Matt’s double finish powers five-star Swans
Swansea City strolled into the fifth round, with a 5-1 hammering of Championship rivals Nottingham Forest. Doubles from Matt Grimes and Liam Cullen, as well as Oli Cooper’s first senior goal, sent Swansea into the last 16 of the competition for the third time in four seasons. Anthony Knockaert gave Forest hope at 2-1 at the start of the second half, and they will no doubt question the legitimacy of Swansea’s third goal from the penalty spot.
But Swansea showed the form which has taken them to second spot in the Championship in extending their unbeaten home run at the Liberty Stadium to 10 games.
The Welsh side gave an instant debut to Conor Hourihane, the Republic of Ireland midfielder signed on loan from Aston Villa this week. But United States forward Jordan Morris had to wait for his introduction as his loan from MLS side Seattle Sounders was not completed in time for him to feature. Yves Bissouma’s stunning strike helped Brighton avoid an upset as they scraped home with a 2-1 win over League One Blackpool. Albion midfielder Bissouma, who has been linked with a host of Europe’s top clubs, underlined his ability by opening the scoring with a thunderous drive from fully 30 yards.
The visitors briefly levelled through Gary Madine’s close-range finish, but were unable to claim a second successive Premier League scalp as Seagulls midfielder Steven Alzate claimed a fortuitous second-half winner. Alexis Mac Allister took aim from range, but his shot required a hefty deflection off Alzate to deceive visiting keeper Chris Maxwell and roll into the bottom corner.
Callum Styles fired home a deserved winner as Barnsley toppled Championship leaders Norwich 1-0 to reach the fifth round for the first time in eight years.
Man-of-the-match Styles struck the decisive goal early in the second half as the Reds gained revenge for their narrow defeat to the Canaries earlier this month.
Victory for Barnsley sets up a potential home tie against Chelsea, who the South Yorkshire side famously beat at Oakwell in 2008 to reach the semi-finals.
A dominant secondhalf performance eased Bristol City past Millwall at the Den, with a 3-0 win securing their place in the fifth round of the hat for just the second time in 20 years.
The visitors took the lead, against the run of play, through a Famara Diedhiou penalty and despite creating a number of opportunities, Millwall were unable to get the better of Max O’leary. The all-championship encounter was effectively settled by a deflected Nahki Wells free-kick just before the hour mark, before Antoine Semenyo capped a professional performance.