KEY POINTS:
Wayne Rooney came off the bench to give Manchester United a 2-1 win over Portsmouth while third division Bristol City stormed back to draw 2-2 with Premier League Middlesbrough in soccer's FA Cup fourth round yesterday.
Rooney, who replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the hour mark, finished off
a neat Ryan Giggs pass in the 77th minute and made a dazzling second in the 83rd.
Portsmouth got an 87th minute consolation goal when a shot by Portuguese midfielder Pedro Mendes, who had earlier sparked controversy with a goalmouth clearance, took a deflection off substitute striker Nwankwo Kanu and hit the net.
Boro's draw, after leading 2-0 at halftime, was a rare surprise in this round's action.
Tottenham Hotspur, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and Reading eased through after top-flight class proved too much for second division opponents, while Watford beat West Ham United 1-0 in the all-Premier League clash at Upton Park.
Spurs beat Southend 3-1, Matt Derbyshire scored two and made another as Blackburn Rovers trounced Luton Town 4-0, on-loan striker Vincenzo Montella engineered Fulham's 3-0 win over Stoke City and Reading were 3-2 winners at Birmingham City.
The controversy was sparked at Old Trafford in the 12th minute when a header by United's Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic seemed to cross the line before being hooked back out by Mendes.
The irony of the clearance will not have been lost on United fans.
In January 2005, Mendes, then at Spurs, hit a stunning shot from around the halfway line, the ball was spilled by Roy Carroll and crossed a metre over the line - before being scooped back by the then United keeper.
That league game at Old Trafford finished 0-0, triggering one of the biggest talking points of the season.
This time, United were out of luck and their fortune did not improve when a superb volley by on-loan Swedish striker Henrik Larsson was narrowly ruled out for offside.
United's domination was finally rewarded with Rooney's double, the second strike a fantastic chip by the England striker from outside the area that left keeper David James stranded.
"It was the vision to do it, and the audacity," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said.
"The boy's got the kind of courage to do that."
But he was less complimentary over Vidic's disallowed goal. "It's a corner kick and the linesman is in the right position, he's on the goalline and he can't see it. It's amazing," Ferguson said.
Middlesbrough could easily have made a shock exit at Ashton Gate. On 2-0 up at the break through Nigerian Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Malcolm Christie, they were cruising until Richard Keogh pulled one back in the 53rd minute and midfielder Scott Murray levelled six minutes later.
Four second division clubs reached tomorrow's fifth-round draw after wins for Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End, Ipswich Town and Derby County. Norwich City were held 1-1 by third division Blackpool. Fourth round action was to continue overnight with four ties, including Chelsea against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal at home to Bolton Wanderers.
- REUTERS
