King puts himself in shop window
OLDHAM’S decision to switch their FA Cup third round tie to Bournemouth backfired as Harry Kewell’s side crashed to a 4-1 defeat.
Josh King ended a six-month drought with a late brace as the Championship high-fliers raced into round four.
King’s double has put him back in the shop window with Newcastle, West Ham and West Bromwich all interested in signing the Norway striker, but Bournemouth boss Jason Tindall hopes he will stay put.
‘When Kingy shows what he is capable of it’s a positive sign,’ he said. ‘He was a real handful, a real threat. I hope he stays.’
The tie was originally scheduled to be hosted by Oldham but due to a frozen pitch, which was unlikely to thaw, it was mutually agreed to switch it to the Vitality Stadium.
Tindall reckoned Kewell, an FA Cup winner with Liverpool in 2006, was happy enough with the decision. He added: ‘With no fans there’s less of an impact. We were certainly happy not to have to travel.’
Brentford were toasting a pair of rookie scorers as they bounced back from League Cup heartache with a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough. Halil Dervisoglu and Saman Ghoddos were Brentford’s heroes, scoring their first club goals to send the Bees through. It was some consolation just four days after losing to Spurs in their League Cup semi-final.
Boreham Wood’s dream run is over as the National League team failed to bridge a 66-place gulf to Championship side Millwall, losing 2-0.
Kenneth Zohore and Shaun Hutchinson were on target for a much-changed Millwall and Boreham Wood boss Luke Garrard had no complaints.
‘Yes they made eight changes but those players would have walked into any team in the National League,’ said Garrard.
Managerless Sheffield Wednesday put poor form and Covid problems to one side as they won 2-0 at Exeter.
Wednesday were without interim boss Neil Thompson and his assistants due to an outbreak which had shut the club’s training ground. And they could only name four subs.
Adam Reach and Callum Paterson scored for the Owls, who were winning for the third time since the sacking of Tony Pulis.
The pressure on Cardiff boss Neil Harris continues to mount after they crashed 1-0 at fellow Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest. Lyle Taylor scored the only goal after three minutes as Cardiff slumped to a fourth straight loss.
Norwich City manager Daniel Farke poured praise on rookie keeper Daniel Barden after watching his side beat Coventry 2-0 at Carrow Road. Barden, deputising for Tim Krul who was self-isolating after a positive Covid test, made some excellent saves to keep his side ahead after they had scored early goals from Kenny McLean and Jordan Hugill.
Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth gave the FA Cup the utmost respect by sending out a strong team against Preston and was rewarded with a 4-1 win in the all-Championship battle.
Goals from Fred Onyedinma, Joe Jacobson and Josh Knight put Wanderers three goals ahead while an Emil Riis Jakobsen penalty pulled one back before the break.
Alex Samuel wrapped up the win late on and a delighted Ainsworth said: ‘I’m a big believer in the FA Cup, I’ll treat it with the utmost respect, and hopefully we can have a nice Cup run.’