Beckford brace earns Leeds replay

Reuters - Saturday 23 January 2010, 20:21

LONDON - Holders Chelsea booked their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-0 victory at Preston North End on Saturday while Jermaine Beckford's last-gasp penalty earned Leeds United a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Burnley were the day's Premier League fall guys, losing 1-0 to Championship Reading while Wigan Athletic escaped humiliation by the skin of their teeth, drawing 2-2 at League Two Notts County after trailing 2-0.

Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers needed a late equaliser to draw 2-2 at home to Championship side Crystal Palace and Fulham had some tricky moments before winning 3-1 at the lowest-placed survivors Accrington Stanley.

League Cup finalists Aston Villa had to work hard to advance with a 3-2 defeat of third-tier Brighton & Hove Albion at Villa Park while Birmingham City stretched their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 with an impressive 2-1 win at Everton.

In another all top-flight clash hard-up Portsmouth guaranteed some welcome income with a 2-1 home win over Sunderland.

Five-times winners Chelsea took the lead when Nicolas Anelka shot powerfully past goalkeeper Andy Lonergan in the 36th minute before doubling their advantage when Daniel Sturridge finished from close range two minutes after the restart.

OPEN GOAL

Championship side Preston, managed by Darren Ferguson, son of Manchester United boss Alex, missed a gilt-edged chance when Darren Carter shot over an open goal in the first half.

"We found it hard in the first half but that's what the FA Cup is all about," Chelsea captain John Terry told ITV. "It has been an amazing day. When you come to grounds like this it's what the Cup is all about, smaller clubs giving their all."

Leeds brought a noisy travelling army of fans to White Hart Lane as the once-mighty Yorkshire side who now play in the third tier of English football attempted to shock eight-times Cup winners Tottenham as they had done 11-times winners Manchester United in the third round.

It looked as though substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko's 75th minute goal had won an exciting tie for Tottenham but Beckford tumbled over the outstretched leg of Michael Dawson in the fifth minute of stoppage time and then showed nerves of steel to send his penalty high into the net past Heurelho Gomes.

Beckford's scrambled effort just after the break had brought Leeds level after Peter Crouch had given Tottenham a halftime lead despite a missed penalty by Jermain Defoe.

"It could have been a penalty, it was a tight one and I certainly wouldn't question the referee," Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp told reporters.

"We should have been able to see the game out. We had the game in the bag and it's disappointing."

Leeds manager Simon Grayson praised Beckford who recently withdrew a transfer request. "It took an eternity for the referee to give the penalty and then there was a pause before he took it so he showed good mental strength to score it.

"It just shows what confidence he has in his own ability," Grayson said, adding that only a "silly money" offer would tempt Leeds to sell their top striker in the transfer window.

Championship strugglers Reading did manage a repeat performance. After beating Liverpool in a replay at Anfield in the previous round, an 88th-minute goal from Gylfi Sigurdsson dumped Burnley out of the competition.

Two sides battling for promotion back to the Premier League met at the Hawthorns where West Bromwich Albion beat Championship leaders Newcastle United 4-2.

After two successive Premier League defeats by Arsenal, Owen Coyle enjoyed his first victory as Bolton Wanderers manager when his side beat Championship team Sheffield United 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium.