FA Cup third round: Crawley beating Leeds, Chelsea v Morecambe and more – live!

Crawley can actually enjoy seeing this out, not something that happens very often in the world of giant-killing. We expect blocks, scuffs and scrambles, but we’re getting counters, crosses and Mark Wight!

Azpilicueta goes down the right and slings over a decent cross, headed home by the hanging Havertz. That’s a really good finish, and makes for a perfect afternoon for Frank Lampard; goals for Havertz and Werner would’ve been top of his list of desires.

There’ve been a lot of words spoken this season about how to beat Leeds; kick up the pitch is a new addition to that conversation, though I baulk at mentioning it because Crawley have shut them down so well. And, as I type that, Hernandez wallops a wild shot over the bar.

The Championship side go back in front.

I missed this goal in all the excitement but it exists.

Crawley are seeing this out pretty easily. Eight minutes and added time remain.

“I am not sure that I agree that Bernado Silva’s goal ‘wasn’t a volley’,” emails Tristan Ellis. I can see why you are saying this – he shot after the ball had bounced – but the context of this is that it’s football, not tennis. In tennis, a shot is either a volley (hitting the ball before it has bounced) or a groundstroke (hitting it after a single bounce). Tennis shots are always played when the ball is in the air, and always after a maximum of one bounce, however, and describing shots as vollies and groundstrokes reflects that different techniques are required for each. In football, most of the time the ball is played when it is on or close to the ground, and there is no limit to the number of bounces that can occur. Therefore I think it is legitimate to refer to a player kicking the ball at hip height or above as a volley irrespective of whether it has bounced or not beforehand, as this requires a specific technique that is different to other footballing skills. Whether or not the ball has bounced beforehand is relatively unimportant.”

It’s unimportant in deciding how good a goal it was – it was a brilliant one – but in terms of accurate description, it’s important. After that, people can then decide what they think of it, but ultimately, though football is an extremely powerful thing that has changed the meaning of many words and terms, it’s yet to exert its influence in this specific aspect.

Oh my goodness, it’s nearly four! Watters, Town’s top scorer and on as sub, finds himself through after a speculative hook over the top forces a bum touch out of Casey. Casilla dashes out, Watters goes around him but wide, and when the shot comes it’s blocked. But Crawley maintain pressure, and when Watters hammers another low shot goalwards, Casey slides in desperately to block.

Some time at the end of the 80s, AC Milan went to Old Trafford for a friendly, to find the pitch in its usual state of the time. They were flicking it up to themselves before passing, but Leeds haven’t quite managed that and haven’t found another way of imposing their game.

A long diag in behind causes Leeds further trouble. It ends up behind, but not much one-touch passing you can get done when the ball’s in the air, nor when it’s skipping off the turf for that matter.

Crawley have scored three times in 20 minutes, and what’s more they’ve deserved to. They know exactly what they’re about, while Leeds look like they’d rather be anywhere else.

So expletive easy! A fine cross into the box has Phillips heading on the backpeddle, and the ball falls to Nadesan who does really well to dig out a controlled shot that Casilla can only parry back into play … and straight to Tunnicliffe who, six yards out, takes a touch before dematerilaising a finish into the roof of the net! THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

Nadesan nips the ball away from Phillips, who goes through with his challenge anyway and is booked. Crawlet now have another opportunity to put a ball into the box….

Currently, there’s no indication that Leeds have what it’ll take to get back into this.

Poor old Casilla – his confidence has totally forsaken him, so when Nichols shoots from distance, he can only paw it around the post. The corner comes to nothing.

This has been an impeccable performance from Crawley so far, it really has. Leeds have had almost nothing, and they’ve managed a belter and a scrappy one in the classic cup tradition.

At the Etihad, Mahrez thinks he’s scored City a fourth, running in Rodri’s cross-kick at the back post, but the flag goes up and VAR will preside. He’s off.

The Championship side take the lead!

Bielsa goes again, sending on Greenwood and Raphinha for Poveda and Davis. They’ve got work to do.

This is something, and it’s fair to say that Marcelo Bielsa’s half-time triple-change hasn’t worked as well as he’d like.

A loose pass allows Crawley to start a counter, Nichols finding Nadesan, and he screeches down the right, cracks a shot that flicks off a divot in the aforementioned lively pitch, hits the shocked Casilla, and goes in! I cannot believe what I’m seeing! This is the FA Cup!

Hello! Hello! What have we here?! Nadesan finds Tsaroulla, who jockeys his man one way and t’other, bursts into the boz, and finishes tidily past Casilla!

Chelsea without Hakim Ziyech are nothing. Loitering 25 yards from goal, he picks a pass over the top that meets the run of Hudson-Odoi, and though his first touch isn’t great, no defender is close enough to do anything about it, so he pivots to clout home a finish, in off the keeper.

“Really glad to see that, unlike another (I wouldn’t even call it a rival) website, you did not describe Silva’s opener for City as ‘a volley’. That’s because it wasn’t, which seems to have escaped the so-called experts elsewhere. These things are important. To me, anyway.”

I’m ashamed to admit this, but I was in my 30s when Rob Smyth taught me that a half-volley isn’t a ball that’s hit after one bounce, but on or immediately after the bounce.

Leeds also move from 3-4-3 to 4-1-4-1, but from what I can see, Kalvin Phillips is still playing at the back.

Leeds make three changes at half-time, Marcelo Bielsa removing Struijk, Cooper and Rodrigo, to introduce Casey, Jenkins and Harrison. Jenkins is 18 and making his debut.

The players are starting to return. Crawley Town are sixth in League 2, while Leeds United are 12th in the Premier League.

Barnsley 0-0 Tranmere Rovers

Bristol City 1-1 Portsmouth

Chelsea 2-0 Morecambe

Cheltenham Town 0-1 Mansfield Town

Crawley Town 0-0 Leeds United

Manchester City 3-0 Birmingham City

Portsmouth are back in the game!

This is the one to watch.

Ziyech gets on the ball just outside the box, right-hand side, and plays with it until he works the angle for a cross, snapping over the top for Havertz who heads across, and Werner taps home. That’s his first goal in 13 games, and I’d wager that he – and his manager – are extremely relieved.

That’s probably the closest either side have come, though Leeds were denied a soft but clear penalty.

Hello! Crawley win a corner down the left and it’s slung into the middle for Nicholls, who makes an ok connection – there’s a fair bit of head, but also a bit of shoulder – and Casilla does well to react, pushing away, even if the ball is right in front of his face.

Crawley aren’t threatening Leeds much, but for as long as the game stays goalless they’ll fancy it. On which point, I should add that if scores are level after 90 minutes, there’ll be extra-time and, if necessary, penalties.

But seconds later it’s nearly four, Bell doing superbly to hook off the line when Jesus lifts a finish over Prieto.

Back come Birmingham, dashing downfield and finding Friend on the right, who shoots low; Steffen does well to parry then leap on the loose ball before Hogan can tap it past him.

Gosh, this could get messeh. City sweep forward again down the left, and when the ball comes central to Foden, he takes a brilliant first touch which brings him inside his man and opens the angle for him to whack low and across his body, into the bottom corner. He is such a player.

Birmingham escape conceding a penalty, just, someone – Colin, I think – sliding in to

phoul Phoden
foul Foden. But the offence took place just outside the area.

Just kicking off, we’ve got Reading v Chelsea in the only WSL match of the weekend. join Rob Smyth for that now.

Back in Manchester, City are picking Birmingham apart. It’s going to be a long afternoon for them.

The pitch at Crawley looks a bit lively but Leeds are pushing nonetheless, Poveda trying a shot. The ball then goes wide to Costa, who deflects into the middle, and a defender, Craig I think, puts hands on Rodrigo’s shoulders just to make sure he can’t finish. That’s a penalty – a soft one, but nevertheless – only the officials think to the contrary.

Talking of Havertz, he gets himself into bother by choosing to attack a Morecambe cross which was passing peacefully across the box. Happily for him, he doesn’t get enough on his header to trouble Kepa, but he’ll have experienced a moment as the ball moved across the face of goal.

I think the thing is that in the league, you can’t really play Havertz with Mount, and Lampard trusts the latter.

Back to Havertz, I’m not sure what the plan for him is. Chelsea didn’t really need him, and it seemed like they signed him because they could – it’s unlikely that he’d have been available to them were it not for the pandemic so they waded in. Now they’ve got him, though, they don’t really have a position for him because they don’t play with a number 10 or a false nine and Ziyech plays right-wing.

Back at the Bridge, Emerson’s in the mood, unleashing his third shot of the game – Halstead shoves it away on the dive, and Werner can’t arrive quickly enough to snaffle the rebound.

It already looks like we’re relying on Crawley for a shock this afternoon.

The Championship side hit the front.