West Brom cruised into the FA Cup fourth round after a first-half blitz against Aldershot.

Early goals from Nathaniel Chalobah and Jovan Malcolm set the Baggies on course for a 4-1 win and ended any thoughts the National League visitors had of a shock.

Daryl Dike – making his first appearance since April following a serious Achilles injury – added a third before half-time with the gulf between the Championship promotion-chasers and the Shots obvious.

There were never any hopes of a comeback and Tom Fellows’ first senior goal completed the scoring late on before Ollie Bray’s consolation.

The 4,800 travelling fans were dreaming of an upset but their trip to The Hawthorns turned into a nightmare inside the opening 15 minutes.

It was easy enough for Albion when Fellows was sent scampering down the right and his cross was hooked into the top corner by Chalobah from 12 yards for a seventh-minute opener.

Just eight minutes later it was 2-0 when Cian Harries’ slip allowed Malcolm – whose only other Albion goal came against Chesterfield in the FA Cup a year ago –  a clear run and he coolly stroked into the corner.

The Shots, 10th in the National League, offered little aside from Jack Barham’s deflected effort and it was little surprise when Albion grabbed a third after 27 minutes.

It came from more wretched defending as Stuart O’Keefe could only head Alex Mowatt’s corner to Dike to hammer in from 10 yards.

The striker went hunting a second and tested Jordi van Stappershoef from distance but as a contest the game was over.

Baggies boss Carlos Corberan even had the luxury of replacing Dike with Akeel Higgins at the break, a pre-planned change as the striker returns to match fitness.

Victory was inevitable, Albion just had to maintain their concentration for a second-half cruise. Aldershot, though, did try to inject a little life to proceedings and Tyler Frost had a shot blocked.

But normal service quickly resumed and Kyle Bartley underlined the Baggies’ confidence when his lob from halfway dropped a yard over.

Fenton Heard also drilled over, while Aldershot’s Lorent Tolaj tested Josh Griffiths from distance.

Layton Love should have grabbed a fourth for Albion after being sent through with four minutes left only to blaze over but Fellows did net two minutes later, cutting inside and finishing off the post.

Yet there was still time for the visitors to score a consolation when Bray fired in from eight yards in stoppage time.

Luton were frustrated by League One high-flyers Bolton as the teams played out a drab goalless draw in the FA Cup third round at Kenilworth Road.

Rob Edwards fielded a near-full strength side in spite of the hosts’ ongoing fight to survive in their debut Premier League campaign, but they were unable to break down the side currently sitting second in the third tier.

Alfie Doughty struck a post in the final moments, the nearest Luton came to finally picking Bolton off, that after substitutes Andros Townsend and Jordan Clarke had both gone close in the second half.

Bolton began well and looked a worthy match for Luton, limiting the hosts to a single long-range effort from Ross Barkley which was easily saved by Nathan Baxter in the opening 15 minutes.

At the other end, Josh Sheehan briefly had Tim Krul worried with a 25-yard piledriver that whistled over the crossbar.

Elijah Adebayo glanced a header across goal from Amari’i Bell’s outswinging cross on the half-hour mark that was watched safely behind by Baxter, as Luton struggled to match the kind of attacking intensity that had seen them cause such hardship here for Premier League opponents in recent months.

Barkley tried again from distance and found only the goalkeeper’s gloves.

Tahith Chong teed up Albert Sambi Lokonga late in the half to drive perhaps Luton’s best opening wide of the post from just outside the box.

Certainly it was as close as either side came to breaking the deadlock ahead of a welcome half-time interval.

Carlton Morris had the best chance of the game so far when he headed towards the top corner from Chiedozie Ogbene’s cross from right, a fine reflex save by Baxter beating it clear, before Doughty, unusually subdued by his own recent standards, saw a low effort aimed towards the far post deflected wide.

The longer it stayed goalless, the more the League One side seemed to grow in confidence.

Paris Maghoma and Victor Adeboyejo combined well in a central position high inside the Luton half, but the move was scrubbed out before either player could get a shot away.

Bolton had won four in a row in the league and 10 of their last 13, putting pressure on leaders Portsmouth in the race to reach the Championship.

Yet there was little sign here of Ian Evatt’s side keeping anything back for the promotion run-in. As the tie entered its final 20 minutes, they continued to match Luton’s organisation and work-rate beat for beat.

The hosts gamely kept at it without ever truly showing signs of top-flight class.

Townsend emerged from the bench and tested Baxter’s reach with a fine curling effort low towards the corner, that after fellow substitute Clarke had seen a rasping effort deflected wide.

Their growing frustrations were summed up when Doughty miscued horribly with a cross that sailed harmlessly into the rafters of the stand to the delight of the away supporters.

There was almost late drama when Doughty struck a post with a blistering drive, then Bolton survived a penalty scare when VAR was called on to check a Will Forrester challenge on the same player.

A draw and a replay were no more than Bolton deserved.

Thomas O’Connor’s goal secured Wrexham a 1-0 FA Cup win at Shrewsbury as they reached the fourth round for the second year running.

The hosts went close midway through the first half when Jordan Shipley floated a cross to the back post for Tunmise Sobowale to run on to but he skied his effort over the bar.

Wrexham had an effort just after half-time through Paul Mullin, who won the ball wide and cut in to the box from the left, but Marko Marosi parried away the danger.

Mal Benning made a surging run from the halfway line into the box just past the hour mark, but his effort clipped the crossbar and went out.

The Red Dragons found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute as George Evans played the ball into O’Connor’s path and the midfielder’s deflected strike found the back of the net.

Shrewsbury went close to a late equaliser as the ball fell to Taylor Perry just yards out, but his effort went inches wide.

Joe Anderson made an astonishing recovery to produce one of the rides of the season and register the biggest victory of his career aboard Transmission at Plumpton.

Placed the last twice in the hands of the conditional jockey, Neil Mulholland’s seven-year-old was sent off at 9-2 to claim the most valuable race on Sunday’s card, the BetGoodwin Sussex Stayers Handicap Hurdle.

However, victory seemed unlikely when an error early in the contest catapulted Anderson out of the saddle and clinging on for dear life around the horse’s neck.

He showed supreme horsemanship to vault back into the plate and then maintain the momentum aboard his mount as he eventually returned his feet to his stirrups.

Thanks to the extended three-mile trip, Anderson still had plenty of time to then gather his thoughts and approaching the home straight was travelling best of all aboard Transmission.

He was ridden and took the lead approaching the final flight of hurdles and stuck on gamely to the task at hand to record a two-and-a-quarter-length victory over Robert Walford’s Hititi.

“It was great and we were hopeful before the race, but we weren’t planning on what happened,” said Mulholland.

“The horse had a couple of good runs and was going the right way and speaking to his owner Paul McKeon, this race came up with plenty of money on offer and we decided to target it.

“It was all going well until the first hurdle down the back and then it looked like it was all going wrong, but Joe made a fantastic recovery – he’s a good horseman and he’s ridden plenty of winners for us in the last year.

“It’s great for racing and it’s a good positive story. The applause the horse got when he came back in after the race, it was nice to be a part of it you know.”

He went on: “I’ve seen Paul Carberry at Leopardstown go under one side and come back up the other, but I’m not sure he won.

“For that to happen and then to win, it was a great result for me, for the owners, for Joe and for racing really.”

Anderson, speaking to Sky Sports Racing, added: “Thank God that is over and done with.

“I lost my irons and I thought he was going down – he did very well to stand up.

“I kept going for one of my irons but it had gone over my saddle, so I was trying to get it back and every time I moved he kept lighting up and then jumping the last second time around he settled away, so I was able to have a little play around and get it back. It’s very good he’s very good at jumping.”

He went on: “It wasn’t actually that uncomfortable to be honest with you and he jumps so well – if he was one who needed a good helping hand I might have struggled, but it worked out in the end.

“It will probably be one of those where I watch it back and it will make me look a bit better than I actually am, but it all worked well today.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo believes the Milwaukee Bucks must do "every little thing" better after slipping to a third defeat in four games.

The Bucks were defeated 112-108 by the Houston Rockets on Saturday, dropping Milwaukee to 25-11 on the season and leaving them three-and-a-half games behind the conference-leading Boston Celtics in the East.

The Bucks' defeat to the Rockets came in spite of a brilliant display from Antetokounmpo, who finished with 48 points and 17 rebounds in a seventh-straight double-double.

Antetokounmpo says the Bucks must improve every facet of their game if they are to repeat their run to the 2021 title, telling reporters: "We have to be better.

"We have to play better, we have to defend better, we have to trust one another better, we have to be coached better.

"Every single thing, everybody has to be better. It starts from the equipment manager – he has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better, the leaders of the team have to be more vocal, we have to make more shots, we have to defend better, we have to have a better strategy, we have to be better.

"We have four months to get better, so we'll see."

The Rockets held a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and though the Bucks could not quite get the comeback completed, Milwaukee head coach Adrian Griffin is confident his team will get over their struggles soon.

"It'll come," Griffin stated. "It's a team sport, it's five guys out there.

"I thought we dug ourselves in a hole as a unit and did a good job of getting out of it but just ran out of time."

Nick Nurse had no excuses after his injury-hit Philadelphia 76ers team fell to a second straight defeat against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

The 76ers were without reigning MVP Joel Embiid because of swelling in his knee, while Tobias Harris, De-Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Furkan Korkmaz were also out injured.

Philadelphia could not overcome those absences, going down 120-109 against the Jazz after suffering a heavy 128-92 defeat to the New York Knicks in their previous game.

Despite his team's injury troubles, Nurse insists the 76ers must perform better, telling reporters: "I believe even though you're missing five guys, that those guys can collectively play together better than that,"

"They can execute better. They can defend better than that. They can make those open shots. There were plenty of shots to step into and make in that game.

"When you’re short-handed, you got to play better than that. You've got to shoot the ball better and you've got to finish better than that."

Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 25 points but made just one of his eight three-pointers against the Jazz, acknowledged the team must play better going forward.

"Coach [Nurse] said we just didn't play hard enough," Maxey said. "He felt like the guys who came in, we could've played a lot harder and with a lot more force so he said we'll work on that.

"We'll get back to doing that and playing that way."

Chris Paul will undergo surgery after fracturing his left hand in the Golden State Warriors' win over the Detroit Pistons.

During the third quarter of the Warriors' 113-109 victory on Friday, Paul injured his hand while attempting to grab a rebound, making contact with the Pistons' Jaden Ivey.

Paul went back to the locker room following the incident, and the Warriors have since announced the 38-year-old will have surgery next week.

Paul has averaged 8.9 points, 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game this season, and Golden State head coach Steve Kerr is disappointed for the 12-time All-Star.

"I feel so bad for Chris," Kerr told reporters. "I know he's had a couple of hand surgeries before, I believe, maybe on the other hand. I saw him holding it and instantly was worried.

"[I] just got the word after walking off the floor. I feel terrible for Chris, and obviously, guys will step up and be ready to play. We've got to hold down the fort without him."

Stephen Curry acknowledged he and his team-mates will have to step up in Paul's absence, saying: "Especially over the last two years or so, I'm able to adjust to whatever is out there. I know that's another challenge now going back to another different lineup with CP out.

"He's such a cerebral player. He knows how to manage the game, getting us organised. CP is a great addition to that flow.

"I've got to be able to make the adjustments, Klay's [Thompson] got to do the same, for us to continue to be aggressive [without Paul]."

Teenager Chaka Traore scored his second goal in six days as AC Milan beat Serie A strugglers Empoli 3-0 at the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

The 19-year-old Ivorian winger, who had opened his Milan account in Tuesday’s 4-1 Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari, came off the bench to notch a third for Stefano Pioli’s men in the 88th minute.

That added to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 11th-minute opener and an Olivier Giroud penalty just past the half-hour mark.

Third-placed Milan’s third win in four league games closed the gap to second-placed Juventus to four points ahead of the Turin giants’ match at Salernitana later on Sunday.

Aurelio Andreazzoli’s Empoli remain second bottom as their winless run in the league extends to a seventh match.

As the visitors sought to make an early breakthrough, Tijjani Reijnders drilled wide in the third minute and Davide Calabria produced a dangerous cross from the right that flashed across the face of goal without a finishing touch being applied.

Milan then moved in front when Rafael Leao got past Tyronne Ebuehi on the left and laid the ball to Loftus-Cheek, who slotted past Elia Caprile.

Caprile subsequently dealt with a shot from Theo Hernandez before Empoli were forced into a change, with Ebuehi having pulled up injured and replaced by Filippo Ranocchia.

Moments later, Loftus-Cheek’s acrobatic effort hit the hand of Youssef Maleh, a VAR check ensued and after referee Federico La Penna watched footage back pitchside the verdict was a penalty, which Giroud dispatched in emphatic fashion off the crossbar for his 10th club goal of the season in all competitions.

It was then Milan having to make an early substitution due to injury as Alessandro Florenzi came off for Alex Jimenez.

Empoli’s Nicolo Cambiaghi was unable to make the most of a decent chance in first-half stoppage time, shooting wide, and Tommaso Baldanzi then saw an attempt saved by Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan early in the second half.

Milan returned to the front foot with Loftus-Cheek striking wide from outside the box, Caprile tipping over a Christian Pulisic header and Leao curling into the stand.

Empoli’s continued efforts to hit back saw Cambiaghi put a couple of attempts wide, either side of Maignan blocking a Matteo Cancellieri shot and Francesco Caputo’s follow-up deflecting behind.

Milan then wrapped things up on the counter-attack in the closing stages as Pulisic burst forward and fed Traore, who sent a composed finish into the bottom corner.

Night And Day beat odds-on stablemate Brandy Love in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase – the only race to take place at Naas on Sunday.

The pair, who are both trained by Willie Mullins, were sent off at odds of 9-1 and 1-4 respectively, with Grade One-winning hurdler Brandy Love the heavy favourite after finishing second on her first spin over fences.

It was an unsatisfactory spectacle, with the start of the race delayed due to heavy fog at the track and extremely limited viewing on offer to spectators both on course and at home once the contest did get under way.

When they emerged from the gloom at the top of the straight Brandy Love was in front, but by the time they came into view again after the last, the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned Night And Day had a healthy advantage in the hands of Daryl Jacob.

She had been well beaten in fifth on her chasing bow, but took a leap forward with a 10-length victory.

The fixture was subsequently called off due to the fog and Jacob admitted the four-runner race had proved a stern task in the circumstances.

He said: “I had Paul (Townend on Brandy Love) and J J (Slevin on Tophill Low) in front of me and I was speaking to Jack (Kennedy on Jumping Jet) as we were going around but it’s very difficult, I’m not going to lie.

“The fog is thicker down the back straight where we started off. We can see in time for the fences about 100 yards before.

“She settled and jumped well and got into the race nicely. I just got her to relax and breathe properly before getting her into the race.

“Brandy Love was in front and I took it up from the second-last going to the last. She galloped right through the line.”

Sunday’s high-class meeting at Naas was called off after just one race due to fog.

The Kildare track had been the subject of two morning inspections, with officials calling an initial check at 7.30am due to the threat of frost, with the ground perfectly raceable at that stage although visibility was limited.

A second inspection was held at 9.30am, with the fixture eventually getting the go-ahead just before 11am.

However, conditions deteriorated ahead of the first race, with the start delayed before it eventually took place in thick fog, offering racegoers and television viewers only a couple of glimpses of action.

An inquiry was called immediately afterwards, and after consulting with trainers and jockeys, the stewards declared an early halt to proceedings.

The card was due to feature the Grade One Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle, which is now set for Friday along with the remaining races.

The Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham and the Denman Chase at Newbury are the two options under consideration for Coral Gold Cup hero Datsalrightgino’s next outing.

The eight-year-old benefited from a masterful Gavin Sheehan ride to win one of the season’s biggest prizes at Newbury in early December and he has justifiably been given an entry for the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

His credentials for the blue riband are likely to be tested further on his next start, with a couple of recognised Gold Cup trials under consideration.

Datsalrightgino is also a 33-1 shot for the Randox Grand National, which is not being ruled out by his trainer Jamie Snowden.

He said: “It will be the Cotswold Chase or the Denman, they would be the two races for him depending on how he is and the ground at the time.

“Obviously he’s got an entry in the Gold Cup and we’ll put an entry in the Grand National as well.

“He still thinks he’s the king!”

Promising novice Imagine looks set for a step into open company on his next start, with the Kinloch Brae Chase at Thurles in his sights.

A useful hurdler last season, Gordon Elliott’s charge has thrived since switching to the larger obstacles this term, scoring in heavy ground at Fairyhouse in November before successfully stepping up to Grade Two company at Punchestown a few weeks later.

Connections had suggested a run at Kempton in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase was a possibility over the Christmas period, but with French raider Il Est Francais convincing most to stay away, the Imagine team decided to hold fire in favour of other options.

Now the Caldwell Construction Ltd-owned six-year-old will tackle two and a half miles for the first time over fences in a Group Two event won by Allaho in two of the past three years.

“He runs at Thurles in a Grade Two over two and a half miles,” said Joey Logan, racing manager for the the owners.

“We just didn’t want to run again to soon with him (after the Craddockstown) and we were thinking of going to Kempton (on Boxing Day) but we decided not to with it being three miles and with the French horse coming over.

“We didn’t want to run him over three miles at Leopardstown, so we said we would keep him fresh and the plan is to go to Thurles on January 21.

“He’s still a baby and there is a similar race coming along for Fil D’or as well. These are all young horses and they are coming along nicely and we’re very lucky to have them.”