ARSENAL WERE AMONG the sides to come through the late kick-offs in the third round of the FA Cup, with teenager Joe Willock bagging a brace on the way to a comfortable win over Blackpool.
The game at Bloomfield Road got off to a bizarre start when a Blackpool fan staged a 40-minute sit-down protest on the roof of the Arsenal team bus, which delayed the team’s arrival for the game.
A number of other Blackpool fans staged protests around the stadium ahead of the tie against the club’s owners, the Oyston family, and there were several empty seats as Arsenal cruised to victory.
Wilcock opened the scoring on 11 minutes with a header after Aaron Ramsey’s free-kick came back off the post.
He netted his second just before half-time with Alex Iwobi finishing the tie with a goal in the 82nd minute.
Meanwhile, Bristol City stunned Huddersfield with Josh Brownhill grabbing the only goal for Bristol City 18 minutes from the end.
Ireland’s Callum O’Dowda came close to getting his name on the scoresheet for Bristol but he headed Jack Hunt’s cross against the bar when the game was goalless.
Huddersfield are at the bottom of the Premier League and this result means they have now lost nine games in a row, and are eight points away from safety.
Crystal Palace also booked their spot in the fourth round of the competition thanks to a late winner from Jordan Ayew against a 10-man Grimsby Town.
They lost their defender Andrew Fox to a sending off in the second minute for a challenge on Andros Townsend.
It was originally a yellow card but the punishment was changed to a red card after VAR intervened.
The fourth-tier side battled hard despite the numerical disadvantage and came agonisingly close to forcing a replay until that Ayew goal after 86 minutes.
It finished all square between Newcastle and Blackburn Rovers, with Matt Richie rescuing Newcastle from a late penalty.
Bradley Dack put the Championship side in front with a header in the 56th minute before Richie’s late equaliser prevented a second consecutive home defeat for the Magpies.
League One leaders Portsmouth scored a dramatic late winner to see them move past Norwich City.
Substitute Andre Green hit the decisive goal in the 95th minute after the Canaries were left a man down after just 15 minutes when Grant Hanley was dismissed with a straight red card for a last-man foul on Irish striker Ronan Curtis.
Norwich struggled to create many opportunities after losing Hanley and Portsmouth ultimately capitalised on their numerical advantage deep into stoppage time.
FA Cup third-round 5.30pm kick-off results:
Blackpool 0-3 Arsenal
Bristol City 1-0 Huddersfield
Crystal Palace 1-0 Grimsby Town
Newcastle United 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Norwich City 0-1 Portsmouth
Gavan Casey, Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne preview the weekend’s action:
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