Leeds shock Spurs, Chelsea draw

LEEDS, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Luke Varney of Leeds is congratulated by teammate Paul Green after scoring the opening goal during the FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round match between Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road on January 27, 2013 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

LEEDS, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Luke Varney of Leeds is congratulated by teammate Paul Green after scoring the opening goal during the FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round match between Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road on January 27, 2013 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Published Jan 27, 2013

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London – Tottenham Hotspur were dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round beaten 2-1 by second-tier Leeds United on Sunday, after holders Chelsea scraped a 2-2 draw at local rivals Brentford of League One.

Spurs, currently fourth in the Premier League, join Aston Villa, Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers in being eliminated from the tournament by lower-league opposition this weekend.

Three-time English champions Leeds, who stunned Manchester United in the third round in 2010, took a 15th-minute lead when Luke Varney scampered down the inside-left channel before calmly beating goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Ross McCormack made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half with a sweet left-foot shot following a lobbed pass from El-Hadji Diouf, before Spurs replied through a Clint Dempsey header in the 58th minute.

McCormack had a chance to seal it in the 72nd minute, only for Friedel to save, but the Elland Road side withstood Spurs' attempts to find an equaliser to take their place in round five.

Chelsea needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw at third-tier Brentford as they narrowly avoided a humiliating exit.

A penalty from Brentford starlet Harry Forrester looked destined to send the European champions out of the competition, only for Torres to curl home a fine goal to deny his side's west London neighbours a memorable upset.

John Terry made his first Chelsea start since November after injury but his first involvement saw Ross Turnbull penalised for picking up his misplaced back-pass, with Forrester shooting over from the ensuing free-kick.

Emboldened, the League One side stepped up their assault on the Chelsea goal and three minutes before half-time they scored, with Marcello Trotta arrowing home after Turnbull parried a 25-yard curler from Forrester.

Chelsea introduced Juan Mata at half-time and within 10 minutes the visitors were level, as Oscar brought down a high ball and skipped past a couple of challenges before arcing a lovely shot into the top-left corner.

Chelsea appeared to have taken control, but in the 72nd minute Turnbull sent Tom Adeyemi sprawling in the visitors' box and Forrester, 22, swept the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner.

With home fans lighting flares in the Griffin Park stands, an unforgettable victory looked to be on the cards, until Torres swept home his late equaliser from the edge of the box to take the tie to a replay.

Another Premier League side face an awkward away fixture later on Sunday, with Liverpool visiting League One Oldham Athletic.

There were two major shocks on Saturday, which followed Villa's elimination by Millwall on Friday.

QPR were humbled 4-2 by third-tier Milton Keynes Dons, while Luton Town of the Conference National won 1-0 at Norwich to become the first non-league side to eliminate top-flight opponents since 1989. – Sapa-AFP

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