Manchester United required a second-half rally to edge past third-tier side Southampton 2-1 in the fourth round of the FA Cup yesterday, and Salomon Kalou’s late equaliser rescued defending champions Chelsea in a 1-1 draw at Everton.
United were 1-0 down at half-time at St Mary’s Stadium, but the 11-time winners and Premier League leaders avoided an upset thanks to goals by strikers Michael Owen and Javier Hernandez in the space of 10 minutes after the break.
Everton dominated for long spells against Chelsea and took the lead when striker Louis Saha headed home a corner by Leighton Baines in the 62nd.
Chelsea equalised through substitute Kalou, who finished off a flowing counter-attack in the 75th with a shot that squirmed into the far corner to earn his team a replay.
Fifth-tier side Crawley Town missed two penalties but still became the first non-league club to qualify for the competition’s fifth round since 1994 thanks to a 1-0 victory at 10-man Torquay, while there were wins for Premier League teams Aston Villa and Birmingham.
United fielded a second-string side against Southampton and were blown away in the first half on the south coast.
The Saints should have been ahead well before Richard Chaplow pounced on United centre-back Jonny Evans’ mistake in the 45th to surge into the area and smash a right-foot shot high into the net at the near post, past debutant goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard.
United manager Alex Ferguson responded by throwing on wingers Ryan Giggs and Nani for the second half, and the changes had the desired effect.
Owen, who hit the post in the first half with a misplaced cross, reacted quickest to Gabriel Obertan’s deflected cross to head home from eight yards in the 65th minute.
Hernandez completed the turnaround by running onto Ryan Giggs’ sublime through-ball and poking his finish in off the post.
United were 2-0 down in their Premier League match at Blackpool on Tuesday before bouncing back to win 3-2 and maintain the team’s unbeaten record in the campaign.
Chelsea were arguably even more fortunate than United, with Everton on top for the majority of the match at Goodison Park.
Chelsea came close to snatching a win when Brazil midfielder Ramires hit the post in the 86th, while substitute Everton striker Jermaine Beckford forced an acrobatic save out of Petr Cech in the final minute.
Source:AP
