CRYSTAL PALACE AND Wolverhampton Wanderers ensured they avoided becoming the latest Premier League clubs to be on the wrong end of a giant-killing in the FA Cup as they each beat lower league opposition on Sunday to book their places in the quarter-finals, while Swansea joined them.
Palace won 2-0 away to third-tier Doncaster Rovers, the lowest league club still in the competition, while Wolves beat Championship side Bristol City 1-0.
The day’s other fifth-round tie saw Swansea beat 10-man Brentford 4-1 in an all second-tier clash.
Sunday’s winners now join top-flight Manchester City, Brighton and Watford in the last eight, with FA Cup-holders Chelsea playing Manchester United shortly before Monday’s draw in a repeat of last season’s final.
First-half goals from Jeffrey Schlupp and Max Meyer proved enough for Palace to win in Yorkshire.
Schlupp’s low strike gave the Eagles, managed by ex-England boss Roy Hodgson, an early lead which Meyer double with a close-range header in stoppage time at the end of the opening period.
League Two Rovers enjoyed plenty of possession and got several shots away, but the difference in class between the two sides told in the end.
“We obviously knew if we got past this round we’d be in a good position to get to Wembley,” Schlupp told the BBC.
It’s a special tournament and hopefully with the luck of the draw, we might get a lesser team to have a better chance of getting through.”
Brentford took the lead just before the hour mark through Ollie Watkins’ shot into the top corner.
But that was as good as it got for the Bees at the Swans’ Liberty Stadium ground.
Early in the second half, the hosts equalised through a Luke Daniels own-goal before Dan James ran the length of the field to make it 2-1.
The Bees then saw defender Ezri Konza receive a straight red card for a foul on James just after the hour mark.
Bersant Celina, whose free-kick led to the own-goal, made it 3-1 in the 66th minute before George Byers added a fourth goal late on.
Murray Kinsella, Andy Dunne and Gavan Casey break down Ireland’s dogged win against Scotland in Murrayfield, and look at the room for improvement, in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly.
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