Soccer

FA Cup round-up: Promise Omochere on target again for Fleetwood Town

Former Bohemians striker makes it two in two cup ties; Southampton ruin Mick McCarthy’s Blackpool bow

Sheffield Wednesday's Dominic Iorfa challenges Fleetwood Town's Promise Omochere during the FA Cup fourth-round match at Hillsborough. Photograph: Isaac Parkin/PA Wire

Sat Jan 28 2023 - 17:45

Sheffield Wednesday 1 Fleetwood Town 1

Former Bohemians striker Promise Omochere scored for the second straight FA Cup encounter as Fleetwood Town drew 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth-round game at Hillsborough.

The 22-year-old Dubliner scored the winner in the third-round victory over QPR and he gave the visitors a lead early in the second period, but Wednesday drew level midway through the half when Josh Earl was credited with an own goal.

The home side, who upset Premier League Newcastle in the third round, dominated in the first half with Mallik Wilks threatening on a couple of occasions. The striker headed wide early on and then had a shot turned away by Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch.

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Fleetwood made a bright start to the second half with Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu heading over from a good position before they took the lead.

The goal came when Danny Andrew’s cross from the left was met by a diving header from Omochere in the 52nd minute, the striker’s celebrations earning him a yellow card

The equaliser came in the 71st minute when Marvin Johnson’s cross from the left was met by Wilks, running in, with Fleetwood’s Josh Earl appearing to get the final touch before the ball went in.

Southampton 2 Blackpool 1

Romain Perraud scored twice to seal Southampton’s place in the fifth round with a 2-1 win over Mick McCarthy’s Blackpool at St Mary’s.

The Seasiders, languishing in the bottom two of the Championship, held their own in the first half against their Premier League opposition in what was new boss McCarthy’s first match in charge.

But they were behind at the break after Perraud scored directly from a free-kick, and the French full back then extended his side’s advantage midway through the second half before Charlie Patino pulled a goal back.

The result ensures Southampton are one win away from reaching their fourth FA Cup quarter-final stage in six seasons.

Accrington Stanley 1 Leeds United 3

Leeds avoided another FA Cup upset by winning 3-1 at Accrington to reach the fifth round for just the fourth time in 20 years.

Jack Harrison’s stunning strike gave the Premier League side an interval lead and two goals in as many second-half minutes from Junior Firpo and Luis Sinisterra killed the tie.

But it was not all plain sailing for Jesse Marsch’s side and League One side Accrington deservedly pulled one back through teenage substitute Leslie Adekoya’s first senior goal.

But Leeds, dumped out of the cup by the likes of Hereford, Histon, Rochdale, Sutton, Newport and Crawley in recent years, had too much quality for their hosts and reached the last 16 for the first time in seven years.

Walsall 0 Leicester City 1

Kelechi Iheanacho was Leicester’s FA Cup saviour again as the Foxes squeezed past Walsall.

The substitute’s deflected strike clinched a 1-0 win to send the visitors into the fifth round and spare Youri Tielemans’s blushes.

The skipper missed a second-half penalty before Iheanacho ended the Saddlers’ stubborn resistance.

Iheanacho, who also scored the winner in the 1-0 third-round victory at Gillingham, now has 17 goals in 23 FA Cup appearances.

It was a slog for Leicester with Walsall edging the first half but Michael Flynn’s men never seriously tested Daniel Iversen.

Fulham 1 Sunderland 1

Fulham and Sunderland could not be separated at Craven Cottage with Tom Cairney’s equaliser securing a 1-1 draw for the hosts.

Sunderland took the lead in the sixth minute when Jack Clarke capitalised on a defensive error to fire his side in front.

The early blow seemed to spark Fulham into life although they had to be patient, with a number of chances scuppered before Cairney cleverly created space in the box and hit a low shot into the back of the net to level matters in the 61st minute.

While neither side will have wanted to add to their already congested fixture schedule, they will now have to face each other again to decide which team will progress to the fifth round.

Luton Town 2 Grimsby Town 2

Kilkenny’s Gavan Holohan opened the scoring as League Two Grimsby earned a fourth-round replay with Championship side Luton after a 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road.

After Holohan had put the Mariners ahead, Elijah Adebayo and Jordan Clark turned the game around for the Hatters.

But, just one minute after Clark’s effort made it 2-1, Harry Clifton struck to deny Luton.

Blackburn 2 Birmingham City 2

Jordan James struck in stoppage-time as Birmingham snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw at Blackburn.

Rovers looked to be heading through to the fifth round for the first time since 2017 after recovering from conceding Reda Khadra’s early opener thanks to Bradley Dack’s close-range finish and a precise Joe Rankin-Costello strike.

But 18-year-old James, who had been on the pitch for barely two minutes, scored his first of the campaign by coolly converting a cutback to send the almost 4,000-strong visiting support wild and earn Blues a replay next week.

Bristol City 3 West Brom 0

Striker Sam Bell seized his chance to impress with a brace in Bristol City’s 3-0 victory over West Bromn at Ashton Gate.

Promoted to the starting line-up in place of £9 million Bournemouth signing Antoine Semenyo, the 20-year-old academy product opened the scoring after 12 minutes with an exquisite right-footed curling finish from inside the box after Albion failed to clear a corner.

It was 2-0 after 28 minutes, Ireland international Mark Sykes breaking on to a Nahki Wells through-ball and crossing low for Alex Scott to slot in from close range.

Bell was on target again three minutes after the break, cleverly controlling a George Tanner cross from the right before lifting his shot over advancing goalkeeper David Button.

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