We still have plenty of upsets in the fourth round as three more Premier League teams said goodbye to the FA Cup. Aston Villa began the series with a dramatic away loss at Millwall, followed by QPR losing to League one side Milton Keynes Dons at home and Norwich with anĀ embarrassingĀ home loss against Luton.
Millwall 2 Aston Villa 1
The upset sense for the weekend began on Friday, as Aston Villa, ranked 17th in the Premier League, added anotherĀ embarrassingĀ moment to their incredible decline over the past few years; from a team on the brink of breaking into the top 4, to a club that’s on the verge of relegation, playing horrendous football and now losing to a Championship side ranked 9th in their division. Darren Bent scored the opener for Villa, only to be countered by Dan Shittu five minutes later. The winner was left for a minute before the end; John Marquis signed on the huge win.
Norwich 0 Luton 1
AnĀ embarrassingĀ result for Norwich City, not doing too well in the Premier League in recent weeks, losing at home to a team that’s only sixth in the Conference. Chris Houghton used mostly substitutes in a cup match that should have been much easier, but ended being a dark spot on a season that could still turn into a battle against relegation. When Houghton and the Norwich chiefs look back at the 2012-2013 season and search for the bleak moments, regardless of the end result, losing to a team 85 places below them in the football system will be the one that stands out the most. Luton haven’t been past the fourth round since 1994, but a Scott Rendall goal in the 80th minute made sure a team that wasn’t too far from completely being erased a year or two ago gets to add another incredible achievement to their books.
QPR 2 Milton Keynes Dons 4
The 8th place in League One and also a team that has never been past the third round of the FA Cup till this season was enough to beat the disappointing (and way beyond that) QPR with a historic win after already leading 4-0 before two late goals from Jay Bothroyd and Fabio da Silva made things a little bit more respectable for Rangers, at least on theĀ score sheet. An own goal by Armand Traore and more goals from Ryan Lowe, Ryan Harley and Darren Potter will forever be remembered as part of the biggest win in the club’s history, up to this point.