FA Cup holders Arsenal pull through
LONDON. — FA Cup holders Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday night as non-league Chorley knocked out coronavirus-ravaged Derby and West Brom suffered an embarrassing third-round exit against Blackpool.
The rampaging Covid-19 virus is casting a lengthening shadow over football in England, with dozens of games called off and growing fears over whether the season can be completed.
Just one match has so far been called off in the FA Cup third round — the stage at which the big guns enter the competition.
But a number of clubs have been forced to make radical alterations to their line-ups after suffering outbreaks.
Arsenal, 14-time FA Cup winners, continued their recent revival with a fourth straight win in all competitions in their all English Premier League tie at the Emirates.
Magpies captain Jamaal Lascelles made his first appearance in six weeks after being hit hard by the coronavirus as both sides made multiple changes.
Emile Smith Rowe — who earlier had a red card overturned after a VAR check — broke the deadlock in a disappointing game, drilling the ball home in the second half of extra time, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made the game safe.
Smith Rowe saw red, then yellow and finally gave Arsenal’s FA Cup defence the green light with an extra-time breakthrough.
Second-half substitute Smith Rowe seemed set to miss the added 30 minutes after initially being sent off in stoppage-time for a foul on Sean Longstaff.
But the decision was reviewed and the Gunners midfielder made the most of his reprieve in the 119th-minute of a distinctly average game.
Arsenal captain Aubameyang added the second, but until then there had been little to warm the cockles on a bitterly cold evening.
Mikel Arteta turned his attention to the English Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Thursday.
“We want to keep going and win more games,” he said. “It’s always important to stay in the competitions. We want to fight for this competition again, so today was a big game for us.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli was in tears after injuring his ankle in the warm-up ahead of Saturday’s victory against
Newcastle United in the FA Cup and is set to undergo a scan, manager Arteta said.
The 19-year-old Brazilian was named in Arsenal’s starting line-up for the third-round tie at Emirates Stadium but was replaced by Reiss Nelson minutes before kick-off.
Martinelli returned to action in December after a prolonged absence due to a knee problem but is now set for another spell on the sidelines.
“I am gutted. I was in my office before the game and one of the coaches came in and told me that Gabi had hurt himself, that he’d twisted his ankle,” Arteta told reporters after the game.
“I went to the medical room and he was in tears. He was in a lot of pain and we’re going to have to see how he is. It didn’t look good. I imagine that we’re not going to have good news with him.
“We really want to know what’s going on. He’s a character and he wants to play. He doesn’t care and can handle pain but I don’t know. Hopefully there is nothing too serious but to start with, it didn’t look too good.”
Smith-Rowe and Aubameyang scored in extra time to help holders Arsenal seal a spot in the fourth round and extend their winning run to four games in all competitions.
Arsenal, who are 11th in the Premier League with 23 points from 17 games, host 14th placed Crystal Palace on Thursday.
In the late match, Manchester United beat Championship side Watford 1-0, courtesy of an early header from midfielder Scott McTominay.
Earlier, Derby fielded a clutch of youngsters after their first-team squad and interim manager Wayne Rooney were ruled out following a virus outbreak at the Championship club.
Chorley, from the sixth-tier National League North, took advantage of Derby’s weakened line-up to reach the fourth round for the first time with a 2-0 win.
In freezing conditions, with snow cleared off the pitch before kick-off, Chorley took the lead after 10 minutes when Derby failed to clear a long throw and Connor Hall nodded over the line.
Chorley’s modest Victory Park ground is so homely that one fan was able to watch over their back garden fence, while two others used a cherry picker crane to get a glimpse of the action.
Those enterprising fans saw Chorley’s Mike Calveley seal their side’s memorable success when he poked home from close range in the 84th minute.
The cup upset was a welcome boost for Chorley manager Jamie Vermiglio, whose job as a primary school headteacher has been thrown into chaos by the coronavirus lockdown in Britain.
“It’s a very proud moment for us. Credit to our boys, they’ve been on a journey and we said it before the game, the journey can continue today and it has done,” Vermiglio said.
Liverpool beat virus-plagued Aston Villa 4-1 on Friday, with their opponents missing the entire first-team squad and boss Dean Smith due to a Covid outbreak.
Southampton’s tie against Shrewsbury scheduled for yesterday was postponed after several positive tests at the League One club.
A record 40 positive coronavirus tests were detected among Premier League players and staff in the week between December 28 and January 3.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce and Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa say there is a moral argument to suspend football, with health services struggling to cope.
For now, the FA Cup action goes on and Premier League strugglers West Brom were victims of an upset at Bloomfield Road, losing on penalties to third-tier Blackpool after a 2-2 draw.
After 21 winless games, Sheffield United finally earned a victory as Jayden Bogle’s strike clinched a 3-2 success against third-tier Bristol Rovers.
Leicester rested Jamie Vardy and James Maddison at second-tier Stoke but still won 4-0 as James Justin, Marc Albrighton, Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes all netted.
Everton needed extra time to see off second-tier Rotherham 2-1 at Goodison Park while top-flight strugglers Fulham prevailed 2-0 after extra time in their west London derby at QPR.
Burnley edged past third-tier Milton Keynes Dons on penalties after a 1-1 draw. — AFP.