The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Rochdale earn Wembley replay after late strike
Substitute stuns Spurs with equaliser in stoppage time
Substitute Steve Davies earned Rochdale an FA Cup fifth-round replay at Wembley with a stoppage-time equaliser against Tottenham.
Sky Bet League One’s bottom club played superbly to take the lead into halftime thanks to captain Ian Henderson’s sixth goal of their cup run, yet looked to have been denied when Lucas Moura equalised.
Substitute Harry Kane netted a penalty with just two minutes left but, three minutes into four minutes of added time, Rochale threw men forward and got their reward as Davies lashed in to make it 2-2.
Rochdale fans queued in the snow at the Crown Oil Arena on Monday to get their hands on a precious ticket, and within four hours it was the first sell-out anyone at the club can remember.
Much of the talk in the build-up was about the pitch after Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino reacted with horror when shown pictures of it after Dale’s fourth-round replay win over Millwall.
The third-tier side were more than a little miffed to see their achievement completely overshadowed by the playing surface and invested in a new pitch, which was laid on Wednesday.
Moura’s pace made him an obvious danger to Rochdale from the start, while Son Heung-min created several early openings but struggled to find his feet.
Rochdale took umbrage at claims they were giving away an advantage by relaying the pitch, and set about showing they, too, prefer a surface conducive to passing.
Matt Done and Mark Kitching stood out early on, while the home fans appealed vociferously for a penalty when Andrew Cannon harried Toby Alderweireld and the defender appeared to handle the ball on the ground.
Rochdale were as tenacious in defence as attack and, with the first half almost over, produced the move of the match on the counter to take a deserved lead.
Stephen Humphrys played in Cannon and he timed his pass to Henderson to perfection, leaving the striker to sweep a cool finish beyond Vorm.
However, Pochettino was not tempted to turn to his talisman early and, with 59 minutes gone, Spurs found their leveller. Moussa Sissoko played in Moura, who confidently beat Lillis from 12 yards.
The danger levels were increasing for Rochdale, who soon had Kane to contend with back at the ground where he made his professional debut.
Victor Wanyama spurned a golden chance by firing over an open goal from five yards.
A money-spinning Wembley date was looming ever closer for Rochdale, and Matt Done did his bit by heading off the line when Erik Lamela’s deflected shot looped towards the net.
But Dele Alli was too quick for Harrison McGahey, who hacked him down, and Kane’s confident penalty looked to have secured Tottenham victory only for Davies to engineer the most unlikely of finishes.
Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku scored a brace to help Manchester United advance into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win at Huddersfield on Saturday.
The match came complete with a controversial intervention by the video assistant referee at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Juan Mata saw an effort cancelled out for the narrowest of offsides – with some strangely skewed lines superimposed on the screen.
However, Lukaku goals early in each half ensured United progressed with a 2-0 fifth-round victory.
Southampton piled more misery on West Brom to progress into the last eight with a confidence-boosting 2-1 victory at the Hawthorns.
Brighton reached the last eight for the first time in 32 years with a 3-1 success at Coventry, while Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea must try again after their tie ended goalless at Hillsborough.