Birmingham 1 Newcastle 1
Newcastle failed to halt their recent slump as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Birmingham in the FA Cup third round, despite Irish international Daryl Murphy giving them the lead with his first goal for the club.
It was also Blues’ fifth successive game without a win under Gianfranco Zola but they had every reason to be satisfied with a battling performance.
Newcastle failed to take advantage of Murphy’s early goal, with Birmingham striker Lukas Jutkiewicz notching his ninth of the season late in the first half.
The Magpies, who made eight changes including leaving their leading marksman, Dwight Gayle, on the bench, produced an average performance and in the end were lucky to earn a second chance.
Ominously there were huge gaps in the ground with the exception of the away section, where up to 4,671 United fans crowded the terraces. They strongly voiced their opinion about Birmingham’s meagre support.
The United fans quickly had something to cheer as Murphy put them ahead after only six minutes when he bustled home a right wing corner from Achraf Lazaar.
But Birmingham got back on level terms in the 38th minute. Jonathan Grounds, showing great determination, forced a low pass across the face of Newcastle’s goal and the unmarked Jutkiewicz was on hand to score from close range.
Ipswich 2 Lincoln 2
Lincoln were within four minutes of winning at Ipswich, but the National League side had to settle for a replay as Tom Lawrence matched Theo Robinson’s double in a 2-2 draw.
Rotherham 2 Oxford 3
League One Oxford won 3-2 at Rotherham where Ryan Taylor, Phil Edwards and Kane Hemmings scored after Chris Maguire had seen his spot-kick saved.
Danny Ward and Tom Adeyemi gave the Millers hope, but it was another sad day for the Championship’s bottom club.
But there was to be no giant-killing for non-league trio Barrow, Eastleigh and Stourbridge.
Barrow 0 Rochdale 2
Barrow’s hopes of making the fourth round for the first time were ended by Ian Henderson’s brace in a 2-0 away win for Rochdale.
Brentford 5 Eastleigh 1
Eastleigh, also of the National League, were thrashed 5-1 at Brentford as former Bees boss Martin Allen suffered a miserable return to Griffin Park.
Tom Field (two), Yoann Barbet (penalty), Lasse Vibe and Romaine Sawyers all scored before half-time, with Ayo Obileye replying for Eastleigh.
Wycombe 2 Stourbridge 1
Stourbridge, the lowest ranked side left in the competition, lost 2-1 at League Two Wycombe.
Dan Scarr cancelled out Sam Wood’s opener 20 minutes from time, but the Northern Premier League minnows were left heartbroken by Adebayo Akinfenwa’s late winner.
Sutton 0 Wimbledon 0
But National League side Sutton will play local rivals AFC Wimbledon again after a goalless draw.
Hull 2 Swansea 0
Hull’s Marco Silva won the battle of the new bosses as fellow Premier League strugglers Swansea lost 2-0 on Humberside.
Paul Clement’s Swansea were on course for a replay until Abel Hernandez and Josh Tymon scored for the Tigers in the final 12 minutes.
Bolton 0 Crystal Palace 0
Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace must replay as his former club Bolton held last season’s finalists to a goalless draw at the Macron Stadium.
Norwich 2 Southampton 2
Southampton and Norwich must also play again after a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road.
Virgil van Dijk and Maya Yoshida twice put the Saints ahead, but Steven Whittaker (pen) and Steven Naismith, in the final minute, saved Norwich.
There will be further replays between Sunderland and Burnley, Bristol City and Fleetwood and Blackpool and Barnsley after goalless draws.
Watford 2 Burton 0
Watford beat Burton 2-0 with goals in each half from Christian Kabasele and Jerome Sinclair.
Brighton 2 Mk Dons 0
Israel internationals Beram Kayal and Tomer Hemed were on the scoresheet as Brighton beat MK Dons 2-0.
Huddersfield 4 Port Vale 0
Fellow Championship high-fliers Huddersfield overcame Port Vale 4-0 with Jack Payne (two), Kasey Palmer and Harry Bunn netting.
QPR 2 Blackburn 1
A Joel Lynch own goal and a Liam Feeney strike saw Blackburn through 2-1 at QPR, Jake Bidwell claiming a consolation from the penalty spot.
Wigan 2 Nottingham Forest 0
Wigan won another all-Championship affair as Will Grigg and Yanic Wildschut scored in a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Accrington Stanley 2 Luton 1
Accrington saw off fellow League Two side Luton 2-1, Omar Beckles grabbing the winner after Jake Gray had cancelled out Sean McConville’s efffort.
