Arsenal advances in FA Cup

/

updated 8:27 p.m. ET Jan. 29, 2012

LONDON - Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday, scoring three times in eight second-half minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Villa led 2-0 at halftime on goals by Richard Dunne and Darren Bent, prompting near silence from Arsenal fans still waiting for a trophy to follow the 2005 FA Cup.

The home side got back in the game with Robin van Persie's 54th-minute penalty, tied it on Theo Walcott's lucky rebound and took the lead in the 61st on a second spot kick from Van Persie.

Middlesbrough and Sunderland will replay on Feb. 7 for the right to face Arsenal after drawing their fourth-round match 1-1.

Having avoided a fourth straight defeat, the Gunners are now just three games away from a Wembley final.

"We tried to keep focused and calm," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "It is an opportunity but you could see today how hard the games are."

Arsenal great Thierry Henry missed a late chance after coming on in the 89th for the third appearance of his loan from the New York Red Bulls of MLS, but home fans could still cheer the result.

Robbie Keane, on-loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, provided the cross that led to Dunne's 33rd-minute opener.

Second-tier Middlesbrough led against its local rival when Barry Robson capitalized on some weak defending to smash a 16th-minute volley across goalkeeper Simon Mignolet and in at the far post.

Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill introduced striker Fraizer Campbell at halftime for his first appearance since August 2010, and the former Manchester United trainee stroked in a low shot 14 minutes later following a mistake by Robson.

Campbell had not played for the first team for 500 days because of knee injuries.

Crawley Town, the lowest-ranked side left in this season's FA Cup, was handed a meeting with Premier League club Stoke in Sunday's fifth-round draw.

Liverpool will meet Brighton, Chelsea will host Birmingham, Norwich will host Leicester, Everton will play Blackpool or Sheffield Wednesday, and Bolton will go to the winner of the replay between Millwall and Southampton. Tottenham is at Stevenage.

___

LISBON, Portugal (AP) ? American defender Oguchi Onyewu scored on headers in the 18th and 27th minutes, giving Sporting Lisbon a 2-0 win over Beira Mar in the Portuguese league.

Onyewu received a yellow card in the first minute, then got goals off a corner kick and a free kick from the right flank, both from around the top of the 6-yard box.

He has five goals this season, including four in the league.

___

ROME (AP) ? Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and set up another as AC Milan beat Cagliari 3-0 to move back within one point of first-place Juventus in the Italian league.

Ibrahimovic scored his league-leading 15th goal with a free kick in the 32nd minute, then controlled a ball with his chest to set up Antonio Nocerino's goal in the 39th. Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini scored with his first goal of the season in the 75th.

Inter Milan's league winning streak ended at seven, one short of the club record, with a 1-0 loss at Lecce. Guillermo Giacomazzi scored off a pass from Massimo Oddo in the 40th minute, Inter had two goals called back for offside. Lazio jumped ahead of the Nerazzurri into fourth place.

It was Lecce's first home win of the season and only its fourth overall.

Lazio won 3-0 at Chievo Verona with a first-half goal from Hernanes and two in the final minutes from Miroslav Klose.

Elsewhere, Roma drew 1-1 at home with Bologna to stay sixth. Roma's 21-year-old midfielder Miralem Pjanic equalized with a free kick in the 62nd minute after Bologna captain Marco Di Vaio had scored six minutes earlier.

Also, Genoa beat Napoli 3-2 with two goals from Rodrigo Palacio and one from newly signed Alberto Gilardino to get some revenge for a 6-1 loss to Napoli last month that cost Alberto Malesani his job.

___

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) ? David Zurutuza lasted only five minutes, but it was long enough to score a double in Real Sociedad's 5-1 rout of visiting Sporting Gijon in the Spanish league.

The 25-year-old midfielder volleyed Antoine Griezmann's cross into the left corner for Sociedad's second-minute opener, and a minute later he scored with another shot from the right side of the area after Carlos Vela had played him clear.

But Zurutuza's dream start took an ugly turn in the fifth minute when he and Sporting defender Gregory Arnolin collided face-to-face while disputing a loose ball.

Granada coach Abel Resino got off to a winning start as his team moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at Real Betis, while Getafe dealt Levante its second home loss of the season with a 2-1 win.

Malaga beat Sevilla 2-1 in an Andalusian derby 2-1 to break a six-game winless run, while third-place Valencia was held to a 2-2 draw at Racing Santander. Atletico Madrid visits Osasuna on Monday.

On Saturday, Real Madrid opened a seven-point lead with a 3-1 win over last-place Zaragoza as Barcelona tied 0-0 at Villarreal.

___

BERLIN (AP) ? Marco Reus led Borussia Moenchengladbach to a 3-0 win at Stuttgart on Sunday to keep his team within a point of the Bundesliga's top three.

Reus sent in a dangerous free kick for Mike Hanke to score with a glancing header in the 31st minute, and then scored himself in the 81st. Igor de Camargo added another three minutes later.

Moenchengladbach remains a point behind league leader Bayern Munich, defending champion Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, who all have 40 points.

Moenchengladbach's first win over Stuttgart since 2005 sent the home team to its fourth league loss in a row.

Earlier Sunday, Mainz scored three goals in the first 17 minutes to beat Freiburg 3-1.

___

PARIS (AP) ? Marseille won its seventh straight game, defeating Rennes 2-1 in the French league as Benoit Cheyrou scored the go-ahead goal from the edge of the penalty area in the 77th minute.

Rennes midfielder Tongo Hamed Doumbia opened the scoring with a 30-yard shot in the 15th, but fifth-place Marseille equalized with an own goal from defender Onyekachi Apam just before halftime.

Ajaccio moved out of the French league's relegation zone by defeating Valenciennes 2-1, its fourth straight victory.

The visitors were down to 10 men in the 73rd when midfielder Paul Lasne was sent off for a second yellow card, but substitute Christian Kinkela scored the winner in stoppage time by curling a shot into the top corner.

Also Sunday, Bordeaux goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso fouled Yannick Sagbo but saved the subsequent penalty to salvage a 0-0 draw against Evian.

___

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) ? Celtic reached the final of Scotland's League Cup for the 29th time with a 3-1 win over Falkirk.

The teams were tied 1-1 until the 56th minute after 17-year-old Falkirk midfielder Jay Fulton equalized Celtic captain Scott Brown's penalty.

Striker Anthony Stokes put Celtic back in front with a 25-yard free kick and tapped Gary Hooper's pass in the 86th to settle the match.

Celtic will meet Kilmarnock in the final at Hampden Park on March 18. Celtic's 14 tournament wins is second only to Rangers' 27.

___

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? Luuk de Jong scored three goals as FC Twente beat FC Groningen 4-1 and moved into second place in the Dutch league.

De Jong headed Twente into the lead in the 14th, converted another cross from Ola John in the 23rd and completed his hat trick in the 58th with another header ? again set up by John.

De Jong then provided the cross headed in by midfielder Leroy Fer in the 66th.

Twente has 39 points, two behind new leader PSV Eindhoven, which beat Vitesse Arnhem 3-1 Friday. AZ Alkmaar lost 2-0 at Roda JC to drop to third.

John Guidetti also got a hat trick to guide Feyenoord to a 4-2 win over Ajax.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More news

Arsenal advances in FA Cup

Roundup: Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday, scoring three times in eight second-half minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

2 for Wambach, Morgan; US women beat Canada 4-0

??With a flick of the head, Abby Wambach sent Alex Morgan on a 30-yard run that gave the United States an early lead, the first of three goals resulting from impeccable teamwork between the veteran and the up-and-comer.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46182135/ns/sports-soccer/

merle haggard apple announcement yu darvish pipa keystone xl sopa and pipa sopa bill