FA Cup wrap: Coventry stun woeful Stoke, Manchester City crush Burnley, Fleetwood hold Leicester City to draw

  • 07/01/2018
League Two Coventry City pulled off an FA Cup third-round shock.
League Two Coventry City pulled off an FA Cup third-round shock. Photo credit: Getty Images

League Two Coventry City pulled off an FA Cup third-round shock by beating Premier League strugglers Stoke City on Sunday morning (NZ time).

Stoke attempted 24 shots but could only find the back of the net once as Coventry stunned the Premier League side 2-1.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes has now lost six of the last eight matches.

Manchester City kept alive their chances of winning four trophies this season, coming back from a goal down to beat Burnley 4-1 in the FA Cup third round with two goals from Sergio Aguero.            

The runaway Premier League leaders, who are also in the last 16 of the Champions League and semi-finals of the League Cup, fielded a strong side but struggled initially to impose their will on Sean Dyche's outfit.          

Sergio Aguero.
Sergio Aguero. Photo credit: Getty Images

Ashley Barnes fired Burnley ahead in the 25th minute, taking advantage of a miskick from John Stones, but then two goals inside two minutes from Aguero, early in the second half, put Pep Guardiola's side in control.   

Goals from Leroy Sane (71) and Bernardo Silva (82) made sure of the victory as City cruised into the fourth round.           

Earlier, third-tier Fleetwood Town have kicked off a hectic FA Cup third-round schedule by holding recent Premier League champions Leicester City to a 0-0 draw at their Highbury Stadium.            

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who once played for Fleetwood, was not included in the Midlands club's line-up, spending a chilly lunchtime watching from the stands.          

A large crowd on the Lancashire coast had precious little to cheer with defences dominating a dull game, although Fleetwood had the better chances.         

Devante Cole.
Devante Cole. Photo credit: Getty Images

Leicester, Premier League champions in 2016, were restricted to half-chances and failed to have an attempt on target. 

Fleetwood came closest to winning in stoppage time when Ashley Hunter's deflected shot from 25 metres hit the post, came off the face of Leicester keeper Eldin Jakupovic, then hit the upright again.

Fleetwood boss Uwe Rosler was proud of his young players and insists his side will build on their performance.     

"Leicester are eighth in the Premier League, they're a strong team, but we thoroughly deserved the draw and I think we could have won it," he said.

"Our young players, and we have a lot of them, they showed a lot of ability today but also game management.

"We took them right to the wire and unfortunately we didn't win it."     

Elsewhere, Rudy Gestede and Martin Braithwaite scored in the first half as Middlesbrough knocked dismal Sunderland out with a 2-0 win at the Riverside Stadium.               

Sunderland ended a decade-long stay in the Premier League this season and are anchored to the bottom of the Championship with just four wins from 26 matches.     

Reuters