FA Cup - Winners and losers

Eurosport - Mon, 18 Feb 13:17:00 2008

No prizes for guessing who is on top of the winners list as we look back at the weekend's FA Cup action.

2007-2008 FA Cup Barnsley - 0

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WINNERS

Barnsley

Well, obviously. The Tykes were kept in the game against Liverpool by Luke Steele and appeared to have been denied their big chance when a stone wall penalty was denied them. But the ball came to Brian Howard, whose attempt to boot the ball into the crowd nestled in the bottom-right corner and the rest is FA Cup folklore.

Darren Fletcher

Manchester United fans groaned in unison when they heard the Scot had been 'preferred' to Cristiano Ronaldo for Saturday's game against Arsenal. Fletcher left the stepovers to Nani, instead supplying a solid, confident display and helping himself to one-and-a-half goals.

Frank Lampard

In one of the weekend's more unheralded performances, Lampard dragged Chelsea into the last eight, scoring twice against Huddersfield and almost single-handedly averting a Liverpool-style catastrophe. Although he might have wanted his 100th goal to come against more glamorous opponents.

Teesside chippies

Middlesbrough striker Mido is, by common consent, a "big lad", but he looked like a size zero model next to record signing Afonso Alves who came on during Sunday's game against Sheffield United. The Brazilian looked like he spent the entire winter break with Jan Molby's dietician as he lumbered around the Bramall Lane pitch. Juninho he ain't.

LOSERS

TV schedulers

For the second round on the trot the televised schedule was a complete mess. While Bristol Rovers' encounter with Southampton was a reasonably heart-warming affair, Sheffield United versus Middlesbrough was awful. In the fourth round Havant & Waterlooville were confined to Saturday at 3pm - this time Barnsley's epic upset was not seen live. Expect a prime time spot for Cardiff v West Brom in the last eight.

Arsenal's fringe players

Manchester United's 6-1 win against Arsenal in 2001 spelled the end for Igors Stepanovs and Oleg Luzhny - might the 4-0 drubbing at Old Trafford result result in a similar fate for the likes of Justin Hoyte, Emmanuel Eboue and Gilberto Silva?

Darren Carter

What were you thinking? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! If you missed it, the Preston man booted Portsmouth's 94th-minute winner into the roof of his own net with Richard Chaplow perfectly positioned to clear it off the line. Hermann Hreidarsson's handball should have been detected by referee Mike Dean, though.

Rafa Benitez

It hardly needs explaining, does it?

Alex Chick / Eurosport