Barnsley 2 Blackpool 1
Attendance 8,276

Simon Davey, the Barnsley manager, praised Michael Coulson, the substitute, after he scored the winning goal against Blackpool and put the Yorkshire team into the fourth round.

The 19-year-old, a replacement for Jamal Campbell-Ryce in the 71st minute, scored his first goal of the season to give Barnsley their first victory in the third round of the competition for nine years. Davey said: “I am pleased for Michael; he has worked hard and he deserves that. He is capable of coming off the bench and changing a game, as he has shown.” Blackpool looked as if they would hold on to the advantage given to them by David Fox in the first half, but Stephen Foster equalised before Coulson claimed a late winner. Simon Grayson, the Blackpool manager, said: “I am hugely disappointed because we dominated for over 70 minutes.”

Brighton 1 Mansfield 2
Attendance 5,857

Billy Dearden, the Mansfield Town manager, said his side did not get lucky in advancing to the fourth round for the first time in 20 years. Brighton & Hove Albion came unstuck against the struggling League Two team, with first-half goals from Matt Hamshaw and Ian Holmes sandwiching Alex Revell’s equaliser.

Dearden said: “It’s important to emphasise that we haven’t just snatched victory. We fully deserved the win. It’s a boost to the town and hopefully one or two new players may now be encouraged to join us.”

Brighton, punished for a poor display, were booed off the pitch by sections of their fans and Dean Wilkins, the manager, was disappointed with his supporters’ reaction. “I’m not saying the reaction was undeserved, but it is not helpful,” he said. “I’ve never seen a team improve through public criticism.”

Charlton 1 West Bromwich 1
Attendance 12,682

Alan Pardew, the Charlton Athletic manager, believed that his side should have progressed to the fourth round after they were held by West Bromwich Albion at The Valley. Zheng Zhi fired Charlton ahead inside 90 seconds, but Ishmael Miller equalised with a close-range finish ten minutes before the interval.

However, Pardew took plenty of positives from his side’s performance, especially as it came so soon after a defeat by Colchester United on New Year’s Day when Kevin Lisbie, the former Charlton player, scored twice. “I was pleased,” Pardew said. “We let everyone down on New Year’s Day and we corrected that.”

Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich Albion manager, said: “The FA Cup falls below promotion to the Premier League. That’s not a slur on the FA Cup, it’s just a sensible answer.”

Colchester 1 Peterborough 3
Attendance 4,003

Darren Ferguson, the Peterborough United manager, said that his team deserved their victory away to Colchester United, the struggling Coca-Cola Championship side. The League Two team earned their win through goals by Aaron McLean, George Boyd and Charlie Lee.

However, Ferguson was far from happy with Teddy Sheringham’s penalty after Chris Whelpdale was penalised for a foul on Kevin Lisbie. “The game should have been over by half-time,” Ferguson said. “The referee got them back into it, but we had a great start to the second half. It was a hell of a decision for the referee to give a penalty, but the performance was excellent. We came to a Championship team and gave them a bit of a battering.” Geraint Williams, the Colchester manager, said: “Peterborough were magnificent and they thoroughly deserved their win.”

Norwich 1 Bury 1
Attendance 19,815

Glenn Roeder, the Norwich City manager, lamented his side’s poor finishing as they were held by Bury at Carrow Road. Norwich, of the Coca-Cola Championship, missed a string of clear-cut chances before the League Two team took a shock lead when an unmarked Andy Bishop headed home.

Norwich equalised eight minutes later, when Gary Doherty, the defender, was perfectly placed to tap home after Jim Provett had produced a brilliant save to deny Mark Fotheringham. But the home team could not find a winner and Roeder said: “We didn’t play nearly as well as we can, but we created enough clear-cut chances to have won two games, let alone one.”

Chris Casper, the Bury manager, said: “We would have certainly taken 1-1 before the game, so we can’t be disappointed.”

Plymouth 3 Hull 2
Attendance 12,419

Two goals from Dean Windass, a substitute, were not enough for Hull City as Peter Halmosi inspired Plymouth Argyle to a dramatic win at Home Park. The Hungary midfield player’s free kick set up Nadjim Abdou to give the home team the lead before he scored from a set-piece three minutes later. Windass hauled Hull back into the game and curled in a free kick either side of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake’s winning goal in the 58th minute.

Paul Sturrock, the Plymouth manager, said: “That’s the verve, experience and enthusiasm that Windass brings to the game. He was bossing people and we did not react properly in the first ten minutes of the second half.” Phil Brown, the Hull manager, said: “We have only conceded four goals from set-pieces – and two of them were in the first half.”

Preston 1 Scunthorpe 0
Attendance 4,616

Alan Irvine, the Preston North End manager, is looking forward to playing host to a leading side in the fourth round after Simon Whaley gave them a lift with the goal that beat Scunthorpe United, who are also struggling in the Coca-Cola Championship. Whaley struck from a tight angle just after the break at Deepdale to settle a tie that could have gone either way.

Irvine, who revealed that he had only 17 players to choose from after the departure of three strikers, said: “I hope we get a home draw at Deepdale. What that means exactly I’m not quite sure, but it would be nice to get one of the big teams playing here.” Nigel Adkins, the Scunthorpe manager, who has masterminded a league double over Preston this season, said: “The game was there to be won and we should have done that.”

Southampton 2 Leicester 0
Attendance 20,094

Andrew Surman and Gregory Vignal scored in the first half to book Southampton’s passage into the next round at the expense of Leicester City, their Championship rivals. Steve Howard twice went close for the visiting team either side of Surman’s strike from the edge of the penalty area. Vignal crashed home a free kick from similar distance to put the home team in control.

George Burley, the Southampton manager, praised his side for their hard-working performance after the recent home thrashing by Watford. “We need to learn to be much harder to beat,” he said. “We played some excellent football, defended stoutly and made it hard for them. All the players contributed.”

Ian Holloway, the Leicester manager, said: “I thought we were poor in the first half and to give away goals from set-pieces is inexcusable.”

Southend 5 Dagenham & Red 2
Attendance 6,393

Southend United booked their place in the next round with a comfortable win. The home side took the lead when Dean Morgan’s cross was stabbed home by Charlie MacDonald, but goals from Jon Nurse and Ben Strevens turned the game around. Matt Harrold teed up Morgan to fire in an equaliser and Simon Francis put Southend back ahead.

Tony Roberts, the Dagenham & Redbridge goalkeeper, was sent off for a clash with Peter Clarke before Nick Bailey and Morgan scored from close range.

Steve Tilson, the Southend manager, said: “We went 2-1 down, but the boys rolled their sleeves up and dug in. The score was not important, the result was – and, hopefully, we can build on that against Yeovil at the weekend.” John Still, the Dagenham manager, said: “The performance was first class.”

Swindon 1 Barnet 1
Attendance 5,944

Adam Birchall came off the substitutes’ bench to score the equaliser that earned Barnet a replay with Swindon Town after a draw at the County Ground. Birchall netted with a right-foot shot from 15 yards into the top left-hand corner.

Billy Paynter had squandered two golden opportunities from close range to give Swindon the lead before Blair Sturrock showed his strike partner how to hit the back of the net on the hour, scoring his fourth goal of the season after a mistake from Rob Beckwith, the Barnet goalkeeper. Ady Williams, Swindon’s assistant caretaker manager, said:

“A replay is the last thing we need.” Paul Fairclough, the Barnet manager, said: “We have a real chance of beating them in the replay — they won’t like coming to our place and I’m sure we can give them a good game.”

Tranmere 2 Hereford 2
Attendance 6,909

Graham Turner, the Hereford United manager, described the match as a typical FA Cup tie. The visiting team opened the scoring midway through the second half, when Ben Smith volleyed home, but Tranmere Rovers equalised ten minutes later, with Steven Jennings converting a Mike Jones cross by.

Hereford responded immediately when Trevor Benjamin beat Danny Coyne with an angled strike, but Tranmere drew level two minutes later when Gareth Taylor headed home. Turner said: “We live to fight another day and could now have the edge with home advantage.”

Ronnie Moore, the Tranmere manager, said: “We should have been six up and not worrying about clawing our way back. We had enough chances and now we face another game we could have done without.”

Walsall 0 Millwall 0
Attendance 4,358

Richard Money, the Walsall manager, said that he could not be prouder of his players after their goalless draw with Millwall. The League One rivals will meet again at the New Den tomorrow week after playing out an entertaining stalemate at the Banks’s Stadium.

Walsall, whose lineup was depleted by injuries and suspensions, extended their unbeaten run to 16 league and cup matches, but could not fashion a winning goal. Money said: “It was an absolutely outstanding performance, especially in the second half, from a team that keeps getting younger and keeps getting better, and I couldn’t be prouder of my group of players.”

Kenny Jackett, his Millwall counterpart, said: “We are looking forward to the replay. It was an achievement for the away side to bring Walsall back to the Den. It’s nice to be still in the draw.”

Watford 2 Crystal Palace 0
Attendance 10,480

Adrian Boothroyd, the Watford manager, was a relieved man after his side finally won at Vicarage Road again – at the eighth time of asking – after convincingly overcoming a youthful Crystal Palace team.

Watford had not won at home since they beat Hull City in mid-October, but Dan Shittu, the Nigeria defender, got them back to winning ways by signing off for the African Cup of Nations with two headed goals. Boothroyd said: “I was looking for this youthful team that Neil was going to put out and then I saw [Clinton] Morrison, [James] Scowcroft and [Matthew] Lawrence, and one or two others.”

Neil Warnock, the Crystal Palace manager, said: “We’ve got more out of the game than Watford, if I’m honest. I think next time we come here, we could give them a good game.”

Wolves 2 Cambridge Utd 1
Attendance 15,340

Mick McCarthy, the Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, breathed a sigh of relief after Michael Kightly came on as a substitute in the 61st minute to inspire the Championship side to victory over Cambridge United, of the Blue Square Premier. The England Under-21 forward scored an equaliser in the 69th minute and crossed for Neill Collins to head in the winner, sparing McCarthy’s blushes after he had watched his team fall behind in the first half to a penalty, converted by Scott Rendell.

Kightly has been out for six weeks with an ankle injury and Wolves’ form has been poor in his absence. “He made one and scored one, but we shouldn’t have had to rely on him,” McCarthy said.

Jimmy Quinn, the Cambridge manager, said: “I’m disappointed for the fans and the players that we didn’t get a replay.”

Player of the weekend

Michael Mifsud, Coventry City
The Malta forward scored a brace of goals — the first fortunate, the second fabulous — when Iain Dowie’s side thrashed Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. He now has 15 goals this season.

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