FA Cup 4th Round Replay: Bread and Butter for Palace

CRYSTAL PALACE 3-1 WOLVES

Crystal Palace can add £90,000 worth of prize money to their battle against the administrators, as the most unlikely of heros saw them through to the 5th Round of the FA Cup over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Selhurst Park. Danny Butterfield, who had scored only 7 goals in over 200 appearences for the Londoners, netted a 6-minute, ‘perfect’ hat-trick (62′, 65′, 68′). Wolves captain Karl Henry scored an injury-time consolation (90′), but it was Palace who made it through to face Aston Villa on the 13th February.

The other cup replay of the night saw Notts County also overcome a top-flight club in the shape of Wigan, the goals coming from Stephen Hunt (75′) and Gary Caldwell (og) (78′). It gives the League Two team, currently in financial trouble as well, a spot in the last 16 for the first time in 16 years. It has been building up slowly, but this FA Cup is becoming as dramatic and surprising as the ones before it. 9 or 10 of the remaining 16 teams (dependant on Leeds’ result against Tottenham tonight) play outside of the highest tier.

In the Premier League, Chelsea have lost an opportunity to open up a gap at the top after being held 1-1 by Hull at the KC Stadium. Dider Drogba (42′) cancelled out Steven Mouyokolo’s strike (30′).