MATCH REPORT: Liverpool vs Stoke City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Joe Allen scored the winning penalty in a tense shoot-out to send Liverpool to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp's men beat Stoke 1-0 in the first leg of the tie through a Jordan Ibe goal, giving themselves a big boost going to Anfield.

Stoke weren't ready to sit back and go down without a fight though and they really took the game to Liverpool and possibly deserved a win at the end of the game due to the performance they had put in. 

Early on in the game, Stoke got a foothold in the game and really tested the Liverpool defence as they pushed forward. Jonathan Walters was the first to get into the box as a nice through ball was played to him. He decided to take on the long-range shot and it deflected out for a corner. 

He then had another chance minutes later when he made a brilliant run from the halfway line into the Liverpool box. He pulled away from Mamadou Sakho and directed his shot to the bottom corner across the face of goal, but his shot was just wide of the target. 

Liverpool only managed a few half chances before they were finally given the chance to get the ball into the box with a free kick. Emre Can moves into some space and he tries to curl his effort into the far post, but it is just wide of the post and Jack Butland had it covered. 

That's when Stoke picked up their game again and got their reward on the stroke of half time. The ball is played neatly through the Stoke midfield and out to Bojan on the right flank. He plays a cross into the box to Marco Arnautovic and he was left with a simple tap in under the keeper. 

Arnautovic puts Stoke ahead on the night but under controversial circumstances
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Sakho had dropped deeper than the rest of his defenders to try and challenge Bojan for the ball, but Arnautovic was ahead of him as he made his run into the box for the goal. The linesman didn't raise his flag though and the goal stood, levelling Stoke on the aggregate score line. 

Liverpool came out for the second half with a point to prove though. Early on in the half, a free kick was whipped into the box and Jordan Henderson touched the ball onto Roberto Firmino hit the ball towards the goal only to see it bounce back off the post and cleared. 

Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target. 

The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty. 

Jurgen Klopp giving his team their instructions before the start of extra time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Liverpool were the first to challenge their opponents in extra time as Firmino created some space and hit his shot down the centre of the goal, but Butland was in the perfect position to collect the ball. 

From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play. 

He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner. 

So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up. 

Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage. 

Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.

Allen celebrates with his teammates after scoring the penalty that won the match for Liverpool
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Mark Hughes will feel that his Stoke side have been very hard done by after they out performed Liverpool by a mile in the second leg of this tie. Stoke put in an all-round great performance as they were defensively solid and posed a massive threat when going forward.

On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.

MATCH REPORT: Stoke City vs Liverpool [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Jordan Ibe gives the Reds an advantage over their opponents going into the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final tie. 

Liverpool were going into this game on the back of a "passive" defeat to West Ham in the league. At least that was the view of Jurgen Klopp after the match. The manager was looking for a strong comeback but they faced tough competition. However, the Liverpool injury list included a lot of the team's big names which meant that this wasn't the strongest team that Klopp would have liked to field today, and it didn't get much better for him during the match as three more players were added to this list.

Dejan Lovren leaving the field with a hamstring injury, adding to the long list of already injured Liverpool players
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke City may have lost to West Bromwich Albion last weekend due to a goal in added time, but they had beaten Everton and Manchester United emphatically in the weekends previous to this, which meant that Liverpool would have to find a way to deal with that front trio of Bojan, Marco Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri. 

It was the away side that started the match the stronger of the two and they pushed forward from the starting whistle. They didn't get their first chance until the eighth minute though when Roberto Firmino played the ball across to Adam Lallana. He had a little bit of space so he decided to take the shot on from outside the box and it forced a good first save out of Jack Butland who turned the ball away with a strong hand. 

Liverpool also got the second chance this time coming from Firmino. The ball was cleverly worked into the Stoke box once again and the midfielder fired the ball towards the goal on the turn but the Stoke defender got across well to send the ball out for a corner before it could cause any problems.

Ibe replaced Philippe Coutinho who left the field with a hamstring injury and he had a chance minutes after he entered the field. He made a direct run at the defence and took it on himself. He didn't set himself right though and the ball swerved high and wide of the target. 

Stoke registered their first chance of the half towards the half hour mark when they won a corner. The ball was swung in low to the penalty spot where Bojan had made a run behind the Liverpool defence. He completely misjudged his touch causing the ball to ricochet off his body. A few seconds later the ball landed to Glen Johnson and he decided to have a go, but his shot didn't come close to hitting the target. 

In the 37th minute, Liverpool finally got their reward. James Milner, who had replaced the injured Lovren, played a great ball down the right flank to Lallana who beat the offside trap. The midfielder crossed the ball into the box and Joe Allen tried to hit a shot at Butland's goal, but he got his touch wrong and instead played a square pass to Ibe coming into the box. The winger did what Allen couldn't and curled the ball under the diving keeper and the covering defender. 

Ibe and Firmino celebrating the important Liverpool goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke didn't sit back after this; instead they went straight down the other end with Johnson whipping a brilliant cross into the box. Arnautovic got ahead of his defender and made a connection with the ball but the wet ball skimmed across his head and finished wide of the far post. 

Just before the end of the first half, Shaqiri won his side a corner and Johnson almost pulled his side back into the game. He beat Allen to the ball and hit his shot on target, but a brilliant save from Mignolet protected Liverpool's first half lead. 

The second half was definitely much brighter for the home side. Less than 10 minutes in, Kolo Toure gave away a free kick which is crossed into a dangerous area of the box and Glenn Whelan is the first player to the ball, but he was knocked off balance as he went to take the shot. Ryan Shawcross was next to have a go and he managed to fire his shot at a Liverpool defender on the turn. The last of the chances was a wild shot that ended up flying high over the crossbar. 

Liverpool did have a few chances though. Ibe was keen to add to his tally and he made a direct run into the box from the left side before cutting back to get some space from his defender. He decided to hit the low shot towards the near post, but he could only find the side netting. 

Butland suffered a scare not long after when he was played the ball back by one of his defenders. The keeper tried to clear the ball from his penalty area with his first touch but only managed to rebound the ball off Firmino on the edge of the box. Much to his relief though, the ball landed neatly back into his gloves instead of causing him any problems. 

At the other end of the field, Ibrahim Afellay tried to hit a low, hard shot at goal from outside the box, but it took a deflection off a defender. This caused the ball to loop up and Simon Mignolet had to back track quickly to tip the ball over his crossbar before it could sneak into the goal. 

In the dying moments of the match, Jonathan Walters got some space in the Liverpool box and instead of taking on the shot first time, he seemed to hesitate. He still managed to get his shot away before the defenders closed him down but the ball skimmed past the far post. 

Klopp applauds the travelling Liverpool fans after his team beat Stoke
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

This result gives Liverpool a good advantage going into the second leg of this semi-final, especially as they will be playing it at Anfield. Klopp will also be impressed by an improved performance from his side compared to the West Ham game. However, he should feel slightly worried as Coutinho, Lovren and Toure were all added to the very long growing injury list.

Stoke will still feel that they can take this tie from Liverpool as they are only behind by one goal. Mark Hughes also knows that his side can perform in the big games as they have already beaten a number of big teams this season. He will need to figure out a way to get that brilliant trio into the game in the next leg though as Liverpool seemed to deal with them very well and snuff out most of their chances during the build-up play. 

Premier League Review: 6-10

Crystal Palace - 10th (48 points)

After Tony Pulis, the man who turned Palace's season around last year, decided to leave the club only 48 hours before the opening game, a lot of people wrote them off. When Neil Warnock started his second stint in charge of the club, people still didn't know what was going to happen. 

In their first four games, they picked up two wins and two draws. It was starting to look up, but all too soon, things turned around. In this period of poor form they did pull together for a memorable win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park in late November, but that was the only bright spark at this time. They went their next 6 games without a win. By the time the club came to the decision to sack Warnock at the end of December, he had a dismal record of only 1 win in 12 games which had landed his team in the bottom three.

This was the point in the season where everything turned around again, but this time for the better. Alan Pardew was installed as manager and he injected some new life into his squad. He brought the best out of many of the players, including Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray among others. His first match in charge saw him lead them to a 4-0 win against Dover in the FA Cup, and he followed this up with a 2-1 win over Spurs in the Premier League. After winning 10 games out of Pardew's first 15, Palace started their move up the table. Other highlights of their season was their 2-1 win over Manchester City and a Bolasie hat-trick that helped to seal a 4-1 win away at Sunderland. 

However, they did have a small slip up towards the end of the season and went on a run of four consecutive defeats after the win at Sunderland. These losses included very narrow defeats to both Chelsea and Manchester United, but they bounced back in brilliant style. Three of the players that had been invigorated under Pardew helped their team to come from a goal down to ruin Steven Gerrard's final farewell at Anfield. Taking all of this into consideration, the future for Palace looks extremely bright.

Stoke City - 9th (54 points)
This was a brilliant season for Stoke in many ways; they've never won as many games or accumulated as many points in a Premier League season before. However, many fans, along with Mark Hughes, will be left wondering just how different things would have been if they had found some much needed consistency. 

It took Stoke until the third weekend to register their first win of the campaign, and they did it in style. A 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad looked like it would propel them onto a good run, but this wasn't the case. It took another 3 games for Stoke to register their next win. 

The home fans also had to wait until the end of September for their team's first win at the Brittania, and other losses to Burnley, Manchester United and Liverpool left them just 3 points above the drop at the beginning of December.

In the game against Arsenal at this point in the season, they put in a remarkable first half performance which saw them take a 3-0 lead at the break, and then hold on for a 3-2 win. This result kick-started a strong mid-season for the team and they only lost 3 of their next 14 games. In this period, Jonathan Walters became the first Stoke player to score a Premier League hat-trick to earn his team a win over QPR, and late goals against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton secured the points to lift their team up the eighth. 

Consecutive defeats following this to West Brom, Crystal Palace and Chelsea - despite a wonder strike from Charlie Adam from inside his own half - stopped their brilliant progress. However, they were further boosted again after recording impressive wins over West Ham, Southampton and Spurs. They saved the best until last though when they rounded off the season in style with a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Brittania Stadium. 

Two three-game losing streaks was as bad as it got for Stoke throughout the season and after registering wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and doing the double over Spurs, they can have a lot of hope and confidence going into the new season.

Swansea City - 8th (56 points)
In Garry Monk's first full season in charge, he led the club to its highest Premier League finish and passed a previous top points tally with games to spare, making this one a very successful season. He also made some great signings in the shape of Federico Fernandez, Jefferson Montero, Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson who helped lift Swansea to this position. 

They started the season with three consecutive wins, including an opening day 2-1 win over Manchester United. However, they then followed this up with a 3 match losing streak, which left a lot of people questioning the manager. Swansea did find their form again though for a short time following this which left them in and around the Europa League spots. Monk did suffer through some difficulties such as injuries, suspensions and the big money departure of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in the January transfer window. This didn't dampen their team spirit in any way though. 

The festive season and into the New Year wasn't exactly great for Swansea, but they still managed to pick up a lot of points from their many draws. The first match of their FA Cup campaign ended in a brilliant 6-2 away victory to boost morale, but it was quickly over for them in the fourth round after defeat to Blackburn. 

Bafetimbi Gomis found his form after Bony left the club, which boosted them and led them to more victories and draws due to his goals. They also managed to do the double over both Manchester United and Arsenal which sent out a strong message to the rest of their opposition. 

Leading towards the final weekend it was looking up for Swansea, especially after a hard fought win in the Arsenal game, but it didn't end in the best way. It looks like Swansea will be in for another good season under Monk if they can recreate even some of the performances from this one. 

Southampton - 7th (60 points)
It's safe to say that Southampton defied all expectations this season. After losing many of their star players - Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers - and their manager, many had them tipped for relegation. Instead, Ronald Koeman recruited wisely and had the critics eating their words just a few weeks into the season.

Summer signings Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic surprised many and took the Premier League by storm along with helping Southampton to 11 wins out of their first 14 games. This included a superb display in their 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland at St Mary's and a 2-1 win away at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup. A few hiccups along the way simply remained just that, as the brilliance of the team took them away with another great performance a week later. 

They also recorded another win over Arsenal on New Year's Day which saw Southampton sitting in fourth place with a 2 point advantage over Spurs and their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino. Then, in their next Premier League game, they rallied for a great 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. These performances looked to have cemented them in their challenge for a Champions League spot. 

However, they couldn't quite recreate their consistency from the first half of the season. Their challenge for a Champions League spot faded over the remainder of the season, but the fans were still left with plenty to cheer about. 

Their challenge for a Europa League place remained alive until the end. Southampton may have had a rocky second half to their season, but they certainly ended it in style. Their last match at home ended in a brilliant 6-1 win over Aston Villa, and Saido Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick in history. Due to Arsenal winning the FA Cup as well, Southampton's seventh place finish earned them a well-earned place in next season's Europa League. 

Liverpool - 6th (62 points)
Last season was an absolute high for Liverpool and for a long time towards the end of the season, it looked like they would be crowned the champions. However, one terrible moment prevented that from happening. Many fans still believed that their momentum would carry them forward into the new season, but everything came crashing down around them instead. They lost both of their main strikers; Luis Suarez made the summer move to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge was out for the majority of the season with a host of different injuries. 

They did win their first game of the season, but from then, their form was incredibly inconsistent. By the end of November, they found themselves out of the title race due to losing 6 games out of their opening 12, which left them 18 points behind Chelsea. That run included losses to Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace. At this point, they has also been eliminated from the Champions League after a poor run during the group stages. It was clear to everyone watching just how much they missed the presence and fire power of Suarez and Sturridge. 

The festive period was a turning point for Liverpool though and they seemed to find some much needed form. From the end of December, they went on a 12 match unbeaten run. The return of Sturridge in this period also helped to boost morale and it looked like they would be in with the chance of claiming an unlikely top-four finish and possibly a first trophy win under Brendan Rodgers as well. 

However, semi-final defeats in both domestic cup competitions, by Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ended hopes of a trophy. Also, with the knowledge that the final games of the season would mark Steven Gerrard's last games for the club, everyone was hoping for a bright end to the season. They only won once in their last six games though and two of the losses were devastating for them. Gerrard lost his last game at Anfield to Crystal Palace and got thrashed 6-1 by Stoke in his last game in the Premier League. Overall, this is probably a season many Liverpool fans will want to forget in a hurry, but they'll also be in for a rough summer as the transfer saga surrounding Raheem Sterling goes on. 

Premier League: Final Day

At the beginning of the season, whenever somebody reads down for the last matches of the season and sees a date like 'May 24th', it seems like it's a long time away. However, the season is one that goes quick, just like any other time period and it leaves fans and teams alike wondering where all the time went. It also marks the moment when teams can either celebrate or feel the weight of the world fall onto their shoulders. Just like any other last game, this is what it proved to be for so many people. 

Both Burnley and QPR had already been relegated prior to the final weekend, but both would want to go out with a good result that would give their moral a boost ahead of the awaiting Championship campaign. It seemed that since Burnley had been relegated, they felt a lot of pressure lift off them as their results improved, and the final day was another example of this. They faced Aston Villa away, and they faced a tough task as the home team looked completely different to the one they faced earlier in the season due to Tim Sherwood. It was their star man Danny Ings that created the headlines once again after his sixth minute goal gave Burnley the three points that ended their season on a high note. 

For QPR, the story couldn't have ended more tragically. The faced Leicester away from home and that would prove to be a big task as well. Everyone thought that Leicester would be the ones that would be panicking about the last result, but they somehow managed to claw themselves away from danger with relatively little struggle after laying at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. Leicester certainly ended their season in style after turning 5 goals past Alex McCarthy in the QPR goal to heap the misery on the already relegated team. Charlie Austin did step up and give QPR a consolation goal though after Leicester's fourth, but that's all it proved to be in the end. 

The other two teams in danger of relegation going into the final match were Hull City and Newcastle. Hull needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and if this happened, Newcastle would need a win, but otherwise they would only need to match their result. Hull faced Manchester United at home and gave their all throughout the game. They did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both were rightly ruled offside. They also looked like they had been handed a gift when Marouane Fellaini got sent off for a stomp on Paul McShane's leg not even 20 minutes after he was sent onto the pitch. The home team couldn't take advantage of this though, and the game ended as a draw, making them the third team to be relegated this season. 

Newcastle faced West Ham at home, which looked like it would be a tough fixture for them after the poor run of form that they have had in the latter end of the season. However, it was like a completely different team was sent onto the pitch on Sunday because Newcastle knew they needed a result to stay in the Premier League. Moussa Sissoko got them the first goal 10 minutes into the second half, but this was overshadowed by the second goal in so many ways. Jonas Gutierrez, who not so long ago didn't look like he would be playing football again for a while, stepped up and wrapped up the three points for Newcastle in what could potentially have been his last game for Newcastle. This was the result that confirmed Hull's relegation, as it took them out of reach. However, West Ham did receive some good news in the shape of Europa League qualifiers due to finishing top of the Fair Play league. 

Then, there was the shock result of the day. Steven Gerrard had already said his farewell to Anfield the previous week, but this was the game that marked his last as a Premier League player. They faced a Stoke team that a lot of fans would expect them to beat to give Gerrard a send off very different to his one at the Liverpool stadium. It just wasn't meant to be though. Stoke held nothing back as they hit Liverpool for 6, 5 of which came in the first half alone. Gerrard was the player that brought one back for Liverpool to reduce the deficit slightly. Peter Crouch then came onto the pitch and made sure that his old team didn't have the last say in the game, marking a devastating end for the Liverpool captain. 

Although everything at the top of the table had been decided, Chelsea rounded of their winning season in style. Although, Sunderland did take the lead and give the champions a scare, their top players were once again on hand to rack up the three points expected of them. Manchester City also cruised to a 2-0 over Southampton, which included a goal for Sergio Aguero who won the golden boot for the 14/15 season. Joe Hart was also among the awards as he kept his 14th clean sheet of the season to win his 4th golden glove. Arsenal and Theo Walcott in particular shone in a 4-1 over West Brom to allow the top three to show their strength one last time before they sign out for the summer. 

FA Cup Fifth Round [2015]

The fixture list for this weekend of FA Cup action doesn't look nearly as exciting as the last one. It also probably won't have as many results as exciting as the last round. Chelsea, Manchester City, Southampton and Swansea were all dumped out of the competition; three by lower league teams. The surprises from the last weekend don't look like they will be repeating themselves this time out, but there are still three of the big boys in the competition, including the holders, that clubs are just waiting to shock.

The weekend started with an all Premier League tie, a 4-0 thrashing and a red card for fighting. If this is anything to go by, it looked like it was going to be a good weekend of football. West Brom looked to be in control from the beginning and didn't leave time for anyone to doubt them as they went in at the break 2-0. Although West Ham did have chances to try and get a foothold, possibly even a goal in the game, they just couldn't manage it. West Brom got their third just before the hour mark and this did prove to be the final hit for West Ham. The red card did come for the West Ham substitute, Morgan Amalfitano. Ten minutes after he was introduced into the game, he got booked for hacking down Chris Brunt and then seconds later pushed Brunt away by the face right in front of the referee, giving him no choice but to produce a red card. The final goal was scored minutes after this, sending West Brom comfortably into the quarter final. 

Derby County played host to Reading in an all Championship tie and it looked like it would be a good game. Towards the end of the first half, Derby had Stephen Warnock sent off for his second booking, possibly making the game slightly more difficult for themselves. It did take Reading until the second half to capitalise on this, but even then, their lead didn't even last 10 minutes. Both sides wanted the winner in this game, but the sides were pretty level, which could have sent them towards the first replay of the weekend. Then, finally, 8 minutes from full time, Reading finally managed to get the winning goal. Yakubu had only been on the field 10 minutes before he directed his shot into the back of the net, leaving Derby to bow gracefully out of the competition. End score: 1-2

Looks like there were a lot more surprises on the way. Blackburn Rovers hosted Stoke City and the game looked to going well for the Premier League side. The visitors were leading within ten minutes and a lot of people thought that would be it. Blackburn had other ideas though; namely Joshua King. The forward scored a hat-trick in the match, effectively ending Stoke's cup run all on his own, but that isn't the full story. He got the first goal, and played a big part in the second. Stoke had Geoff Cameron sent off deep into first half stoppage time after he pulled back King in the penalty area, leading Blackburn to convert the penalty and take the lead in the game. Stoke were up against it in the second half, but Blackburn easily dispatched the 10 men as King finished off his hat-trick. End score: 4-1

Two Premier League sides down this weekend already, will there be anymore to follow?

The final kick off on Saturday saw Crystal Palace face Liverpool, who have struggled in recent visits to Selhurst Park. That run looked like it would be continuing as well when Palace took the lead 15 minutes into the game. Liverpool could do nothing to break down the Palace defence in the remaining time in the half, but the second half looked to be a turning point for them. They got a goal in the opening moments of the half, which looked to build their confidence and also give them the boost that they needed. Not long after, they got their second and this proved to be too much for Palace. Liverpool had very much been in control from the beginning of the game, and now had the result to match their game. End score: 1-2

Aston Villa against Leicester proved to be a very dull start for the games on Sunday. The first half was slow, hardly any chances were created and the players just looked like they would rather be anywhere but on that field. Leicester did have the better chances of the half, forcing Shay Given to pull off some great saves to stop them from getting the breakthrough. Tim Sherwood gave his first half time team talk at Villa and sparked some much needed life into his team. Although the beginning of the second half was slow, Villa did find the breakthrough they needed on 70 minutes after pushing forward for most of the half. Given was still pulling off superb saves which ultimately allowed Villa to take the lead. They got their second through substitute Scott Sinclair not long before full time and he looked to have put Villa through to the quarter finals. However, Leicester weren't giving up yet and got a consolation goal in added time, but couldn't find another to take them through for a replay. 

Next up came Bradford City, Chelsea's downfall, who hosted Sunderland. Sunderland didn't make it easy for themselves either. Within the first 5 minutes, they were already behind and it had come through an own goal. If this didn't already look a big test after the last round, it was certainly beginning to look difficult for them now. None of the Sunderland players had a particularly good game and they were only making it easier for Bradford to get their foothold in the game. Just after the hour mark, Bradford got their second, and winning, goal in the match, which was ultimately the thing that finished off Sunderland and the game. Yet another Premier League side out to Bradford! Surely, they're looking forward to see who else comes out of the pot in the draw tomorrow night. End score: 2-0

They would probably fancy their chances against the holders Arsenal if you asked them. They welcomed Middlesbrough to the Emirates who dispatched of Manchester City in the previous round. It was a game that Arsenal looked comfortable in from kick off, and to the viewer, it looked like there could only be one result. Middlesbrough were finished off within two minutes on the half an hour mark by Olivier Giroud through two very well taken, clever goals. It was a game plan that was well worked for Arsenal and proved to be too difficult for the opposition to handle. In the end, an easy game for the holders who once again see their name go back into the draw. End score: 2-0

Now all that's left of the weekend is the game between Preston North End and Manchester United tomorrow night which is played right before the draw. Preston are doing well in the league and could prove to be worthy opponents for the side currently sitting third in the Premier League. Will there be one more surprise left in the cup this weekend? I guess only time will tell...

MATCH REPORT: Newcastle United vs Stoke City

The game between these two teams may have been understated, but it could be important for both of them. Whichever team wins finishes the weekend in the top half of the table. John Carver finally got his first win since taking charge of Newcastle after beating Hull City 3-0 and names an unchanged team from that game. Stoke have been on a good run in recent games and look to be a tough team to beat.

The game had a relatively quiet start with both sides trying to push forward and play their way past the opposition. However, each attacking move was cut out early on. It took until the 8th minute when Jonathan Walters chested down the ball outside of the 18 yard box. He had nobody in support so decided to take the shot on himself but saw it go just wide of the post. 

Newcastle seemed to take a bit more control in the game after this. Moussa Sissoko was given a lot of space down the left wing and put his cross in towards the far post where Remy Cabella tried to just guide it in with his head but forced to Asmir Begovic to pull off a good save. Minutes later, Newcastle got a throw in that eventually landed to one of their own players, but Ayoze Perez made a run that took him away from goal, so the resulting header was directed far off the target. Sammy Ameobi was also given a chance to recreate the goal he scored at Hull after he turned past Glenn Whelan and took on the shot from outside the box which ended with Begovic only needing to make a simple save.

The first half was end to end but with no telling end ball to find the breakthrough. Newcastle also gave away a lot of cheap free kicks in the wide areas throughout the half and were extremely lucky that nothing came of them. 

The half ended with a chance for both teams at either end. First up were Newcastle, Perez played in Cabella, who's first touch was very poor before he managed to get it under control. His shot was fired across the face of goal and ended up going out for a goal kick. Stoke got the final chance of the half when Stephen Ireland put a cross into the box that was met by Mame Biram Diouf's head giving Tim Krul his first save of the game. 

The second half began in the same way that the first did. Both teams had chances but none looked like they would be the defining moment in the game. Newcastle did begin pushing forward more and Cabella's ball into the box almost landed at the feet of Perez if he had made a slightly later run.

This was followed by a lot of pressure being built up by Stoke. They began pressing higher up the pitch and Newcastle found it extremely difficult to get out of their own half. Instead of trying to play the ball up the pitch, they tried to play it out of their own box and got dispossessed, but were lucky not to see the ball land in the back of their own net. Newcastle really were creating a lot of their own problems and continued to give away cheap free kicks.

It took until the 74th minute for the breakthrough to finally happen when Gabriel Obertan crossed the ball into the box from the right hand side to Sissoko. It looked like he had wasted the chance but managed to pull it back for Jack Colback to direct off the far post and into the net. Stoke will feel hard done by though, as not even 5 minutes before he should have been booked for his second terrible challenge. 

This goal was followed by an onslaught of chances from Stoke. Phil Bardsley saw his speculative effort sail over the cross bar and Ireland hit the back of the net with his curled effort around Krul but was correctly ruled offside. Peter Crouch teed up a perfect shot for Bardsley on the edge of the box but his effort was straight down the middle of the goal and easy for Krul to collect.

It was the substitute who had the final say though. In the final minute, Geoff Cameron crossed the ball very deep into the box where Crouch was waiting in the six yard box. Instead of taking the ball down, he chose to loop his header just under the crossbar and out of Krul's reach. Fabricio Coloccini did try to direct the ball back out again but couldn't get under it, leaving the sides equal at the end of the game just as they had been throughout. 

FA Cup Third Round [2015]

The FA Cup is a great way to end the very hectic football calendar after Christmas. It just has everything that none of the leagues in England can give you. By throwing all of the teams together, it really does bring out the best from the rest. 

The third round of the competition is always an interesting one. It is the point where the Premier League and Championship teams get thrown into the mix and it really does just have all of the ingredients possible to bring about so many upsets. But it is a well known fact that everyone one loves an underdog.

Over the weekend (so far) there have been many surprises. Blyth Spartans led Birmingham City 2-0 at half time causing a lot of people to suddenly believe in the lower side. However, it just wasn't meant to be as a 6 minute period completely changed the game. Birmingham scored 3 in that time, meaning that Blyth got knocked out of the competition 3-2 after the 90 minutes. 

Another match that had people everywhere getting excited for a possible upset was the game between Derby County and Southport. A lot had been made about this fixture in the build up and Southport weren't ready to roll over and let Derby play the game that they wanted to. Derby have been flying high in the Championship, so a lot of people were expecting a lot when the game went into the final minutes of stoppage time. It just wasn't meant to be though, with Luke Foster conceding a penalty in the last minute which Chris Martin tucked away neatly. Talk about a heartbreak in the cup...

Then, there was the game between Stoke City and Wrexham. Everyone was expecting the Premier League team to stroll against the Conference team, but the match proved to go against expectations. For a little while at least... Wrexham eventually took the lead through Carrington. The lead lasted only 7 minutes though, because Stoke came back into it, and in 15 minutes turned the game around, making the final result 3-1. 

There was, of course, the game that caused the actual upset. The game took place between QPR and Sheffield United. Even though QPR haven't been in top form recently, a lot of people still expected them to beat the League 1 side. It just wasn't meant to be though. QPR didn't play at their best and Sheffield took advantage of this, going on to win 3-0. First heartbreak of the weekend? Not exactly. There was an all Premier League clash between Leicester City and Newcastle United. The bottom side looked to have no chance against their opposition, but proved a lot of people wrong when Ulloa gave them the lead in the first half and they managed to take that through to the end of the game. 

However, there were the obvious results that fans expected certain teams to win. It wasn't always easy though. Manchester City beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the end, but had to come back from a goal down and had Milner to thank for his two goals that won them the game. Manchester United beat Yeovil Town 2-0, including a wonder strike from Ander Herrera, but the game was made difficult for them by a resilient Yeovil side. Chelsea beat Watford 3-0, although it did take them until the second half to break the deadlock. Finally, Arsenal beat Hull City 2-0, but that game also wasn't as easy as the score line may suggest. Hull enjoyed a lot of the ball but just didn't create any clear cut chances and Alexis Sanchez put on a man-of-the-match performance. 

So, will there be any shocks in the remaining games? AFC Wimbledon host Liverpool tonight, Burnley host Tottenham and Everton host West Ham. Only in the FA Cup would you be able to hear fans around the country wondering if the smaller teams could knock out the Premier League big teams, but isn't that the beauty of it all. The draw is also tonight, so football fans around the country will be waiting to see who their teams, if they're still in, will be getting in the next round. Will there be any more shocks to see then? Only time will tell.