Ian Foster’s reign as Plymouth head coach started with a tricky 3-1 FA Cup third round home win over League Two strugglers Sutton.

Argyle relied on 14-goal top scorer Morgan Whittaker, with a stoppage-time deflected looping strike on the run, to seal victory, a day after appointing 47-year-old Foster.

Argyle took an 18th-minute lead through on-loan Wolves midfielder Luke Cundle, who scored on the rebound as Sutton keeper Dean Bouzanis could only parry Callum Wright’s thundering strike from the edge of the box.

The goal came after a period of Sutton pressure but was superbly crafted by playmaker Whittaker’s cross-field ball to Freddie Issaka on the left.

Issaka then passed to striker Ryan Hardie, who teed up Wright.

Sutton had an opportunity to reply from a 25th-minute free-kick but when the ball fell to Dominic Gape his downward strike spun just wide of Argyle’s crowded goalmouth.

Cundle came close to doubling his tally on the half hour but his measured shot from 20 yards was deflected just around a post by a defender running out to block the incoming strike.

Joe Kizzi’s header was easily saved by Argyle’s Northern Ireland international keeper Conor Hazard after 32 minutes and at the other end Bouzanis was equal to Adam Randell’s long-range effort.

Bouzanis made a better stop, at his near post, to deny Whittaker as he cut in from the right, beat his marker, and let fly from close range.

As half-time approached, Cundle teed up Wright but the attacking midfielder dragged his 20-yard shot wide of goal.

Sutton levelled after 50 minutes as striker Lee Angol went solo, cutting inside from the right before letting fly with a crisp finish to beat Hazard at full stretch in the far corner.

Whittaker came within a whisker of putting Argyle back ahead, with a superb curling shot from the right which skimmed just past the far post with Bouzanis well beaten.

At the other end Argyle defender Brendan Galloway needed to head clear off the goal-line as a cutback cross from the left was deflected past Hazard and towards goal.

Scottish striker Hardie broke free at the other end, but his shot was parried away by a combination of keeper Bouzanis and a defender.

Argyle regained the lead from a 68th-minute Hardie penalty, driven down the middle, and to which keeper Bouzanis got a hand, following a foul by Josh Coley on Whittaker, as he went for the return from a nifty Joe Edwards one-two.

Sutton sub Craig Eastmond tried his luck from 20 yards but fired wide after 77 minutes.

Argyle had second penalty appeals waved away by referee Will Finnie as Whittaker was fouled homing in on goal from Cundle’s incisive pass.

Minutes later he struck his 14th goal of the season to send Argyle into the fourth-round draw.

Joao Pedro scored twice late on as Brighton avoided an FA Cup upset at Championship side Stoke with a 4-2 comeback win.

The hosts – who had not beaten top-flight opposition in the competition since they reached the final in 2011 – had held the lead for 35 first-half minutes courtesy of Jan Paul Van Hecke’s own goal, after which Steven Schumacher’s team were the better side.

However, Brighton’s Ecuador left-back Pervis Estupinan let fly from 20 yards in the final minute of six added on before the interval and captain Lewis Dunk headed last season’s semi-finalists ahead just after the break.

Dunk’s raised arm conceded the penalty from which Lewis Baker equalised and it needed Pedro’s 14th and 15th goals of the season to see the Premier League team through in the final 19 minutes.

Schumacher is only five matches into his reign in the Potteries and this was his first defeat – although he has had four draws – but the way his players took the game to opponents 32 places above them offers hope for the 19th-placed second-tier club.

After Pedro’s early deflected shot looped just wide of the post the momentum was all Stoke’s with Mehdi Leris forcing the first save from Bart Verbruggen, one of four changes made by Roberto De Zerbi.

It was from that right-hand channel that Stoke took the lead as Dunk’s intended pass for Pedro was intercepted by Ki-Jana Hoever, stepping out from centre-back, and he slid in South Korean midfielder Bae Jun-ho, whose low cross was turned in by Van Hecke.

The 21-year-old Hoever, performing a hybrid role as the third centre-back stepping into midfield, was at the heart of all Stoke’s best play and twice set up Wesley, who curled wide and headed straight at Verbruggen.

But just seconds from the break goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, making his debut after signing on loan from Leicester 24 hours earlier having not played for the Foxes, was beaten by Estupinan’s drive and the advantage swung to Brighton.

Dunk had been a threat from set-pieces and he headed home Billy Gilmour’s far-post cross just moments after Daniel Johnson and Sead Haksabanovic both got in each other’s way as they ran onto Hoever’s inviting cutback.

Stoke responded with Wouter Burger’s 25-yard shot, turned behind by Verbruggen, and from the resulting corner substitute Luke McNally’s header hit the raised arm of Dunk, who knew little about it but had no VAR to save him and Baker drove home from the spot.

At that point the game could have gone either way but Brighton’s greater experience told as Pedro headed in Pascal Gross’ cross and then converted Van Hecke’ square pass as the visitors made it past the third round for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Ryan Fraser had a hand in three goals as Southampton swatted aside League Two Walsall in the FA Cup with a professional 4-0 victory.

Winger Fraser produced two fine finishes and set up Sekou Mara as Saints eased to a 19th match unbeaten – one off a club record 20 games without a loss in all competitions.

Che Adams jumped off the bench to slide in a fourth to confirm Southampton’s progress to the fourth round and avoid a copy of last year’s exit to fourth-tier opposition.

Saints grabbed the lead in the sixth minute through Fraser and it felt like Walsall were in for a battering.

Newcastle loanee Fraser’s run off the left flank was spotted by centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis and the former Bournemouth man fired in.

Mara headed a free header over from teenage debutant Jayden Meghoma’s cross before Carlos Alcaraz and Sam Amo-Ameyaw tried their luck from range without accuracy.

The barrage on the Saddlers’ goal continued as French striker Mara blazed over from six yards when presented with an open goal.

But Walsall weathered that storm and found chances of their own.

Tom Knowles out-thought Meghoma before lashing wide and Isaac Hutchinson tested Joe Lumley from the edge of the area, although a pass to Douglas James-Taylor on the overlap might have been a better option.

Will Smallbone should have hit the target when teed up by Fraser while Walsall keeper Jackson Smith recovered just before Mara tapped in after he had parried Alcaraz’s piledriver.

The Saddlers came out for the second half with renewed confidence having kept their Championship promotion rivals to just one and twice caught out the lackadaisical hosts.

Knowles picked up Mason Holgate’s wayward throw-in but he smashed over on the angle before Holgate’s loose pass was nicked by Jack Earing but he curled a one-on-one wide.

They were made to rue those misses when Mara made it 2-0 to calm any fears of last season’s exit to Grimsby.

The France Under-21 international swivelled and found the roof of the net after fine wing play from Fraser in the 58th minute for his fourth goal since arriving at the beginning of last season.

Fraser killed off any chance of an upset in the 68th minute when he brilliantly slotted into the bottom corner after being slid through by Alcaraz.

James-Taylor arrowed a shot towards the bottom corner but Lumley prevented the start of a comeback before Adams made it four.

The striker showed strength after being laid on by Alcaraz before displaying his finishing ability to slot past Smith.

Fraser almost completed a hat-trick in stoppage time but Smith blocked his drilled shot.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has urged his players to use their FA Cup derby victory over Sunderland as a springboard for the second half of the season.

The Magpies ended a run of seven defeats in eight games in all competitions with a resounding 3-0 third-round win at the Stadium of Light on Saturday to get the better of their arch-rivals for the first time in 10 attempts dating back to 2011.

A place in the fourth round presents the prospect of a run in a competition which has assumed ever greater importance for the club following their exits from the Champions League and Carabao Cup in December.

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Asked if they could use the win as a launchpad, head coach Howe said: “Well, hopefully. That’s how we have to look at it.

“Naturally when you don’t win for a period of time, confidence can be affected. Our players are the same as any others.

“Today will have done them the world of good. We’ve not just won the game, but we’ve performed well, we’ve scored goals, we’ve kept a clean sheet so all round, it’s a very good day.”

Victory over the Black Cats was significant – it was a first in the FA Cup under Howe after third-round exits at the hands of League One sides Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday in the last two seasons.

Asked about the prospect of a cup run, Howe said: “We’d love that. The third round has not been kind to us the last couple of years, two difficult moments for us.

“But as I said in the build-up to the game, those moments actually helped us grow. Now we stand here and we know we needed to win today, so we’re delighted to do that and yes, we’d love a run in the FA Cup. It’s an important competition now for us.”

The hosts frustrated Newcastle until 10 minutes before the break, when defender Dan Ballard turned Joelinton’s cross into his own net, and they contributed further to their own downfall when Miguel Almiron robbed Pierre Ekwah to set up Alexander Isak for the second before Ballard handed the Sweden international the chance to double his tally from the penalty spot after barging Anthony Gordon to the ground.

Asked about the white-hot derby atmosphere, Howe said: “I don’t think it was too dissimilar to Milan, to PSG and other places we’ve been this year, so I think those experiences probably helped us.”

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Opposite number Michael Beale was philosophical after a defeat he hopes can help aid his side’s bid for promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

He said: “Let’s be honest, there was a gap between the two teams when we arrived at the stadium today and at the end of the day, we’ve tried to close that gap over 90 minutes and we weren’t able to do that.

“My young team must really be honest with themselves, the staff, the players, everyone at the football club about today because then I think we’ll improve and we can use it in our Championship form for the games we’ve got coming up.

“But the big thing for us is being honest and not hiding away from the fact there is a gap.”

Maidstone matchwinner Sam Corne is dreaming of drawing a Premier League club in the FA Cup fourth round after knocking Stevenage out.

Sixth-tier Stones are the lowest side left in the competition and all eyes now turn to Monday night’s draw after they stunned Boro, who sit 69 places above them on the football pyramid.

Corne’s goal was enough to see Maidstone reach the fourth round for the first time since their reformation in 1992.

Opposition boss Steve Evans went into the Maidstone dressing room to congratulate the history-makers on their achievement.

“Each and every player was excellent,” beamed Corne.

“We had to dig deep and I think we edged it. You don’t get many opportunities like this. It’s probably the biggest achievement ever for me.

“Hopefully we get a good draw now. It would be nice to get a big team away. We’ve made at home a bit of a fortress so maybe we’ll take a Premier League team here.

“Previously I wanted a big Premier League club away, maybe a Tottenham or even a City. But maybe getting (Erling) Haaland to the Gallagher isn’t such a bad shout either.”

Corne netted the winner from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time.

“It was nerve-racking walking up to take the penalty,” he said.

“We spoke about it in the dressing room, about what side I may go and I changed it. Luckily enough it paid off!

“It was a relief for sure. Just as I was about to take it I decided to go the other side. It was a great moment.

“It gave us something to hold on to and we held on really well.

“We rode our luck and when they missed their opportunities I thought it could be our day.”

Evans was left to rue Stevenage’s missed chances after seeing top-scorer Jamie Reid and Kane Hemmings both hit the woodwork within seconds of one another.

He said: “I’ve just been in their dressing room. I’ve said they’ve been a credit to their football club and themselves and I hope they get their ample rewards in the draw, I really do.

“For us, I don’t think we gave enough respect on the pitch. The second half we can’t have that momentum, dominance and all those chances. I can’t believe we’ve missed four or five of them but we have and we’ve paid the price.

“It didn’t look like we would score in a month of Sundays.

“We have to live with this now. We’ve been on the opposite end of it. We’ll get back to the training ground and forget about it.

“I don’t know if it was a penalty, it certainly looked it. But you give them something to hold on to and you cannot miss the simplest of chances you can imagine.”

Mark Robins praised the quality of his Coventry side after they blew away League One Oxford 6-2 in the FA Cup third round.

Joel Latibeaudiere, Ben Sheaf and Kasey Palmer’s goals were followed by a brace from Matty Godden as Coventry made it through to the fourth round for just the second time in six seasons.

Mark Harris had earlier equalised to make the score 1-1 before Tyler Goodrham’s consolation late in the piece.

“I thought we were really good, we did a really professional job,” said Robins. “There was some unbelievable quality there.

“The goals came at a good time and we sort of blew them away in the first bit. What we didn’t do well enough at times was that you’ve got to make them feel the speed and the quality.

“You’ve got to try and make them feel that all of the time. On the back of the games we’ve played, it is understandable that there is a little bit of fatigue left over but that’s not an excuse.

“You’ve got to give everything you’ve got until you can’t anymore and then I can make the changes.

“But other than that, I thought there were some good rotations, some good movement in all areas of the pitch.

“The quality of Kasey (Palmer) showed for the third goal, both in terms of picking the ball up and driving with it, and then picking that shot out, was Kas-esque, exactly what he can do.

“3-1 makes it a little bit more comfortable but we’ve got to keep going for the jugular and that was the only frustrating bit because we seemed a little bit content to ‘tick’ the ball over, which is fine, but we’ve got to make sure we keep going for the jugular, keep going for the goals.”

Oxford head coach Des Buckingham admitted his team had been beaten by the better side as they were knocked out at the third-round stage for the second season in succession.

Buckingham also provided an update on winger Stanley Mills, who was taken off on a stretcher following a serious-looking injury.

He said: “I think we’ve come to a very good Coventry City side, they’re top of the form table in the Championship and they’re a strong team.

“They ran away with it in the second half. That’s the quality they have. We’ve got to be better, of course, but we’ve got to recognise where they are and where we are and what we’ve got available at the moment.

“Not the result we wanted. It’s never a scoreline you want to see. But we’ve got to refocus quickly now for AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday and we will do.

“There’s no surprise that since the draw’s been made they’ve gone from 15th to eighth. They will certainly be in and around it.

“It gives us a taste of what Championship football is. We’re not a million miles away, I know the scoreline makes it look silly to say that.

“Our focus and our priority is the league and we need to make sure we’re as good as we can be heading into the second half of the season.

“Stan is in the best hands he can be, the medical staff have been wonderful and really looked after him. He’s been taken off to hospital and he’s got his dad with him, we hope he’s OK but it’s too soon to say.”

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna welcomed the distraction of the FA Cup as his side booked their place in the fourth round with a 3-1 win at AFC Wimbledon.

The Championship promotion-chasers were good value for their win at Plough Lane, as second-half goals from Axel Tuanzebe and Jack Taylor distanced 10-man Dons.

Having beaten Wolves and faced Fulham in the EFL Cup, McKenna wants another taste of the big time.

He said: “We’ve had a couple of Premier League teams this year and that gave us some good challenges. A big draw would be nice. We want to go far in the competition if we can.”

The Tractor Boys are firmly focused on reaching the promised land, sitting second in the Championship, but McKenna still sees value in a cup run.

“We’re coming out of a really busy period, but in the second half of the season the schedule isn’t as intense in the Championship in terms of midweek games, so we welcome the extra game,” he said.

Josh Davison put through his own net to give Ipswich the lead after eight minutes, but the hosts soon pulled level as Jake Reeves converted a penalty.

Tuanzebe restored the visitors’ lead after 40 minutes and Wimbledon’s prospects of mounting a second comeback were dented when Harry Pell, going up for an aerial challenge with George Edmundson, was shown a second yellow just before the hour mark.

His manager Johnnie Jackson railed against the decision, saying: “I feel like we’ve been robbed of an opportunity. Does Pell deserve to take no further part in the game because of that?

“He’s got eyes on the ball, he’s not looking at anything else but the ball, he doesn’t swing with his elbow at all. You can’t swing for a header without your arms coming up. I’m not saying he hasn’t been caught, but that’s football. It’s a poor decision.”

Taylor made it three in the final minute of normal time to send Ipswich into the fourth round for the second season running.

McKenna said: “It was a tough cup tie, but it was always going to be. It was everything you expect from an FA Cup tie – it wasn’t all our way.

“We certainly had chances to score more goals than we did, but we didn’t get the two-goal margin to make it 100 per cent comfortable until late in the game.”

Jackson added: “We competed with a top team in Ipswich, stayed in the game the whole 90 minutes, and I think we can feel a little bit hard done by.

“Even with 10 men, we’re pushing, forcing their keeper into saves. I don’t feel like that tells the story.”

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca was impressed with the way his young team grew into what was a “tricky” FA Cup tie at Millwall as the Championship leaders moved into the fourth round with a 3-2 victory.

Maresca made seven changes from the line-up that defeated Huddersfield on New Year’s Day with Marc Albrighton, Ricardo Pereira and Conor Coady the only experienced players in from the start.

The Foxes rode their luck at times in the first half, when their more clinical finishing was the difference, but Leicester gained more control after the break as the strength in depth of their squad was emphasised.

Maresca said: “It was a tricky game in terms of many reasons, probably the main reason is because we made many changes.

“We had a very young first XI – we had seven of our 11 players born after 2000 – so it was a tricky game, but overall we created many chances, we scored three goals and we could have scored more.

“Probably in the first half we conceded too much because we were pressing not in the perfect way.

“The second half was much better off the ball and also on the ball, we improved a lot.”

On Albrighton’s influence in what was a rare start, Maresca added: “He is fantastic, he works every day, he’s very professional, he’s a good guy who helps everyone.

“I love Marc and I’m a bit sad that I could not give him more chances, but he completely understands.”

It was Albrighton who created Leicester’s opening goal after 16 minutes when his terrific cross was headed in by Cesare Casadei at the back post.

Pereira then gave the Foxes a 2-0 lead at half-time with a fine finish before Millwall briefly put themselves back in the game through Duncan Watmore’s close-range effort.

Tom Cannon’s third strike of the week restored Leicester’s two-cushion and although Zian Flemming halved that again with four minutes left, time ran out for the Lions.

Millwall boss Joe Edwards said: “I was pleased today with how much we created from our possession.

“We’ve spoken a lot since I’ve been here that we want to have more of the ball, but the big thing is about what we’re doing when we’ve got it, and I thought the stand-out positive for us was we played out a lot.

“The outcome of it was we were playing through Leicester into the final third a lot.

“We’ve had other games where we’ve started to look like a team that’s got a clear idea in possession but not really created much, so to have that many shots is a positive.

“The flip side of that is that we made a couple of minor errors around our own box.”

Ipswich booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round after goals either side of half-time saw them defeat a spirited 10-man AFC Wimbledon 3-1.

An own goal from Josh Davison and further strikes from Axel Tuanzebe and Jack Taylor saw the Tractor Boys past their League Two opponents.

AFC Wimbledon captain Jake Reeves made it 1-1 from the penalty spot after 17 minutes but the Championship high-flyers were good value for their win, with Dons midfielder Harry Pell sent off just before the hour mark.

Kieran McKenna’s side came into the game having stuttered in their promotion push, facing a Wimbledon side who themselves had endured an inconsistent run in League Two.

Ipswich opened the scoring after eight minutes with their first goal since Boxing Day.

Taylor’s corner found the run of team-mate Nathan Broadhead, whose first-time volley had looked to be bobbling wide – but in an attempt to clear, Wimbledon’s Alex Pearce stuck out a foot and sent the ball past his own goalkeeper to put the away side in front.

Wimbledon were undeterred by the early setback and won a penalty in the 17th minute after Taylor’s handball – Reeves, now in his third spell at Wimbledon, powered a superb penalty into the net in front of the travelling support to even the scoreline.

Despite Wimbledon’s energy and commitment, Ipswich enjoyed the better chances; Broadhead side-footed well over the bar after breaking through the Wimbledon defence, and Freddie Ladapo fired straight at Alex Bass.

Five minutes before half-time, Ipswich’s pressure told; Broadhead forced a good save from Bass, and during a scramble from the resulting corner, Tuanzebe headed the away side back in front.

Wimbledon attempted to equalise before the break when Connor Lemonheigh-Evans found himself with a yard of space in the Ipswich box, but fired straight into the side-netting.

Only minutes into the second half, Ipswich almost made it 3-1 when Broadhead teed up Cameron Humphreys, whose shot was deflected on to a post.

Just before the hour mark, Pell’s dismissal for a second yellow card could have deflated Wimbledon, but Johnnie Jackson’s side kept on creating chances.

After 70 minutes, Taylor conceded possession inside his own final third, allowing Armani Little to fire a vicious volley on goal, only to be thwarted by Christian Walton.

As Wimbledon tired, Ipswich continued to create opportunities – Tuanzebe had a goal disallowed for being offside, but in the 90th minute, Wes Burns’ shot from the right-hand side was palmed out by Bass into the path of Taylor, who fired home.

Alexander Isak’s double cemented a first derby victory over Sunderland since 2011 as Eddie Howe finally won an FA Cup tie as Newcastle boss at the third attempt.

Perhaps fittingly at the end of a week during which the Black Cats scored a PR own goal by allowing a bar at the Stadium of Light to be decorated in Magpies colours, much of the damage in a 3-0 defeat was self-inflicted.

Dan Ballard put the ball into his own net and conceded a late penalty after Pierre Ekwah’s error had served up the second for Isak.

Newcastle arrived on Wearside without a victory in nine attempts – a run which included six successive wins for their arch-rivals – in a fixture which had not been played since March 2016, and with Howe under a measure of pressure after a sequence of seven defeats in eight outings in all competitions.

In the event, they won at a canter with the Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls, and in particular dangerman Jack Clarke, who was well handled by Kieran Trippier, only really making their presence felt after the game was effectively over.

The visitors, who had gone out of the cup at the same stage to League One sides Cambridge and Sheffield Wednesday in the last two seasons, started on the front foot and Black Cats keeper Anthony Patterson had to make a second-minute save from Sean Longstaff’s header after he had met Miguel Almiron’s cross.

But for all their early possession, they were unable to make the pressure count and Trippier’s deflected 14th-minute free-kick, which was claimed comfortably by Patterson, was as close as either side came in the opening stages.

Longstaff lifted a 22nd-minute shot over after Almiron and Trippier had combined once again down the right, but with Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Longstaff struggling to create openings as the hosts got men behind the ball in numbers, Isak was largely isolated.

Isak saw appeals for a 30th-minute penalty waved away by referee Craig Pawson after he had gone to ground under Ballard’s challenge, and Longstaff fired wastefully over following Anthony Gordon’s surge down the left.

However, Newcastle took the lead with 10 minutes of the first half remaining when Joelinton exchanged passes with Guimaraes to get in behind full-back Trai Hume and cross towards Isak at the far post, where Ballard turned the ball into his own net as he tried to deny the striker a tap-in.

The home side’s efforts to get themselves back into the game were repeatedly hampered by their failure to retain possession inside their own half, and they would have gone in at the break two down had Almiron’s acrobatic volley crept inside, rather than just past, the post.

It was 2-0, however, within seconds of the restart when Almiron robbed Ekwah on the edge of his own penalty area and squared for Isak to finish emphatically.

Ekwah very nearly atoned for his error almost immediately when his dipping shot from distance took a deflection and forced keeper Martin Dubravka into a save – his first of the match – with a trailing leg.

Alex Pritchard clipped the bar with a well-struck 59th-minute attempt and then forced Dubravka into a fine one-handed save with 16 minutes remaining with the Black Cats throwing caution to the wind.

However, Isak’s 90th-minute spot-kick, awarded after Ballard had barged Gordon to the ground, completed a comprehensive victory for the Magpies.

Matty Godden scored a brace as Championship Coventry thrashed League One Oxford 6-2 at the CBS Arena in the FA Cup third round.

The substitute followed up early strikes by Joel Latibeaudiere and Ben Sheaf, while Kasey Palmer’s thunderbolt made it 3-1.

Callum O’Hare’s second-half penalty made it 4-1 to the hosts who are through to the fourth round for just the second time in six seasons, with Mark Harris and Tyler Goodrham on the scoresheet for Des Buckingham’s side.

A frantic opening saw four goals in the space of eight first-half minutes, sparked by Latibeaudiere’s near-post header.

Coventry enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the early exchanges but Oxford were level almost instantly when Harris latched on to Palmer’s mistake and a wicked deflection off Luis Binks took his effort past a helpless Ben Wilson.

The 1987 FA Cup winners were back ahead even quicker than they had been pegged back when Ellis Simms powerfully drove to the byline before squaring for Sheaf to slam home his second of the season.

Palmer then gave the Sky Blues daylight when he picked up the ball inside the Oxford half before uncorking a 30-yard rocket into the top corner to round off an exhilarating first 17 minutes.

The U’s went out of the cup at the same stage last year after a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal and could have found themselves further behind when Simms blazed over after outmuscling a U’s defender, whilst Milan van Ewijk’s free-kick cleared the crossbar.

Mark Robins, who won the FA Cup as a player with Manchester United in 1990, could have seen his side go three goals to the good immediately after the interval when Palmer played in O’Hare, but he was thwarted by Simon Eastwood.

O’Hare was given a second chance to give the Sky Blues the three-goal lead they deserved after Ciaron Brown fouled Palmer before Coventry’s talismanic midfielder made no mistake as he sent Eastwood the wrong way from the spot.

Palmer was at the heart of all of Coventry’s attacking play and created the Sky Blues’ next chance for Jake Bidwell, who slid his effort past a post.

Oxford, backed by around 3,000 fans in the West Midlands, sensed hope when Goodrham picked out the bottom corner from the edge of the box, but that hope was dashed soon after as Godden entered the fray.

First, he took down Jamie Allen’s lay-off and bent an effort into the far corner before picking out the same corner with his left foot five minutes later to finish off the rout and book Coventry’s place in the fourth-round draw.

Minnows Maidstone continued their FA Cup fairytale as they stunned League One Stevenage 1-0 to reach the fourth round for the first time in their history.

The sixth-tier side took the lead through Sam Corne in first-half stoppage time and held on for the biggest win since the club was reformed in 1992.

Boro boss Steve Evans did not take the lowest ranked side left in the competition lightly as he named a full-strength team.

Lamar Reynolds missed a great chance for the hosts when he headed wide at the back post.

Maidstone were gifted a golden chance when Louis Thompson felled Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong and Corne made no mistake from 12 yards.

After the break Stevenage top-scorer Jamie Reid was denied by a great Lucas Covolan save.

Reid later hit the bar before Kane Hemmings found the post with his rebound effort.

Stevenage huffed and puffed, but Maidstone – who have now banked £231,375 for the progress – secured a potential money-spinning tie against a Premier League club with their sixth win since they entered in the second-qualifying round.

Tom Cannon scored his third goal in a week as much-changed Leicester moved into the fourth round of the FA Cup following an entertaining 3-2 victory at fellow Championship side Millwall.

Cannon scored twice in his first start for the Foxes against Huddersfield on New Year’s Day and was one of just four players retained from that game in their line-up as manager Enzo Maresca reminded everyone of the considerable strength of depth at his disposal.

Cesare Casadei and Ricardo Pereira put the Foxes 2-0 up and, after Duncan Watmore halved the deficit, Cannon struck with Zian Flemming setting up a nervy finish late on.

The first good chance went to Millwall, who as a League One club beat the then-Premier League champions the last time the two teams met in the FA Cup in February 2017.

In the fifth minute, Flemming’s pass put Watmore into space and he advanced into the area before his shot was beaten away by Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.

Another opening for the Lions soon followed when Watmore played a clever ball inside for Danny McNamara, whose effort also brought Stolarczyk into action.

But the Lions’ bright start counted for nothing as Leicester struck from their first real chance in the 16th minute when Marc Albrighton chipped in a superb cross that was nodded in by Casadei at the back post.

Millwall tried to hit back and captain Jake Cooper should have equalised when he sent a free header from Joe Bryan’s corner over.

The Foxes then showed their quality again by doubling their lead in the 39th minute when Casadei played Ben Nelson’s pass first time into the path of captain Pereira, who finished firmly into the bottom corner.

The tie could have been settled within eight minutes of the second half when Cannon’s shot was superbly tipped away by Millwall goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who recovered to keep out Albrighton’s follow-up.

Instead, it looked like game on after 56 minutes when George Honeyman’s corner was nodded down by Flemming for Watmore to finish from close range.

However, Leicester restored their two-goal cushion five minutes later when Cannon beat Sarkic to Callum Doyle’s long pass outside the area before calmly rolling into the empty net.

The same combination almost manufactured a fourth for the Foxes as Cannon got in behind Wes Harding, but this time bent his shot narrowly wide.

It was all going the Foxes’ way now and it needed another double save from Sarkic, denying first Cannon then Albrighton to prevent the scoreline becoming even more emphatic.

Millwall gave themselves some late hope in the 86th minute when Flemming made the most of some awful marking to volley in Bryan’s corner, but time ran out for the 2004 finalists.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes it is time for FA Cup replays to be scrapped.

The Spaniard was speaking ahead of his side’s crunch third-round tie against Premier League leaders Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Following Sunday’s match, the Gunners – who have slipped five points behind Jurgen Klopp’s side in the race for the title – are set to be out of action for 13 days.

But a draw at the Emirates would force the two sides to meet at Anfield during what would be a rare and crucial near-fortnight off for Arsenal in their challenge on both domestic and European fronts.

When asked if the Football Association should consider pulling the plug on replays, Arteta, whose side will also contest a rejigged Champions League next season if they finish in the top four, said: “I think so.

“We will see what happens because with the new format of the Champions League, there will be more games (to play) so I don’t know how we are going to fit them in.

“The (mini) break will be minimal and we have plans for both scenarios. We want to win the game and we will try to win the game, but that (cancelling replays) has to be considered.”

With just one win from their last five outings, Arsenal will head into Sunday’s mouth-watering fixture against in-form Liverpool as marginal underdogs.

In contrast to Arsenal’s drab defeat against Fulham, Liverpool fired four past Newcastle on New Year’s Day to allow them to take top spot in the league.

Arsenal’s free-scoring form of last season has dried up following just four goals in their previous five league outings – with half of those coming in a 2-0 home win against Brighton.

None of Arsenal’s frontline have managed to break into double figures for the season so far with Bukayo Saka leading the way on nine.

“What they (the forwards) did last year was exceptional and we knew that to maintain those numbers would be extremely difficult because it was a one-off,” added Arteta.

“Not just for us, a one-off in the league. We know that we need all the resources and all those kinds of goals to maintain the level that we want in the league.

“When it comes to those spaces, the timing and the definition of the action (in front of goal) that becomes trickier to coach and certainly to replicate as an action in the game.

“It’s very tricky but it’s something that we have to improve, especially in the way we have not transformed recent chances into goals.”

Pep Guardiola refuses to take any credit for lower division sides playing in the style of his all-conquering Manchester City team.

A greater number of clubs beneath the Premier League are now looking to play out from the back, dominate possession and pass their way through opponents in the manner at which City have excelled.

That could be testament to Guardiola’s extraordinary success in his near-eight years at the Etihad Stadium, but it is not something he is aware of.

“I don’t have time to see other teams,” said Guardiola, whose treble-winning side begin their FA Cup defence against Championship outfit Huddersfield at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

“Always I believe teams play what the manager believes in, first for the players they have and they adapt.

“If one team plays high pressing it is because the manager believes in that, if a team play long balls it is because the manager believes in that. This is the most important thing but I don’t know.

“I have watched Leicester a little bit because in their last game they played Huddersfield and because (former assistant) Enzo (Maresca) is there, and I am curious and happy for how incredible he’s doing but, the rest, I don’t have time.”

Guardiola intends to make the most of City’s lighter schedule this month by getting through extra work on the training field, including at a warm-weather camp in Abu Dhabi.

After playing nine games in December, including two in Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup, City have just three fixtures in January, although that will increase to four if they beat the Terriers in their third-round tie.

Guardiola said: “The Premier League took a great decision to make Boxing Day and Christmastime intense, like it always has been, and then to take a break in January.

“It helps a lot to arrive in February fresh mentally. It’s good now to have the FA Cup, to try to retain the title or go as far as possible, and after that we have a really important game at Newcastle.

“Then after that two weeks to refresh our minds. We will have more time to train in Abu Dhabi, to remember things that you cannot do normally.

“You have to try to do things you don’t have time to do in the busy schedule. We can refresh concepts we maybe forgot because we don’t have time to train.”