London: Third-tier Bradford produced another FA Cup upset against Premier League opposition on Sunday, beating Sunderland 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in 39 years as holders Arsenal ousted Middlesbrough by the same score.
Jon Stead scored for a fifth consecutive round in the second half after an own goal from John O'Shea gifted Bradford the lead in the third minute.
Bradford, who beat Premier League leader Chelsea to reach the fifth round, are now only one win from a Wembley Stadium semi-final.
It was a routine day, though, for Arsenal. Middlesbrough, who are second in the second tier, never looked like emulating their fourth-round victory over Premier League champion Manchester City.
Olivier Giroud scored both of Arsenal's goals in the 2-0 win to take his tally in the season to 10.
The France forward turned in Kieran Gibbs' cross in the 27th minute and netted again inside two minutes after meeting Alexis Sanchez's corner at the near post.
The closest Middlesbrough came was in stoppage time when Kike headed against the post.
Bradford, who were relegated from the Premier League in 2001, produced another stunning cup run in 2013 when they reached a League Cup final won by Swansea.
"We have done it again and we are obviously buzzing," Stead told BBC radio. "It was a terrific start for us to get the goal and we just carried on from there. We did the right things in the right areas."
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet maintained that the loss "is not humiliating."
"If the top teams always beat the smaller teams, then the cup would not exist," Poyet said.
The day's all-Premier League encounter was closer, with Aston Villa beating Leicester 2-1.
Leandro Bacuna broke the deadlock in the 68th minute, and Scott Sinclair doubled Villa's lead in the 89th, with goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer helping the ball into the net.
Andrej Kramaric headed one back for Leicester a minute later, but Villa held on with new manager Tim Sherwood watching from the stands and yet to take charge fully since his appointment on Saturday.
The fifth round will be completed on Monday when Manchester United play at Preston.
Blackburn, Liverpool, Reading and West Bromwich Albion won on Saturday to secure a place in Monday's draw for the last eight.
Comments
0 comment