Goodison Park bids FA Cup farewell while Ipswich pick up rare win: Five things you might have missed from today’s 3pm action | OneFootball

There is nothing quite like the FA Cup.

As the oldest national competition in world football, it consistently delivers thrilling giant killings, unexpected upsets, and heartwarming fairytale stories.

This season’s edition has now entered the fourth round, with today’s matches following holders Manchester United’s dramatic late win over Leicester City on Friday evening. Meanwhile, last season’s finalists Manchester City had to dig deep to overcome a deficit against Leyton Orient and potentially avoid what could have been the first significant giant killing of this stage.

No fewer than six matches took place during Saturday’s traditional 3 PM slot, so it’s only natural that you might have missed some important or memorable moments. But don’t worry—Squawka is here to provide you with things you might have missed.

1. Goodbye Goodison

Given the open-draw nature of the FA Cup, any match that Everton hosts in this season’s competition could be the last at Goodison Park—its spiritual home for 133 years—as they prepare to move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Under interim coach and club legend Leighton Baines, Everton had a comfortable victory against Peterborough at home in the previous round. However, Bournemouth, who had already achieved a stunning win at Goodison Park earlier in the season, was going to be a tough ask.

Unfortunately for David Moyes and his team, they suffered a 2-0 defeat, with Antoine Semenyo and Daniel Jebbison scoring in the first half. With this victory, the Cherries have reached the FA Cup fifth round in consecutive seasons for the first time in their history.

For Everton, the focus now shifts to safeguarding their Premier League status as they embark on a new era.

2. Ipswich go wild

In their previous 26 matches this season across all competitions, Ipswich managed to score at least three goals in a single game on two occasions: the first was in a 4-3 loss to Brentford, and more recently, they scored three unanswered goals against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup third round. It seems that the cup is becoming a refuge for the struggling Tractor Boys, whose Premier League status remains uncertain.

This afternoon, Coventry were the unfortunate opponent as Ipswich registered four goals in the same game for the first time this season. At one point, the game was tied 1-1, with Joel Latibeaudiere cancelling out  George Hirst’s opener. Jack Clarke then scored two goals, followed by Jaden Philogene, who netted the final goal, a landmark for this campaign.

Victory means that Ipswich have advanced to the FA Cup fifth round for only the second time in the 21st century, with their previous appearance in the 2006-07 season. Last season, non-league Maidstone United eliminated them at this stage of the competition.

3. Saints stunned

Just as Ipswich is getting a much-needed break from the frantic pace of the Premier League, where they are nervously looking over their shoulders, the same cannot be said for Southampton. The Saints are currently favourites to finish rock bottom, sitting in 20th place and 10 points adrift of safety with 14 matches remaining. Many expected them to come out of their contest against Burnley unscathed, but that was not meant to be. Marcus Edwards, the former Tottenham academy star who joined Burnley on loan from Sporting Portugal, scored the decisive goal.

This result was surprising, as Southampton had won eight of their last 10 home matches in the FA Cup, securing the last three in a row at St. Mary’s Stadium by a margin of three goals or more without conceding. In contrast, Burnley has been eliminated in nine of their last 11 FA Cup ties against Premier League teams while competing outside the top flight at the time.

4. Drama on Stanley Matthews Way

Heading into this fourth-round showdown, Stoke City had not won in their last nine matches against Cardiff City, recording six draws and three losses. Meanwhile, Cardiff had been eliminated in three previous ties against Stoke. Something had to give in this matchup, which quickly became the day’s highlight.

Cardiff City initially took a 2-0 lead with goals from Rubin Colwill and Yousef Salech. However, Stoke City quickly turned the game around with a stunning brace from Lewis Koumas in just four minutes, levelling the score. Lewis Baker then completed Stoke’s remarkable comeback, only for Colwill to score again and bring parity again. With no further goals scored, the match went into extra time, and when that couldn’t separate the sides, penalties were required.

Despite coming back from two goals down to lead 3-2 at one point, Stoke were eliminated via the dreaded spot-kicks. Cardiff missed one effort from 12 yards but still claimed a 4-2 victory. As this was happening, Preston and Wycombe, who played out a goalless draw, also went to penalties; the hosts ultimately triumphed, missing one spot-kick to Wycombe’s two.

5. Pereira stretches his legs

Although he did not register an assist, Fulham’s Andreas Pereira created nine chances in this season’s FA Cup third round match against Watford, which was the second-most of any Premier League player in the third round, following Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard, who created ten chances against Manchester United. With the Gunners’ captain no longer participating in this season’s competition, Pereira had an opportunity to enhance his status as the tournament’s leading creator.

A trip to League One side Wigan offered Pereira a chance to build on that momentum. Fulham ultimately won the match 2-1, with Rodrigo Muniz scoring both goals, the second of which was set up by Pereira. He created six more chances in this game, bringing his total to 15 chances created, moving five ahead of the already eliminated Ødegaard. Jack Grealish, with nine chances created, is now Pereira’s nearest challenger.