Lukaku double carries United to quarterfinals

● Romelu Lukaku extended his impressive FA Cup scoring record by netting twice in Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Huddersfield Town to send Jose Mourinho’s side through to the quarterfinals.

The Belgian has scored in each of the three rounds United have played of this year’s competition and now has 11 goals from his past 10 FA Cup appearances.

Lukaku’s first came after three minutes, and the striker scored again in the second half after United mounted a quick counterattack against a side who beat them at the John Smith’s Stadium in the Premier League last October.

Yesterday’s fifth-round late kickoff also featured English football’s latest video-assisted referee (VAR) decision when United’s Juan Mata had a goal disallowed after being ruled fractionally offside before the interval.

United’s midfielder Paul Pogba missed the game due to illness.

West Bromwich Albion’s tumultuous week took a final turn for the worse as they were knocked out by Southampton, whose 2-1 victory at the Hawthorns secured the visitors a quarterfinal berth for the first time since 2005.

Defeat always seemed likely for West Brom, who are bottom of the Premier League and sacked their chairman and chief executive on Tuesday. They then had four senior players interviewed by Spanish police over the alleged theft of a taxi from outside a fastfood restaurant in Barcelona.

Two of those involved in the incident, Jonny Evans and Gareth Barry, both started against Southampton after issuing a public apology, although Evans was stripped of the captaincy by Albion manager Alan Pardew.

Evans could do nothing to stop Southampton taking the lead through Wesley Hoedt on 11 minutes, with Dusan Tadic adding the second after the interval.

Salomon Rondon countered for West Brom but Southampton held on to record their second win at Albion in two weeks.

Brighton’s Jurgen Locadia scored on his debut in the 3-1 win over Coventry City who, after knocking out Stoke City in the third round, failed to make FA Cup history by becoming the first fourth-tier side to beat two top-flight teams in the same season.

There was never much chance of that with Brighton’s record signing Locadia scoring with his first shot on target after 15 minutes and Leicester City loanee Leonardo Ulloa rounding off the win after Connor Goldson netted his first goal in almost two years. Jonson Clarke-Harris scored Coventry’s consolation.

The last time Brighton were a top-flight team they reached the FA Cup final in 1983 and might fancy their chances of a repeat this season.

At Hillsborough, both managers bemoaned the replay after second-tier Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City shared a goalless draw, with Swansea’s Carlos Carvalhal suggesting everyone would have been happy to play on to penalties. — Reuters