Lincoln land Gunners tie
THE FA Cup dream goes on for non-league Lincoln City, who have been given the tantalising prospect of a trip to Arsenal in the quarter-finals. Management team Danny and Nicky Cowley, their families and dozens of fans were at Sincil Bank to watch the draw, which also paired Chelsea and Manchester
United in a return to Stamford Bridge for ex-Blues boss Jose Mourinho.
But at Lincoln the chant was ‘We’re coming for you, Arsene Wenger, we’re coming for you,’ after their heroes were rewarded for beating Premier League Burnley with a trip to the winners of Sutton v Arsenal tonight.
The supporters might want Premier League opposition but their manager will be rooting for his National League rivals — even if he admits it would be a ‘dream’ to play Arsene Wenger’s side.
‘ I genuinely hope Sutton United can do it as that would be great for non-league,’ said Cowley. ‘I’ve been in non-league football all of my life and it would be great for the game.
‘ Not sure I’d rather play Sutton as there would be more pressure on us if they did win.
‘To come up against Arsene Wenger would be a dream. I am in this game to test myself and there aren’t many tougher tests than going to the Emirates.’
A mouth-watering last- eight draw also saw Millwall given a trip to Tottenham as the prize for knocking out Leicester, and the final tie sees Middlesbrough pitted against Huddersfield Town or Manchester City.
While Lincoln continued to live in dreamland, United boss Mourinho was trying to dampen down the prospect of a reunion with his old team. His last visit ended in his worst league defeat, a 4-0 capitulation.
‘The match is in one month’s t i me. I don’t want t o be speaking about it,’ he said. ‘Chelsea can only think about that because I think they are champions and they have nothing else to fight for.
‘The FA Cup is something that is important for them. I have no reaction. I have to play SaintEtienne, I have to play the EFL Cup Final, I have to play, hopefully, another opponent in the Europa League.
‘I have to fight for a top-four position in the Premier League. I have so many things to think about. We are going to fight for that but the League Cup is the one we have a 50- per- cent possibility to win.’
Mourinho insists that United can still win three trophies this season, even if fixtures are starting to pile up. They should sail through to the Europa League last 16 and will face Southampton in the EFL Cup final on Sunday at Wembley.
Millwall boss Neil Harris was delighted to be taking his side to Tottenham, saying: ‘It’s a cracking draw for everyone associated with this club.
‘The players have had the opportunity to test themselves against some of t he best Premier League teams in the previous three rounds but this is another level altogether.
‘Spurs are a fantastic side and this gives my players a chance to see how they can compete with some truly outstanding footballers. White Hart Lane is a fantastic stadium and it’s a tie we’re looking forward to.’
Tottenham striker Harry Kane — who took the match ball home yesterday after scoring a hat-trick to sink Fulham at Craven Cottage — had a loan spell at Millwall in 2012 and scored seven goals in 22 games.
But there could be issues over the staging of quarter-finals in the capital given that March 10- 13, when t he t i es are scheduled, follows midweek Europa League games.
Manchester United and Tottenham could both be appearing in the Europa League last 16 on Thursday, March 9. They could not then play until Sunday, March 12, but the Metropolitan Police may be uncomfortable about staging Chelsea v Manchester United and Tottenham v Millwall on the same day.
England also play against Scotland at Twickenham in the Six Nations on that date.
shoehorn into a congested fixture list. Chelsea await in the quarterfinal stage.
United fly to France tomorrow for Wednesday’s second leg of their Europa League tie against Saint- Etienne before f acing Southampton in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Mourinho was happier with the attitude yesterday than when his team won in Europe last Thursday night, but the performance was still somewhat lacking.
Blackburn were worth their opening goal, fashioned by the impressive Marvin Emnes in the 17th minute.
The Dutchman made a crossfield run before checking inside Marcos Rojo and catching United’s defence flat-footed with a clever reverse pass for Graham.
The 31-year- old striker didn’t hesitate as he steered the ball beyond Sergio Romero. Ewood Park erupted as Graham slid on his knees in celebration. Mourinho applauded what he later described as a ‘brilliant goal’. It was the first one United had conceded in 471 minutes.
However, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is proving an effective No 10 and it was no surprise he created the equaliser in the 27th minute.
The Armenian spotted Marcus Rashford’s run and picked out the youngster with an exquisite pass with the outside of his right foot. Rashford rounded Steele before scoring into an empty net.
Yet this contest was i n the balance right up until Mourinho decided to play his aces.
‘ Blackburn made i t difficult for us,’ he said. ‘ They probably deserved to go back to Old Trafford but it’s better for them so they can focus on a very difficult Championship.’
Rovers almost snatched a replay in the 86th minute when Romero made a fantastic double save from Connor Mahoney and Emnes.
‘We did enough to get another shot at it,’ said Coyle. ‘But when United bring on players like that and I bring on two kids from the academy, that’s the difference.’ BLACKBURN ( 4-4-1-1): Steele; Lowe, Greer, Lenihan, Williams; Feeney (Mahoney 73), Mulgrew, Guthrie (Tomlinson 81), Conway; Emnes; Graham (Stokes 77). Subs not used: Raya, Hendrie, Nyambe, Brown. Booked: Williams. MAN UTD (4-2-3-1): Romero; Young, Smalling, Rojo, Darmian; Carrick, Herrera; Lingard (Pogba 62), Mkhitaryan, Martial (Ibrahimovic 62); Rashford (Mata 89). Subs not used: Henderson, Bailly, Shaw, Schweinsteiger. Booked: Lingard, Young. Referee: Martin Atkinson. Attendance: 23,130. Man of the match: Henrikh Mkhitaryan.