Minnows denied by late City goal rush
LEAGUE TWO Cheltenham Town fell nine minutes short of producing a huge FA Cup fourth-round upset over Premier League giants Manchester City.
Cheltenham led 1-0 after
Alfie May bundled home a Ben Tozer long throw into the box on 59 minutes.
Pep Guardiola’s side were shell-shocked but they responded with a late goal blitz. Phil Foden levelled on 81 minutes and Gabriel Jesus put the visitors in front three minutes later. Ferran Torres scored a third in stoppage-time to secure a 3-1 win.
Cheltenham boss Michael Duff said: ‘I’m super proud of the boys. Everything went as well as it could be, but we just couldn’t quite hold on.’
A relieved Foden said: ‘We were a bit slow in the first half but we are delighted we got the win and are through.’
West Ham eased into the fifth round after a 4-0 victory over League One club Doncaster Rovers.
Pablo Fornals opened the scoring after just two minutes for the Hammers. Andriy Yarmolenko double the lead on 32 minutes. The tie was effectively sealed when Doncaster’s Andy Butler put through his own net nine minutes after half-time. Oladapo Afolayan added a fourth for David Moyes’ side.
Brighton avoided a shock at the hands of League Two Blackpool after winning 2-1 at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls took the lead through midfielder Yves Bissouma’s long-range rocket but veteran forward Gary Madine equalised on the stroke of half-time for Blackpool.
Steven Azate clinched victory on 58 minutes after the ball deflected off the Brighton midfielder.
There was no cup shock at Bramall Lane either where Sheffield United defeated Plymouth 2-1.
Chris Basham and Billy
Sharp put the Blades 2-0 up before Panutche Camara netted a late consolation.
Elsewhere, Swansea thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-1, Bristol City won 3-0 at Millwall and Barnsley beat Championship leaders Norwich 1-0 at home.