Dzeko spares City's blushes

LONDON (AP):

Edin Dzeko rescued Manchester City with a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Notts County in the FA Cup fourth round yesterday and 10-man Arsenal required an 86th-minute penalty by Cesc Fabregas to edge past Huddersfield 2-1.

Dzeko volleyed home a cross from Micah Richards in the 80th minute, to score his first goal since the Bosnia striker joined the big-spending northwest club on January 7.

County, which play in the third tier and are managed by former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince, went ahead in the 59th through midfielder Neal Bishop's near-post header, but now face a replay at Eastlands.

Huddersfield were threatening an upset at Emirates Stadium, when Alan Lee headed home a corner in the 66th to cancel out Arsenal's 21st-minute opener, which came when Peter Clarke deflected a Nicklas Bendtner shot into his own net.

By that time, Arsenal had lost playmaker Samir Nasri to a hamstring injury and defender Sebastien Squillaci to a red card for a professional foul, but Fabregas came off the bench to slot in the winning spot kick after Bendtner was dragged back in the area.

Took advantage

Fulham took advantage of the early sending-off of Tottenham defender Michael Dawson to thrash their London rivals 4-0, while West Ham beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 and Stoke won 1-0 at Wolverhampton.

County, who are 18th in England's 24-team third division, would have been full value for a win if they had held on at Meadow Lane.

"You can't help but think what might have been," said man-of-the-match Bishop.

Dzeko signed for a reported fee of 27 million pounds ($42 million) from Wolfsburg, but hadn't scored in his first two matches for City - Premier League games against Wolves and Aston Villa.

But, leading the line in the absence of top scorer Carlos Tevez, who was out with a back injury, Dzeko couldn't miss when he was picked out by Richards on the right.

"He needs more time to understand the team, but it's important (for Dzeko) to score this goal," City manager Roberto Mancini said.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Nasri's injury was 'serious' and could keep him out for three weeks, leaving the France international - who arguably has been the team's best player this season - a major doubt for the first leg of the Champions League last-16 match against Barcelona, on February 16.

Big blow

"It's a big blow," said Wenger, who only started Nasri against Huddersfield because he feared Tomas Rosicky wouldn't be able to play 90 minutes following a recent bout of illness.

"I have regrets about that now. The plan backfired. We are at the stage of the season where to lose bodies will be very difficult for us."

Tottenham's defending was dismal at Craven Cottage, with captain Dawson particularly at fault.

The England defender's awry pass was picked up by Clint Dempsey, who was fouled by Alan Hutton for a penalty that Danny Murphy tucked away in the 11th.

Dawson was then caught in possession two minutes later by Moussa Dembele, and received a red card for tugging the shirt of the Belgium striker in the area.

Murphy went the other way from the spot to beat Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes again, before further first-half goals by Brede Hangeland and Dembele increased Spurs' misery.

Nigeria forward Victor Obinna scored a hat-trick for West Ham in the London club's victory over Forest at Upton Park, and German defender Robert Huth's 81st-minute header put Stoke through to the fifth round at Molineux.

Premier League leaders Manchester United, which will play non-league side Crawley in the last 16, advanced out of the fourth round by beating Southampton 2-1 on Saturday, when defending champions Chelsea drew 1-1 at Everton.