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FA Cup round-up: West Ham beat ten-man Everton in epic shoot-out

  • bessbcq15629
  • Aug 31, 2016
  • 3 min read

West Ham came out on top in an epic battle with ten-man Everton to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round, the Hammers securing a 9-8 penalty shoot-out victory at Upton Park.

It was a tie which resembled a basketball game rather than a football match at times, with the sides locked a 1-1 after 90 minutes and 2-2 after extra-time.

Sam Allardyce’s side took a second-half lead though Enner Valencia’s 51st minute strike, the Ecuador forward holding off a challenge from John Stones before slotting past Joel Robles with an angled finish.

Five minutes later Roberto Martinez suffered an added blow when his side were reduced to ten men, Irish winger Aiden McGeady shown a second yellow card for a reckless sliding challenge on Mark Noble.

But, after a string of chances for both sides, Everton snatched a dramatic equaliser with just eight minutes left on the clock, Kevin Mirallas curling an exquisite curling free-kick around the wall and into the top corner past a stretching Adrian.

West Ham had a handful of opportunities to win it in the closing stages of normal time, but goalkeeper Robles pulled off a string of superb saves to keep the Merseysiders in it and force extra-time.

The frantic end-to-end action continued after the short interval and, despite early pressure from West Ham, it was the ten-man Toffees who took the lead when Romelu Lukaku latched onto Mirallas’ low pass to tuck the ball in from close-range.

There were a few contentious refereeing decisions throughout the tie, but the biggest call came when the rampant Mirallas looked to be tripped well inside the area, only for referee Neil Swarbrick to deny Everton’s penalty claims and instead award them a free-kick.

And it proved a huge moment in the game, as late substitute Carlton Cole soon pulled the Hammers level after less than two minutes on the pitch, stabbing the ball home from James Tompkins' knock-down to take the tie to penalties.

After a miss apiece, with Everton’s Steven Naismith and West Ham’s Stewart Downing both seeing shots saved, the shoot-out went to sudden death and came down to the two keepers.

And it was Adrian who won it for the Hammers, the Spaniard coolly stroking the ball home after Robles powered his spot kick onto the bar.

West Ham face a trip to Bristol City in the fourth round, following their 2-0 victory over Doncaster thanks to two goals from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

Meanwhile, another of the night’s four ties also went to additional time, with Fulham beating Wolves 5-3 from the spot in a frenetic clash at a snowy Molineux.

It ended 3-3 at extra-time, the hosts taking the lead through Cauley Woodrow’s first-half header before Dave Edwards and Rajiv van La Parra netted to put Wolves, who had earlier hit the post and bar, in front.

Just minutes later, however, Woodrow notched his brace to force another 30 minutes of play, where Wolves went ahead again through Edwards’ second of the night before Ross McCormack levelled with dramatic last-minute penalty.

And the Cottagers’ fortune from the spot continued into the shoot-out, with Hugo Rodallega scoring the winning kick to secure a long journey up to Sunderland.

Finally, Chesterfield beat Scunthorpe United to reach the fourth round for the first time in 18 years as midfielder Sam Clucas scored twice in extra-time to claim a 2-0 victory.

The Spireites’ remarkable FA Cup run, having been ordered to replay their second round win over MK Dons after they accidently fielded an ineligible player, continues at Championship side Derby County in the next stage.


 
 
 

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