Man City survive wonder goal, Newcastle edge Birmingham in FA Cup
LONDON :Manchester City needed a late Kevin de Bruyne winner to beat third-tier Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday after falling behind to a goal that will become part of the folklore of the world's oldest knockout competition.
Jamie Donley's shot from just inside the City half which went in off the back of City keeper Stefan Ortega had threatened a massive Cup shock, but the Premier League champions edged through as De Bruyne scored late on in a 2-1 victory.
Newcastle United also had to recover from an early shock as they won 3-2 at third-tier leaders Birmingham City with Joe Willock twice on target for the League Cup finalists.
Premier League bottom club Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley but fellow strugglers Ipswich Town enjoyed a confidence-boosting 4-1 victory at second-tier Coventry City managed by Frank Lampard.
Bournemouth's fine season continued as the won 2-0 at Everton in an all-Premier League clash while Fulham moved through to round five by beating third-tier Wigan Athletic 2-1 with Rodrigo Muniz scoring both goals for the London club.
Donley, a 20-year-old forward on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, ended up on the losing side but he provided the standout moment of the fourth round.
With 16 minutes on the clock at a raucous Brisbane Road, he noticed Ortega off his line and launched a shot from just inside City's half that went in via the crossbar and the keeper's back.
"It is a shame it has gone down as an own goal," Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens told reporters. "I am sure Ortega doesn't want it. It's one thing seeing it, another executing."
City, who gave debuts to Nico Gonzalez and Vitor Reis and included the likes of Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Savinho in their line-up, took until the 56th minute to level when Abdukodir Khusanov deflected in a Rico Lewis shot.
GUARDIOLA RELIEVED
De Bruyne and Phil Foden came of the bench and it was Belgian playmaker De Bruyne who clipped in City's winner to the obvious relief of their manager Pep Guardiola.
"They're a really good team, incredibly well managed, but we created a lot of chances. They created chances too, especially through long balls and second balls," said Guardiola, who has won two FA Cups with City.
"The first 10-15 minutes we struggled when they attacked the channels. It was really hard but after their fantastic goal, we took control of the game."
Birmingham took the lead after 40 seconds through Ethan Laird but Willock equalised with a close-range effort that was adjudged to have just crossed the line.
Callum Wilson put Newcastle ahead before Tomoki Iwata scored a thunderbolt equaliser for the hosts in a pulsating first half but Willock sealed the visitors' win 10 minutes from time.
Marcus Edwards scored on his Burnley debut as Southampton's woes continued. The forward joined from Sporting on loan on deadline day and made an instant impact, grabbing the winner 18 minutes after coming off the bench.
Ipswich reached the fifth round for the first time since 2007 despite making 11 changes to their side at Coventry.
George Hirst put Ipswich ahead with a penalty before Joel Latibeaudiere levelled but Jack Clarke's double put the visitors in control before halftime and Jaden Philogene wrapped it up after the break.
Championship leaders Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 2-0 at home by Millwall.
Everton's defeat by Bournemouth, for whom Antoine Semenyo scored a penalty and Daniel Jebbison doubled the lead, was the last FA Cup tie at Goodison Park before they move out of their home since 1892 to their new Bramley-Moore Dock home.
Holders Manchester United beat Leicester City on Friday and Chelsea visit Brighton & Hove Albion later on Saturday.
