LONDON - A bizarre own goal by defender Djimi Traore has handed second division Burnley a 1-0 upset win over 10-man Liverpool in the FA Cup third round.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez bore some of the blame for the Premier League club's exit by fielding a second string team but
the rest was down to Traore after his over-elaborate attempt to clear ended up in his own net in the 51st minute.
Liverpool's misery was compounded in the closing minutes at Turf Moor when their Spanish midfielder Antonio Nunez was red-carded for elbowing Burnley midfielder Tony Grant.
Burnley's reward is a home tie with third division Bournemouth, while Leicester City are away to fellow second division club Reading after they beat Blackpool 1-0 in a replay.
Leicester's Icelandic midfielder Johannes Gudjonsson got their winner with a stunning drive from nearly 30 metres out.
Traore's strike was equally memorable, with Burnley's Richard Chaplow sending in a cross from the left and the French-born defender trying to flick the ball from one foot to the next and sending it into his net from close range.
It was a deserved victory for the underdogs, who are mid-table in the second division and were clearly missing the firepower of striker Robbie Blake, who was sold to Premier League Birmingham City earlier this month.
Chaplow should have made it 2-0 midway through the second half but failed to make the most of a free shot inside the area.
Benitez sent on strikers Milan Baros and Neil Mellor in a bid to level the tie, which had been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, but Burnley held on to reach the fourth round.
- REUTERS
