Newcastle stunned in FA Cup, but West Ham, Spurs, Leicester progress
LONDON - Premier League Newcastle United were on the receiving end of a shock 2-1 defeat away to third-tier Sheffield Wednesday as they crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round on Saturday, while West Ham United beat Brentford in a top-flight showdown.
West Ham secured their ticket to the fourth round after Said Benrahma scored a stunning long-range effort against his former club in a 1-0 win at Brentford.
Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City recorded 1-0 victories over Portsmouth and Gillingham respectively.
Josh Windass netted twice for Wednesday as they took a two-goal lead over Newcastle in the second half.
While Bruno Guimaraes pulled one back for Newcastle in the 69th minute, tapping in from close range, they could not find a leveller.
There had been few opportunities for either side as West Ham travelled to Brentford before substitute Benrahma rushed forward and unleashed a powerful effort from distance to break the deadlock with his side’s first shot on target in the 79th minute.
Brentford had the better of the limited first-half chances, with Yoanne Wissa denied from close range by Lukas Fabianski.
Yet they did little in the way of replicating the form which saw them lead 2-0 after 43 minutes against West Ham when they met in the Premier League eight days ago.
Brentford manager Thomas Frank made seven changes from the side that beat Liverpool in the league on Monday and they were lacking in quality, managing only one shot on target.
Thomas Soucek went the closest to opening West Ham’s account shortly after the break but he miscued his effort from five metres out and directed Emerson’s cross wide of goal.
The visiting supporters had been singing Benrahma’s name throughout the match, and the Algerian provided his side with the spark they needed in the final third to avoid a replay and reach the next round.
Brentford are now out of both domestic cup competitions, having exited the League Cup after a loss to League Two Gillingham in November.
Elsewhere, Premier League sides Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest suffered defeats by Championship teams Burnley and Blackpool respectively. REUTERS
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