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| Tottenham Hotspur’s Giovani Dos Santos (R) has his shot blocked by Cheltenham Town’s Alan Bennett (L) during their English FA Cup match at White Hart Lane yesterday |
Wigan Athletic were the biggest casualties as they were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round yesterday, beaten 2-1 by Swindon Town, three divisions below them.
Callum McManaman put Wigan in front but goals from Alan Connell and Paul Benson sealed a famous victory for the side managed by former West Ham star Paolo Di Canio.
Bolton Wanderers were held to a 2-2 draw at another League Two side Macclesfield Town while another Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers will also need a replay after they were held 0-0 at Championship side Birmingham City.
Queens Park Rangers will also need another go after they drew 1-1 at MK Dons but Tottenham Hotspur cruised into the fourth round with a 3-0 win over Cheltenham Town, with Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Giovani scoring the goals.
A late winner from Jonas Gutierrez gave Newcastle United a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers and Everton saw off non-league side Tamworth 2-0.
A hat-trick from Clint Dempsey gave Fulham a convincing 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic while Simon Cox also grabbed a hat-trick to help West Bromwich Albion see off Cardiff City 4-2.
Two of the other three remaining non-league sides also lost, Fleetwood going down 5-1 at home to Blackpool, where Matt Phillips helped himself to a hat-trick.
Salisbury Town went down 3-1 at Sheffield United but non-league Wrexham are still alive after forcing an excellent 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Earlier, Andy Carroll scored at Anfield for the first time this season to help Liverpool reach the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 5-1 win over League 1 (third division) Oldham Athletic..
England international Carroll, bought for 35mn pounds ($53.93mn) from Newcastle United last January, pounced with injury time approaching to put Liverpool 4-1 up after they had gone behind in the 28th minute.
Oldham’s Robbie Simpson produced an unstoppable strike from 25 metres in the 28th minute but Liverpool quickly drew level when a Jonjo Shelvey shot destined for the goalkeeper’s hands deflected off Craig Bellamy into the corner of the net.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, plagued by injuries in 2011, then rifled home a penalty at the end of the first half to give his side a 2-1 lead.
Bellamy’s pace unsettled Oldham as Liverpool made it 3-1 after 68 minutes, the Welsh winger’s cross after a dashing run dispatched by Shelvey.
Misfiring striker Carroll then grabbed his third goal of the season after a swivel on the edge of the box and a smart finish before Stewart Downing made it 5-1 deep into injury time.
“Downing scored, big Andy got a goal, Jonjo scored and Steven scored with a penalty so we’ve had a few positives but I don’t think the scoreline reflects the distance between the two teams on that performance,” said Liverpool boss Kenny dalglish.
However, the game ended on a sour note when Oldham’s Tom Adeyemi exchanged words with a spectator and the tearful midfielder needed a consoling word from Gerrard.
Liverpool issued a statement saying: “An incident occurred in the second half of the match which is now being investigated by both the club and the police.”
Merseyside Police added: “The aim of the investigation is to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident to ascertain if action needs to be taken.”
“(We) can confirm that no-one has been arrested this evening... on suspicion of racially aggravated behaviour during tonight’s FA Cup fixture at Anfield,” said a police spokesman.