Football
ESPN staff 6y

Arsenal exit FA Cup to Nottingham Forest; Tottenham beat Wimbledon

FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the competition at the third round with a thrilling 4-2 loss away to Championship side Nottingham Forest.

Arsene Wenger -- who had never before exited the FA Cup at the first hurdle -- opted to heavily rotate his squad for the match and Arsenal found themselves behind on 20 minutes when U.S. defender Eric Lichaj was left free to head home a Kieran Dowell free kick from close range.

That lead lasted only three minutes as Per Mertesacker was able to poke the ball home on the rebound after having headed against the post, but the hosts restored their advantage before the break thanks to Lichaj's superb volley from the edge of the area.

Forest, who are without a manager after the dismissal of Mark Warburton on Dec. 31, extended their advantage on 64 minutes when Ben Brereton converted a penalty after Rob Holding had brought down Matty Cash.

Arsenal were handed a route back into the game on 79 minutes when Forest goalkeeper Jordan Smith lost control of the ball and Danny Welbeck was able to roll the ball into the empty net.

However, Forest restored their two-goal advantage on 85 minutes through a Dowell penalty after Mathieu Debuchy brought down former Arsenal man Armand Traore in the area, although there was some controversy as the Everton loanee slipped while taking the spot kick and appeared to strike the ball twice.

Forest defender Joe Worrall was sent off on 89 minutes for a foul on Chuba Akpom, but the two-time European champions held on for a memorable victory.

Harry Kane sealed Tottenham's place in the FA Cup fourth round with two goals in two minutes as his side defeated Wimbledon 3-0 at Wembley.

Tottenham dominated the first half but it was the League One side who went closest to opening the scoring when Jimmy Abdou hit the bar with a fantastic strike from distance.

Spurs themselves hit the woodwork in the second half, with Mousa Dembele unlucky not to find the back of the net, before Kane wrapped up the win with two quickfire goals in the 64th and 66th minutes.

Jan Vertonghen's 25-yard drive made it three shortly after with Wimbledon goalkeeper George Long well beaten.

Premier League West Ham were taken to a third-round replay by League One high-flyers Shrewsbury after an entertaining 0-0 draw at New Meadow.

It was arguably Shrewsbury who enjoyed the better of the chances, forcing a number of saves from West Ham goalkeeper Joe Hart in the first half and enjoying the majority of possession.

One of the best moments in the game, though, was when Hart was thrown a cap by one generous West Ham supporter to protect his eyes from the sun. Only in the FA Cup.

League Two side Newport County came from behind to stun Championship visitors Leeds 2-1 with two late goals.

Gaetano Berardi put Leeds ahead early on with his deflected long-range effort sneaking into the bottom corner, before Conor Shaughnessy's 76th-minute own goal brought Newport back into the contest.

Shawn McCoulsky's header from a corner on 89 minutes snatched the win and booked Newport's first fourth-round appearance since 1979 to spark wild celebrations in the home crowd as Leeds forward Samuel Saiz saw red in added time.

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