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Tuesday’s briefing: Macclesfield’s FA Cup dream ended by Brentford
Macclesfield’s incredible FA Cup run came to an end with a narrow defeat to Brentford, who will take on West Ham in the fifth round.
Referee Chris Kavanagh has not been appointed to officiate a Premier League game this weekend following criticism of decisions made in Aston Villa’s FA Cup tie against Newcastle.
And there was another twist at the top of the Championship as Haji Wright’s hat-trick sent Coventry top with a win over Middlesbrough.
Macclesfield’s FA Cup magic ends
Non-league Macclesfield’s FA Cup run ended as a Sam Heathcote own goal earned a 1-0 win for Brentford in their fourth-round tie.
Brentford lie 116 places above the National League North team, who stunned Crystal Palace last month, but John Rooney’s part-timers dominated the first half.
The decisive moment came in the 70th minute when Aaron Hickey found space on the left and fired in a cross which the unlucky Heathcote glanced past his own goalkeeper.
Bees boss Keith Andrews visited the Macclesfield dressing room after the match and Rooney said he “couldn’t be any prouder” of his side.
He said: “Days like this are why you are involved. It’s an unbelievable touch by their manager to come into our dressing room after full-time. He spoke highly of us. Of myself, the players and the thing he saw was a real togetherness we had about us.
“We’re a close-knit group and in football I think that takes you a long way. I’m proud to go and replicate the Crystal Palace performance. For a club of our level to go toe to toe with two Premier League teams is incredible.”
Fifth round ties confirmed
Brentford’s victory means they face London rivals West Ham in the fifth round and the draw threw up two other all-Premier League ties – Newcastle v Manchester City and Wolves v Liverpool.
Premier League leaders Arsenal will travel to League One side Mansfield, who beat top-flight opponents Burnley 2-1 on Saturday.
Eight-time winners Chelsea will play Wrexham, who reached the last 16 for the first time in 29 years with victory over Ipswich.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke hosts former club Norwich and the winners of Port Vale’s postponed fourth-round tie against Bristol City will face Sunderland, while Fulham host Southampton at Craven Cottage.
No Premier League game for Kavanagh
Kavanagh will not referee a Premier League game this weekend following a series of errors during Aston Villa’s match with Newcastle on Saturday.
Kavanagh and his assistants Gary Beswick and Nick Greenhalgh received criticism for decisions made in the fourth-round tie, where VAR was not in operation.
They failed to spot Tammy Abraham was offside for Villa’s opening goal, missed a shin-high tackle by Villa full-back Lucas Digne on Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy which could have warranted a straight red card and then gave a free-kick for a handball by Digne, even though he was clearly inside the penalty area at the time.
Beswick has been named as an assistant for Nottingham Forest’s game with Liverpool on Saturday, but Kavanagh and Greenhalgh do not feature.
Haji hat-trick sends Coventry top
Wright hit a hat-trick as Coventry returned to the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 3-1 win over promotion rivals Middlesbrough.
Wright put Coventry ahead after 21 minutes and extended their advantage 10 minutes after the break before Riley McGree pulled one back for the visitors.
However, Wright completed his treble with his 13th goal of the season from the penalty spot after Matt Targett handled the ball inside the area.
Victory moves Coventry one point clear of Boro at the summit.
What’s on today?
The Champions League returns with the play-off round, where Real Madrid are in action against Benfica and Paris St Germain face Ligue 1 rivals Monaco.
Sky Bet Championship play-off hopefuls Wrexham and Bristol City go head to head and Charlton host Portsmouth at the other end of the table, while Dundee United take on Spartans in the fifth round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.
