• FA Cup round-up

Spurs humiliated by Fulham, Dzeko saves City

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Tottenham Hotspur suffered a humiliating exit from the FA Cup as they were thrashed 4-0 by Fulham at Craven Cottage. Mark Hughes' men go on to a fifth-round tie at home to Bolton or Wigan, while Spurs are left to contemplate a dreadful defensive performance.

Despite their faultless record against Fulham this season - two one-goal wins - Spurs were out of the game after 23 minutes. Calamitous defensive errors caused their downfall - first Alan Hutton brought down Clint Dempsey in the area, then Michael Dawson was shown red for chopping down the same player after being caught in possession. On both occasions Danny Murphy, formerly of Spurs, slotted the penalties home with aplomb.

Harry Redknapp's side, who had lost just one in 15 prior to the match, were unable to find a foothold - and it was no surprise when Brede Hangeland tapped in at the back post after yet more dismal defending. Andy Johnson, a player not renowned for his aerial ability, won a flick-on that travelled all the way across the six-yard box before falling to Hangeland.

Moussa Dembele unleashed a 20-yard howitzer just before half-time to send Spurs hurtling towards humiliation territory. They remained unscathed during a forgettable second half - although Aaron Hughes did rattle the bar with a header - but a fourth-round defeat remains a frustratingly early exit for one of the favourites for the tournament.

A late finish from Manchester City's £27 million striker Edin Dzeko cancelled out Neal Bishop's header for Notts County to ensure Roberto Mancini's side remain in the competition.

Edin Dzeko's first goal for Manchester City cancelled out Neal Bishop's opener © PA Photos

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In a competitive fourth-round encounter at Meadow Lane that was influenced by a poor pitch, Paul Ince's side gave a good account of themselves to keep their more illustrious opponents at bay, and will perhaps think they did enough to win the game.

Bishop gave the home side the lead shortly before the hour, rising at the near post to flick a corner up and over Joe Hart, with Pablo Zabaleta on the line unable to clear it away.

It took City 20 minutes but eventually they got back on level terms, a rampaging run down the right from Micah Richards resulting in a cross that Dzeko made no mistake in turning home.

Lee Hughes should perhaps have done better with a headed opportunity as the game drifted into injury time, and the League One side survived a late scare to grab a deserved draw.

Cesc Fabregas' late penalty spared Arsenal's blushes after they booked their place in the fifth round with a 2-1 win over Huddersfield at Emirates Stadium.

Alan Lee's second-half equaliser looked to have earned the Terriers a replay against the ten-man Gunners.

Nicklas Bendtner had put the home side ahead after squandering a host of chances in the first half, but Huddersfield were handed a lifeline when Sebastien Squillaci was handed his marching orders.

Arsene Wenger's side grabbed the lead after Bendtner latched onto Marouane Chamakh's pass and his strike was deflected into the net by Clarke. But their progress was halted when Samir Nasri hobbled off with a hamstring injury, and Squillaci was shown a straight red card after he stepped in to block a goalbound Jack Hunt.

Huddersfield sensed an upset and threw players forward, and were rewarded for their pressure when Lee headed home Anthony Pilkington's corner for his first Huddersfield goal with 25 minutes left on the clock.

Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to lift Arsenal © PA Photos

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Arsenal were on the back foot, but they rallied after the introduction of Cesc Fabregas, who sealed the Gunners' place in the last 16 with a calm finish from the spot after Bendtner was brought down by Jamie McCombe.

Elsewhere, Robert Huth rose highest in the box to find the goal that put Stoke City through to the next round of the competition at the expense of Wolves, in a dramatic finish at Molineux.

In a game that looked destined to end goalless, Tony Pulis' side finally managed to make their superiority count in the last ten minutes to silence the home crowd. Huth's goal from Matthew Etherington's cross will have been of particular relief to Stoke new boy John Carew, who missed a number of decent chances prior to half-time to break the deadlock.

Both men perhaps owe a greater debt of gratitude to goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, however, the Dane diving low to his left as the 90 minutes ended to save Nenad Milijas' last-gasp penalty after Huth had hauled down the Serbian.

Victor Obinna was the hat-trick hero as West Ham saw off Championship side Nottingham Forest in a five-goal thriller.

The on-loan forward fired beyond Lee Camp from 12-yards to put the Hammers ahead after just four minutes, but they were soon pegged back as Dele Adebola found an equaliser. David McGoldrick then nodded Forest ahead after 40 minutes, but Obinna ensured the two sides went into the break level with a stunning cross-cum-shot from all of 35 yards.

From the restart it was again Obinna at the heart of the action, making no mistake from the penalty spot after Joel Lynch fouled Winston Reid. That would prove to be the decisive goal of the game, as Avram Grant's side would hang on to record a 3-2 win despite Forest managing 17 shots on Robert Green's goal.

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