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Goal! Blackburn 1-1 Norwich (Weimann 90+6)
Near-certain winner? Nothing is near certain in football. Blackburn are, amazingly, back level, the substitute Andreas Weimann nodding in a header to send Ewood Park absolutely ballistic.
Full time, Leeds 1-1 West Brom
Leeds, the Championship leaders, have had to settle for a draw against West Brom at Elland Road. Junior Firpo put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute, but Darnell Furlong levelled towards the end of the first half and nobody could find a winner in the second.
Goal! Blackburn 0-1 Norwich (Crnac 90)
Drama at Ewood Park. Emmanuel Dennis was sent off for a second yellow card in the 85th minute and, right at the death, the 10-man hosts have conceded, Ante Crnac smashing in a near-certain winner after a neat pass from Emiliano Marcondes.
It’s full time at Selhurst Park, Palace joining Preston in the last eight of the FA Cup. Join Emillia Hawkins for live reaction:
Goal! Girona 1-2 Celta Vigo (Alonso 51pen)
Back to La Liga we go. Marcos Alonso, formerly of Bolton and Chelsea, has just put Celta Vigo 2-1 up from the spot with a rifled finish into the bottom-left corner.
Goal! Salford 1-1 Bradford (Halliday 71)
There’s been a goal in the clash between League Two promotion chasers, Bradley Halliday levelling for second-placed Bradford against their ninth-placed opponents.
There’s been another goal at Selhurst Park. Palace are now 3-1 up, Eddie Nketiah getting his fourth goal of the season.
Full time, Preston 3-0 Burnley
It’s official: Preston are through to the FA Cup quarters for the first time in 59 years. There’s bound to be considerable fallout from the match but, on the field, there’s little doubt the hosts were the dominant team.
Goal! Oxford 2-3 Coventry (Sakamoto 71)
But wait a minute, Frank Lampard’s Coventry fans! Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has just lashed in a third goal for the visitors after collecting a raking cross from Jake Bidwell.
In La Liga, there’s an early kick-off between Girona and Celta Vigo that I overlooked earlier. It’s 1-1 at half-time, Viktor Tsygankov having put Girona ahead only for the visitors to hit back through Iker Losada.
Goal! Oxford 2-2 Coventry (Moore 62)
Sorry, Frank Lampard’s Coventry fans. It’s all square at Oxford now, Elliott Moore equalising with a bouncing header at a corner.
In the Championship’s early kick-offs, it’s goalless between Blackburn and Norwich, Leeds and West Brom are locked at 1-1 and Coventry lead 2-1 at Oxford. In League One, Birmingham lead Wycombe 1-0 while Wrexham and Bolton are at a stalemate. What about League Two, you ask? I’m getting to League Two, OK? Salford are 1-0 up against Bradford, while Port Vale have pegged back Tranmere at 1-1.
Goal! Preston 3-0 Burnley (Keane 73)
It’s all over at Deepdale, with Preston set for the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1966. Will Keane has nabbed the third goal, poking home from close range after a sweeping cross from Andrew Hughes.
In the other early FA Cup match, Crystal Palace are leading Millwall 2-1. Emillia Hawkins is helming our dedicated live blog for that one. You can follow along here:
There’s been a fair bit of acrimony at Deepdale, where Burnley players refused to shake Milutin Osmajic’s hand after Hannibal Mejbri accused him of racist abuse during their Championship meeting earlier this month. Preston now lead 2-0, with Osmajic scoring their second goal and celebrating loudly in front of the Burnley fans.
Preamble
Is it that time of the week again? The clock of mortality ticks for us all but, thankfully, this clockwatch is fully focused on football, which is one of the best distractions. There’s FA Cup action under way, with Preston hosting Burnley in a match evoking sepia-tinted Pathé reels and postwar ding-dongs. After taking in the latter stages of the action at Deepdale, it’ll be time for Bournemouth’s Cup clash with Wolves at 3pm (all times GMT).
There’s also Scottish Premiership action, with a post-Clement Rangers sizing up Motherwell, and the usual Football League melee. The early Championship kick-offs involving Blackburn and Norwich, Leeds and West Brom, and Oxford and Coventry are in motion, as are the League One tussles between Birmingham and Wycombe and Wrexham and Bolton. Down in League Two, Salford and Bradford are at it, as are Tranmere and Port Vale. There’ll be a full slate of 3pm kick-offs to follow.
There’s also a buzz of activity across Europe, with Rayo Vallecano taking on Sevilla in La Liga at 3.15pm, five Bundesliga matches kicking off at 2.30pm and Atalanta, Serie A title outsiders, gunning for lowly Venezia at 2pm.
Who knows, we might even get around to the Eredivisie and Ligue 1 action. Let’s see how we get on. The minute hand waits for no one, not least live bloggers trying to keep up with upwards of 30 games in multiple different countries all at once. But that’s part of the fun.
