one point away from the Champions League places in the English Premier League.
Only Declan Rice’s equalizing goal pushed the game into extra time to prevent West Ham from being the receiving end of the biggest upset in 150 years of the world’s oldest soccer competition, according to the Associated Press.
Then to avoid penalty shootouts in the 6,000-seat central England stadium, it took Jarrod Bowen to score in stoppage time overtime to reclaim a 2-1 win over the side that was below 113 in the Premier League system.
Chelsea scare
There was a major struggle in London for European champions Chelsea, who needed to come back from behind to knock out third-tier Plymouth 2-1 in extra time at Stamford Bridge to reach the fifth round.
Macaulay Gillespie headed Plymouth up early and Cesar Azpilicueta equalized with a superb backheel finish before halftime.
But Chelsea could not find a winner in 90 minutes. Even after Marcos Alonso scored at the end of the first half of extra time, Plymouth still had a chance to equalise.
But goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga correctly guessed that he saved a late penalty from Ryan Hardy after the Plymouth striker’s mistake by Malang Sarr.
The joy of Lampard’s discussion
Frank Lampard, sacked by Chelsea a year ago, began his return to management at Everton with a 4-1 win over Premier League rival Brentford.
Yerry Mina’s header was the first time Everton had advanced in a match since October under Rafael Benitez.
After Richarlison doubled Everton’s advantage shortly after the break, Evan Toni pulled one back for the West London club with a penalty.
However, Mason Holgate’s first goal since December 2020 secured Everton’s qualification to the Round of 16 to prompt ‘Super Frankie Lampard’ chants from all four sides at Goodison Park. The mood improved after substitute Andros Townsend’s shot in stoppage time.
city gatherings
Manchester City were shocked by Fabio Carvalho who put Fulham ahead after four minutes, but the Premier League champions quickly leveled through Ilkay Gundogan and went on to eliminate the second-tier side.
City goalkeeper Zach Stephen avoided conceding again on his return after a month out due to a back injury that caused him to miss the US World Cup qualifiers. John Stones beat City before a double from Riyad Mahrez, the first from a penalty kick.
in another place
Norwich reached the fifth round for only the second time in a decade when Kenny McClean headed home a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton. First-half goals from Mark Goey and Michael Ulis gave Crystal Palace a 2-0 victory over Hartlepool.
insult