FA Cup

FULHAM fan and Hollywood A-lister Hugh Grant headed to Craven Cottage on Saturday to see his side in FA Cup action.But he appeared to have his view of the action restricted by a pole.
Hugh Grant was spotted appearing to look around a pole during Fulham’s 1-1 draw with SunderlandCredit: Premier Sports
Grant was in the stands cheering on his beloved CottagersCredit: Rex
Built in 1896, Craven Cottage is the oldest football stadium in London.
And despite a shiny new Riverside Stand currently under construction, there are still some structural obstacles elsewhere in the ground.
At today’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland, Love Actually and Notting Hill star Grant was spotted peering around a pole while sitting in the crowd.
He appeared to lean over to his right in order to get a clearer view of the action.
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The film star looked stylish in a flat cap and jacket as he watched his beloved Fulham take on the Black Cats.
Although Grant, 62, had to wait a while before he had anything to cheer about.
Home side Fulham went a goal down to Championship side Fulham just six minutes into the game.
Jack Clarke put the visitors ahead, stroking home after capitalising on an Issa Diop error.
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And the Premier League high-flyers had to wait until the 61st minute for skipper Tom Cairney to level the score.
Captain Cairney showed superb footwork to evade two challenges before firing past Anthony Patterson.
Sunderland thought they had won it at the death when 15-year-old Chris Rigg found the back of the net, but the goal was ruled out for an offside in the build up.
In the end it finished 1-1, meaning the two sides will have to do it all again in a replay for a spot in the FA Cup fifth round. More

PREMIER LEAGUE outfit Leeds have been praised for leaving their changing room spotless after their game against Accrington Stanley.The Yorkshire side faced the League One side in the FA Cup fourth round tie at the Wham Stadium.
Leeds were praised for their gesture to Accrington Stanley after their FA Cup clashCredit: AFP
They left the away dressing room spotlessCredit: Twitter – @MartinSykes6
Leeds won the clash 3-1 with goals coming from Jack Harrison, Junior Firpo and Luis Sinisterra.
Accrington did get a consolation through Leslie Adekoya in the 81st minute.
But it was the sportsmanship gesture after the game that got people pleasing the Premier League side.
Leeds made sure to leave the away changing room spotless as Leeds security member Martin Sykes showed on Twitter.
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Sykes posted a picture of the tidy space, with nothing left behind and all the rubbish in the bin, along with the caption: “That’s respect shown for a beauty little club from the #lufc backroom team.”
And fans on social media loved the gesture, as one Tweeted: “Class from LUFC 💙🤍💛.”
A second commented: “The way Leeds United left the away dressing room at Accrington Stanley today. Classy! 👏.”
A third wrote: “Respect Leeds, that’s what it is all about 👏👏👏.”
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A fourth said: “Big tick for you guys, it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
A fifth joked: “Not so dirty Leeds?”
During the game, one of the Leeds supporters stormed the pitch and performed the worm after one of the goals.
Leeds are now in the fifth round of the competition and will have to wait to see who they face.
The draw for the next round takes place on Monday, January 30 at 7pm. More

WHO NEEDS HARRY KANE?Well, in the medium and long-term, Tottenham. That much was painfully obvious for almost 50 minutes of this game.
Son Heung-min’s wicked strike gave Tottenham the leadCredit: Conor Molloy/News Images
It was the Spurs man’s seventh goal of the seasonCredit: Reuters
Son then made it eight for the campaign with 20 minutes remainingCredit: AFP
Arnaut Danjuma scored late on to mark his Spurs debut with a goalCredit: AFP
Danjuma chose Tottenham over Everton earlier this weekCredit: Reuters
But on a day when a poorly Kane was rested and denied the chance to become Spurs’ record scorer, it fell to Son Heung-min to keep alive the club’s best chance of finally breaking that trophy drought.
The opening goal, just after the break, was timely both for Son and his team.
The South Korean has had an awful season by his own high standards. He is one half of the most prolific double act in Premier League history but has not been pulling the weight even of a straight man to Kane’s star turn.
Son’s four league goals have come in two matches, and his other two before last night were in a single Champions League fixture. In other words, the net had eluded him in 23 of his 26 appearances.
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Dogged, well-organised Preston had restricted him and an uninspired Spurs side mainly to efforts from distance in the first half.
Without Kane to pull everything together like a conductor, the off-key visitors simply weren’t able to create other clear-cut openings.
But Son made the hosts pay dearly for standing off him and curled a wonderful effort past Freddie Woodman from 25 yards to break the deadlock.
His second goal, 20 minutes or so later, was almost as emphatic and killed off the fading prospect of a giantkilling long before new signing Arnaut Danjuma added a late third.
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Ah, the magic of the cup.
This tasty-looking tie gave Preston the chance to sample the wholesome sight and sound of Tottenham fans singing about Sol Campbell.
On the day the ex-Spurs defender publicly bemoaned the fact that he was still such a hate figure after moving to Arsenal all those years ago, guess what?
The supporters who once loved him gave him both barrels for the benefit of a teatime family audience. The first chant you can probably file under very aggressive “banter”. The second, that is about celebrating Campbell’s death, is just plain wrong.
For good measure, the visiting fans also used the Y-word that their own club has repeatedly asked them to remove from their match-day vocabulary.
Lovely stuff.
And if that wasn’t enough to warm your heart, there was always the news that Ched Evans was starting up front for Preston on a night when the story was supposed to be about a different striker.
Kane’s goal at Fulham had put him level with Greaves on 266 goals and he will have fancied his chances of setting a new landmark in Lancashire.
But the England captain, who defied a fever to play at Craven Cottage, had returned to training only on Friday after three days off.
If Kane was bleeding out of his eyes, he would still want to play every minute of every game.
The South Korean has struggled to find the back of the net in recent timesCredit: Getty
But Conte decided it was not worth the risk and put him on the bench.
The Italian had assessed that it WAS worth the risk to make seven changes overall to the side that had started against Fulham.
Preston had begun the New Year pretty well but, as a mid-table Championship side, should not have had enough to cause serious discomfort to a club that will resume its participation in the Champions League on Valentine’s Day.
That wasn’t going to stop a sold-out Deepdale dreaming of an upset under the Saturday night lights.
But the home side were soon on the back foot.
After a half-cleared free kick, Dejan Kulusevski found himself with a shooting opportunity only for Ryan Ledson to make a timely block.
Goalkeeper Freddie Woodman dealt comfortably with a Son shot but for 20 minutes Preston found it hard to build attacks of their own, let alone have a shot.
When their first chance came, it unfortunately fell to centre back Andrew Hughes, whose slightly mishit effort was deflected away.
Spurs, although continuing to enjoy up to 80 per cent possession, struggled to break their opponents down, crossed the ball poorly and lacked cohesion. They were missing the main man to provide a focal point and link play.
In Kane’s ongoing absence, Son forced a save out of Woodman from just outside the box while Kulusevski was off target from similar range before having another effort blocked by Liam Lindsay.
Harry Kane was an unused substitute for Tottenham at DeepdaleCredit: Reuters
So far, so average.
But eventually one of those long-range shots was going to pay off, and early in the second half it did.
Preston allowed Son time to adjust his sights and he curled a brilliant left-footed shot right into the corner of Woodman’s net.
The away fans at last had a reason to be cheerful, although that didn’t sustain them for long and they were soon singing again about wanting chairman Daniel Levy to leave the club.
Preston tried to make a game of it and Ben Whiteman sent the volume soaring again with an effort just wide.
At the other end Woodman made a bit of a meal of keeping out a Perisic header.
But he was soon beaten again when Son turned on to a cute flick from the Croatian and fired home.
Conte made three changes immediately. None was to bring on Kane but one of the trio of substitutes, Danjuma, marked his debut with a scuffed finish in the dying minutes.
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A couple of late pitch invaders shamed Preston, as some Tottenham fans had their team with their chants.
But on this occasion, with Kane indisposed, Son and Spurs stood up to be counted. More

FOOTBALL fans have accused Manchester City’s stars of “bullying” Oleksandr Zinchenko.The Arsenal man returned to the Etihad for the first time on Friday night following his £30million summer move to the Emirates.
Kyle Walker was pictured grabbing Oleksandr Zinchenko’s earCredit: Alamy
Manchester City’s stars crowded around the Arsenal man after the final whistleCredit: Getty
Walker got up close and personal to his former team-mateCredit: Reuters
Zinchenko claimed on social media after the game that he “will always be glad to see” his former team-mates.Credit: AFP
Jack Grealish was seen with a comforting hand on Zinchenko’s neckCredit: Getty
Zinchenko, 26, came off the bench for the final 24 minutes as his side crashed out of the FA Cup 1-0.
And City’s stars approached their former team-mate after the final whistle.
Zinchenko won four Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup during his six years at the Etihad and was given a a standing ovation from City fans when he came on.
But Pep Guardiola’s players got up close and personal to him after the final whistle.
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They crowded around Zinchenko, with Kyle Walker yanking on the Ukrainian’s ear and slapping his arm.
Walker also manhandled Zinchenko by lifting him up in a bear hug and dropping him to the floor, seemingly leaving the defender in some pain.
Ilkay Gundogan then appeared to cheekily slap him in the face.
Zinchenko seemed riled after speaking to Riyad Mahrez, while Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo were seen laughing in his face.
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Things appeared to end amicably when Zinchenko gave Walker his shirt before they hugged and walked down the tunnel.
But social media users suggested Zinchenko was being “bullied” by his old team-mates.
One account wrote: “City bullied Zinchenko like their little brother.”
Another said: “It’s being bullied, but it’s affection of old mates.”
A third wrote: “He’s getting lil bro’d so hard.”
And a fourth added: “Huge lil bro energy.”
Zinchenko himself appeared to take it all in good spirits, having initially appeared to lose his cool.
In an Instagram post on Saturday he played things down and said he “will always be glad to see” his former team-mates.
Zinchenko wrote: “Not the result what we came for but we will bounce back!
“There are no old friends – there are friends with whom there are many good memories and you will always be glad to see each of them.
“There is no past home – there is a place where you were very happy, and now you are happy to return.
“Thank you Etihad for the warm welcome! See you soon at Emirates, I hope you will have fun!”
Jack Grealish was quick to comment on Zinchenko’s post.
The England and City star wrote: “My brother no matter what! U deserve everything my guy.”
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Zinchenko and Arsenal are currently five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand on their title rivals.
The two sides face off again at the Emirates on February 15th, before the return fixture at the Etihad in late April.
Zinchenko has been superb for Arsenal this seasonCredit: Getty More

LEEDS put their Premier League struggles behind them to ease into the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-1 win at Accrington Stanley.And after one of their goals a fan stormed the pitch and celebrated by doing the WORM.

A fan ran onto the pitch against Accrington in the FA Cup before doing the wormCredit: Twitter / @JakeSha93180907
The supporter, thought to be a Leeds fan, performed the dance in front of the away endCredit: Twitter / @JakeSha93180907
Security then came onto the field to take them awayCredit: Twitter / @JakeSha93180907
Footage posted to Twitter shows a fan on the pitch next to the Leeds away end at Accrington.
It appeared to come after Luis Sinisterra put Jesse Marsch’s side 3-0 ahead 22 minutes from time.
Having jumped over the advertising boards, they dropped down to the turf and started doing the worm.
In the video, laughter can be heard from the travelling fans.
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As the supporter stood up they were met by a steward, who frogmarched them off the pitch.
The fan cheered and pumped their fist as they were led away by security.
Under the Football Offences Act 1991 it is an offence for a person at a match to enter the pitch “without lawful authority or lawful excuse”.
Jack Harrison, reportedly the subject of a £20million bid from Leicester, put the Prem side ahead on 23 minutes with a long-range wonderstrike.
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Junior Firpo doubled Leeds’ lead after the break, before Sinisterra added a third soon after.
Leslie Adekoya netted a late consolation for League One Accrington.
But the Elland Road outfit made put themselves in the hat for the FA Cup fifth round draw without really being tested. More

KYLE WALKER showed he is still a Tottenham man at heart.That’s by angrily launching an Arsenal shirt into the crowd after Manchester City’s FA Cup win yesterday.
Kyle Walker showed he was still a Spurs man after an Arsenal shirt was thrown at himCredit: TikTok / @espnfc via Instagram

The Man City hurled the offending item back into the crowd last nightCredit: TikTok / @espnfc via Instagram
Nathan Ake scored the only goal at the Etihad as Pep Guardiola triumphed over former No2 Mikel Arteta in the fourth round tie.
But Arsenal fans were still jubilant despite the result, having opened up a five-point lead over City in the title race.
The Gunners even have a game in hand to potentially increase their lead to eight points.
But one excited Gooner got carried away as he threw an Arsenal shirt at Walker as the right-back departed the field last night.
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Walker, 32, spent eight years with the London side’s fierce rivals Tottenham.
And he showed he still has a soft spot for his old side by refusing to ignore the incident.
Instead, Walker angrily bent down to pick up the shirt from the floor.
And without looking at the culprit, he hurled the Arsenal jersey straight back into the crowd.
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Football fans certainly found the exchange amusing, with many questioning whether Walker has even moved on from his days in the capital.
One said: “Always Spurs haha.”
Another declared: “He’s Spurs through and through.”
One joked: “He’s still got that Tottenham DNA lol.”
Another added: “Should have kicked it away instead.”
After the game, Guardiola hailed City’s resilience after admitting his surprise at Arsenal’s game plan.
He said: “We were definitely better in the second half. Arsenal have taken a step forward. It was a tight game and you realise how good a side they are.
“I did not expect the approach from them – man-to man – it was difficult to build up but we beat the team at the top of the league and are in the next round.” More