25 Jan 2010

Another English football giant knocked out of the FA Cup

6:12 am on 25 January 2010

Arsenal have joined Manchester United and Liverpool on the FA Cup football scrapheap when Ricardo Fuller's double helped Stoke City to a 3-1 fourth round victory at the Britannia Stadium.

Fuller's opening goal in the second minute was trademark Stoke, the striker getting on the end of Rory Delap's huge throw-in.

Arsenal equalised shortly before halftime with a deflected strike from Denilson but Fuller restored Stoke's lead with 13 minutes remaining, wrong-footing Lucasz Fabianski with a close-range header after a superb run and cross by Mamady Sidibe.

Dean Whitehead made sure of Stoke's first FA Cup victory against Arsenal from Matthew Etherington's low cross.