Man City rout Notts County 5-0 in FA Cup
Man City rout Notts County 5-0 in FA Cup
In Sunday's only Premier League match, West Bromwich Albion salvaged a 1-1 draw against Wolves.

London: Patrick Vieira headed in two goals on Sunday as Manchester City reached the FA Cup fifth round with a 5-0 rout of Notts County.

City weathered early pressure from the third-tier club before the 34-year-old Vieira rose to meet David Silva's corner and nod home in the 37th minute with the help of Krystian Pearce's deflection.

Vieira made a cleaner connection with Alexandr Kolarov's corner in the 58th, but City had to wait until the last six minutes to finish of Notts County.

Late goals from Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards completed the fourth-round replay rout.

"We don't score enough goals from corners or free kicks so thank God I scored twice," Vieira said. "We know how to win but we saw how difficult it will be to go all the way. We need to believe in ourselves and work as hard as we did today."

The fifth round is already under way, with Fulham eliminating Bolton with a 1-0 win on Sunday and Arsenal at Leyton Orient in the late match.

The quarterfinal draw was also made on Sunday and if Man City can overcome Aston Villa on March 2, Roberto Mancini's side will play either Everton or Reading in the last eight later in the month.

But City had to rely on free signing Vieira on Sunday after the 50 million-pound ($81 million) strike force of Mario Balotelli and Dzeko struggled to trouble Notts County.

"We have to give them credit for the way they played in the first 20 minutes, they put us in trouble," Vieira said.

County's best chance came before Vieira's opener when Karl Hawley curled a shot beyond Joe Hart only to be denied by the far post and the ball rolled across the face of the goal.

A clash of heads between Balotelli and Pearce as Vieira scored his second led to the Italian striker being replaced by Tevez.

Hart prevented County from making it 2-1 when the England goalkeeper tipped over Alan Gow's dipping shot.

But there was no way back after Tevez latched onto Dzeko's throughball and outsprinted the defense to round Stuart Nelson and roll the ball into an empty net in the 84th.

Tevez turned provider for Dzeko in the 89th, crossing for the Bosnia forward to head in from close range.

Richards hooked in City's fifth in stoppage time after County failed to clear a corner.

At Craven Cottage, Ivan Klasnic scored his second FA Cup goal in four days for Bolton to secure a quarterfinal trip to Birmingham on the weekend of March 12 and 13.

The Croatia striker, who scored the winner in Wednesday's fourth-round replay against Wigan, volleyed home in the 19th against Fulham.

The quarterfinals will also see Manchester United host either Leyton Orient or Arsenal after edging past non-league club Crawley Town on Saturday. Stoke will host West Ham or Burnley, who meet on Monday.

In Sunday's only Premier League match, West Bromwich Albion salvaged a 1-1 draw against bottom-place Wolverhampton Wanderers to move a point clear of the relegation zone.

Carlos Vela scored was his first West Brom goal since joining on loan from Arsenal last month in the 90th, netting the rebound after James Morrison's shot was spilled by Wayne Hennessey.

It canceled out a first goal for Wolves from Jamie O'Hara, who is on loan from Arsenal's north London rival Tottenham. The midfielder curled a 20-meter (yard) shot past Boaz Myhill in the 39th.

While Wolves remain bottom of the Premier League, West Brom are a point and a place clear of the drop zone after Roy Hodgson's first game in charge.

"I thought we deserved better," Hodgson said. "We laid siege for long periods on the Wolves goal, but we know they defend well.

"They are not an easy team to break down, even harder when they get the one-goal lead."

What's your reaction?

Comments

https://lamidix.com/assets/images/user-avatar-s.jpg

0 comment

Write the first comment for this!