Gunners get lost in Tricky Trees
And former giants Leeds also get the boot in tough third round FA Cup
FA CUP holders Arsenal were stunned 4-2 by second-tier Nottingham Forest in the third round yesterday.
Eric Lichaj scored twice for the hosts either side of a Per Mertesacker equaliser to give Forest a 2-1 half-time lead.
Ben Brereton, pictured, one of seven players aged 23 or under in the Forest side, made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 64th minute.
Danny Welbeck took advantage of an error to pull a goal back for Arsenal with 12 minutes left but Forest were awarded another penalty which Kieran Dowell converted.
It is the first time Arsenal have lost in the third round since 1996 and the first time since Arsene Wenger took over.
Also yesterday, Newport County provided the weekend’s second sizeable FA Cup shock as the Welsh club knocked out former winners Leeds United in the third round with a lastgasp 2-1 victory on Sunday.
The fourth-tier outfit bridged a 53-place gap in the standings as substitute Shawn McCoulsky, the day after his 21st birthday, condemned the Championship side to a humbling defeat with a powerful 89th-minute header.
On Saturday 1987 winners Coventry City, who are now languishing in the fourth tier, knocked out Premier League strugglers Stoke City by the same score – a result that cost Stoke boss Mark Hughes his job. Top flight West Ham United also flirted with danger at League One (third-tier) high-flyers Shrewsbury Town on Sunday, escaping with a 0-0 draw after being largely outplayed. “We were terrible today and Shrewsbury were really good,” West Ham keeper Joe Hart, who began his career at Shrewsbury, said. “There was some terrible football played today and we lost a lot of battles.”
Eight-times winners Tottenham Hotspur had no trouble at home to third-tier AFC Wimbledon as Harry Kane struck twice in two minutes in the second half of a 3-0 home win. For old-fashioned Cup magic the place to be was Rodney Parade in south Wales where Newport b ecame the latest underdogs to embarrass once mighty Leeds - sparking a joyful pitch invasion by the home faithful. Gaetano Berardi’s deflected ninth-minute strike had looked like winning the tie for Leeds, who were knocked out by minor league Sutton United last season, but Conor Shaughnessy’s own goal 15 minutes from fulltime set up a thrilling climax. McCoulsky ensured it was one of the best days in modest Newport’s history with an unstoppable header.
“I can’t remember most of it, it was a blur to be honest. It is definitely one of my best goals, to knock Leeds ou t of the FA Cup is what dreams are made of,” he said.
It is not the first time Leeds have suffered a Cup shock across the other side of the Severn Bridge – having fallen to Cardiff, also 53 places lower than them when they were a Premier League side, in 2002.