Havant win plaudits despite defeat

FA Cup round-up

Africa Cup of Nations

After a busy day of FA Cup fourth round action, the spotlight is shining on Havant & Waterlooville of the Blue Square South. The non-league outfit may have lost 5-2 against Liverpool at Anfield but for the majority of the game they had their illustrious rivals worried as Havant twice took the lead. Richard Pacquette and Alfie Potter were the unlikely scorers but Leiva Lucas, Yossi Benayoun (3) and Peter Crouch were all on the scoresheet for Liverpool to ensure the impossible didn’t happen in the end.

Meanwhile, credit must be given to Championship strugglers Preston North End who beat Premier League Derby County 1-4 at Pride Park. Karl Hawley scored either side of a Simon Whalley effort to give the visitors a three-goal lead at half-time. Substitute Rob Earnshaw scored his first goal for the Rams after 55 minutes but in the last minute Lewin Nyatanga was sent off for a foul, with Neil Mellor scoring the resulting penalty.

Most of the other ties followed the form book and included a 3-0 win for Arsenal over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium, a 1-2 away win for Chelsea at Wigan Athletic and a comprehensive 1-4 triumph for Wolverhampton Wanderers at Watford’s Vicarage Road.

League One side Bristol Rovers are the lowest ranked team through to the fifth round after a 0-1 win against Barnet at Underhill, Peterborough United lost 0-3 at London Road against Championship toppers West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough avoided a potential banana skin at Mansfield Town’s Field Mill with a 0-2 victory.

Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers drew 1-1 at Villa Park in the day’s only Premier League encounter.

There were two Championship games played today. At Ashton Gate, Bristol City edged past Blackpool 1-0 to climb to second in the table. Marvin Elliott scored the vital goal on 20 minutes. Burnley beat struggling Scunthorpe United 2-0 at Turf Moor

Port Vale remain bottom of League One after losing 1-3 to fellow strugglers Bournemouth at Vale Park. Both Tranmere Rovers and Walsall recorded 2-1 home victories against 10-men Yeovil Town and Gillingham respectively. Luton Town drew 1-1 with Leeds United at Kenilworth Road as Sam Parkin’s last-minute equaliser ended the home side’s run of four consecutive defeats.

Eight games were played in League Two and the highlights include Rochdale’s 0-1 victory at Milton Keynes Dons - a result that cuts their lead at the top of the table to four points. Second placed Rotherham United had Chris O’Grady to thank for a 0-1 win at Chester City while Darlington were held to a 2-2 draw by Macclesfield Town at the Darlington Arena.

The weather affected today’s football in Scotland as the Scottish Premier League matches between Motherwell and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Fir Park and Hibernian and Gretna at Easter Road were both called off due to waterlogged pitches. In addition the Scottish Third Division clashes between Albion Rovers and Stranraer at Cliftonhill and East Stirlingshire and Dumbarton at Firs Park fell victim to the weather. The First Division match between Partick Thistle and Livingston at Firhill had been called off on Friday.

Rangers are seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League after beating St Mirren 4-0 at Ibrox with Celtic playing at Falkirk tomorrow. Elsewhere, Christian Nade scored the only goal of the game as Heart of Midlothian beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie and Kilmarnock’s poor run of form continued with a 1-2 defeat against Dundee United at Rugby Park.

In the Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon’s 5-1 win over Zambia included a penalty from Samuel Eto’o, which equalled the 14-goal Nations Cup goalscoring record while Egypt beat Sudan 3-0

Nathan Davies