Rae saves Wolves' blushes - FA Cup round-up

A late Alex Rae equaliser denied Third Division Kidderminster the chance to cause the shock of the FA Cup third round against Barclaycard Premiership strugglers Wolves.

Substitute John Williams was set to be the Harriers hero when he scored from close range in the 77th minute following Graham Ward’s corner – just three minutes after coming on.

However, Rae was Wolves’ saviour and scored his seventh of the season with a minute to go at Aggborough.

Kidderminster will have to console themselves with thoughts of a lucrative replay at Molineux.

Gillingham did eliminate Premiership opponents as the Kent side came from behind to beat Charlton 3-2.

The Addicks led after 35 seconds at Priestfield when Ian Cox turned Paul Konchesky’s cross into his own net but quickfire goals from Tommy Johnson and Mamady Sidibe (17 & 19) turned the tie around, and a 34th-minute strike from Paul Smith put the Gills through, though they had to hang on at the end when Carlton Cole pulled one back in the 90th minute.

Conference side Telford are also in the hat for the last 32 after beating First Division Crewe 1-0 at Gresty Road. Veteran striker Lee Mills scored the early winner for the Shropshire side, who reached the fifth round in 1985 before losing to eventual winners Everton.

Second Division Blackpool were cruelly denied a replay as Portsmouth’s Yakubu Ayegbeni scored a late winner at Fratton Park to seal a 2-1 win after Scott Taylor’s equaliser.

Frederic Kanoute shrugged off his club-versus-country worries with a hat-trick to book Tottenham’s passage to the fourth round with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The France-born striker is wanted by Mali – for whom he qualifies by parentage - for the African Nations Cup later this month and he scored with a well-worked finish in the 15th minute to demonstrate why Spurs boss David Pleat is equally keen to keep him in north London.

Kanoute netted his second five minutes later after Stephane Dalmat laid a chance on a plate for him after a fantastic run. His third arrived three minutes into the second half when he escaped the Eagles defence to sidefoot the ball past Cedric Berthelin. Both sides ended the match with 10 men as Gustavo Poyet and Danny Butterfield were sent off.

All three Conference sides will be in the draw for the fourth round. As well as Telford's heroics, Scarborough fought back from a goal down to draw 1-1 at Southend while Accrington Stanley's home tie with Colchester ended goalless.

Two fouls by Iwan Roberts on Alan Stubbs in the box condemned First Division leaders Norwich to a 3-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park.

The Canaries fell behind to a Kevin Kilbane header but Jim Brennan equalised (27) when the Toffees failed to clear a Paul McVeigh free-kick.

Nigel Worthington’s men then had a goal disallowed for offside before Roberts twice fouled Stubbs in the area, once in each half, with Duncan Ferguson scoring from the spot each time.

The all-Premiership clash between Manchester City and Leicester ended 2-2 at the City of Manchester Stadium. Former City striker Paul Dickov hit the target for the Foxes after three minutes but Nicolas Anelka held his nerve to equalise with a 27th-minute penalty.

Hesitancy from Richard Dunne allowed Marcus Bent to score a soft goal for Leicester (66) but Anelka netted a quickfire equaliser.

Sunderland shaded the north-east derby clash with Hartlepool at the Stadium of Light as the home side broke quickly in the 53rd minute and scored through Julio Arca.

Nearby at the Riverside Middlesbrough beat Second Division Notts County 2-0 thanks to an own goal by Ian Richardson and a second-half cracker from Bolo Zenden.

Tranmere and Watford earned themselves replays away to Premiership opposition with hard-fought draws in early kick-offs.

Watford led twice against Chelsea before drawing 2-2, though Heidar Helguson’s opener did not cross the line after bouncing off the underside of the crossbar.

An Eidur Gudjohnsen penalty levelled the scores but a blunder by stand-in goalkeeper Neil Sullivan allowed Gavin Mahon to restore the Hornets’ lead.

England midfielder Frank Lampard brought the Blues level again to set up a return match at Stamford Bridge.

Second Division Tranmere took a 51st-minute lead at home to Bolton through Simon Haworth but Kevin Nolan equalised 12 minutes from time.

Last season’s semi-finalists Sheffield United were the first side to reach the fourth round this time around as Wayne Allison’s 74th-minute goal was enough to beat Cardiff in a noon kick-off at Ninian Park.

Two goals from Adrian Forbes helped Second Division Luton cause a small shock by dumping out Bradford.

Bantams boss Bryan Robson’s tremendous FA Cup pedigree as a player made no difference as the Hatters triumphed at Valley Parade, though a late penalty by Andy Gray made it a nervous finish for Mike Newell’s men.

Third Division strugglers Northampton will travel to Rotherham for a replay after a 1-1 draw at Sixfields. Richard Barker’s goal gave the Millers the advantage but Martin Smith equalised with 21 minutes left.

There were goals galore at Deepdale as the match between Preston and Reading ended 3-3, with all six goals coming in the first half.

The Lancashire side made life difficult for themselves as Michael Jackson and Claude Davis both scored own goals but a brace from Ricardo Fuller got them out of trouble.

Marlon King’s first goal for Nottingham Forest from the penalty spot helped them edge past West Brom 1-0 at the City Ground while Millwall recovered from a goal down at home to Walsall to win 2-1.

George Burley made an unhappy return to Ipswich as his Derby side were thumped 3-0, with Richard Naylor (54), Tommy Miller (69) and Shefki Kuqi (89) on the mark.

Burnley avoided an upset by beating Mansfield 2-0 at Field Mill. Ian Moore scored twice as three players were sent off – Jamie Clarke and Luke Dimech for the Stags and Richard Chaplow for Burnley.

Coventry saw off Peterborough 2-1 while West Ham won by the same scoreline against Wigan at the JJB Stadium with all the goals coming in the final 10 minutes.

Wimbledon and Stoke drew 1-1 as Adam Nowland’s 73rd-minute goal for the Dons cancelled out John Eustace’s early strike.

Barnsley and Scunthorpe will meet in a replay at Glanford Park after a 0-0 draw at Oakwell while Swansea beat Macclesfield 2-1 thanks to a brace by Lee Trundle.

Birmingham gained sweet revenge over Blackburn with a 4-0 win at St Andrews.

Rovers beat Blues by the same scoreline when the sides met in the league here last month but goals from Clinton Morrison (23), Stephen Clemence (36), Mikael Forssell (78) and Bryan Hughes (84) took Steve Bruce’s side comfortably through in a match which kicked off late because of floodlight problems.