Saturday 14 February 2015 20:57, UK
The day began with West Brom beating West Ham and ended with Liverpool's victory at Crystal Palace.
But in between, there were wins for Championship clubs Reading and Blackburn as the line-up for the quarter-finals began to take shape.
It was a day for the strikers as Josh King grabbed a hat-trick, Daniel Sturridge continued his comeback with a goal, Brown Ideye impressed again and Yakubu made his mark with a winner.
Here we look at some of the talking points from an entertaining afternoon of FA Cup action…
Sturridge stars
The mood at Liverpool is much changed since that desperate 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December. In fact, the extra-time defeat to Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final is their only reverse in 16 games dating back to that result at Old Trafford and the return of Daniel Sturridge has added fresh momentum to their turnaround in fortunes. The England striker looked lively throughout, might have won a penalty and was nothing less than emphatic when volleying in the equaliser in Liverpool’s eventual 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been able to field Sturridge in the same starting line-up as Raheem Sterling since Liverpool’s 3-0 win at Tottenham in August, when the team looked close to its fluid best. The worries of the winter will feel as far away as ever if Rodgers is able to reunite those two soon. Their harmony on the pitch is certainly rather better than Alberto Moreno's dancing at Selhurst Park and if the smile on Mario Balotelli's face after his role in Adam Lallana's winner was anything to go by, then we can expect Liverpool to rediscover their old rhythm in the spring.
Feed the Yak
Having signed Yakubu during his time in charge of Middlesbrough almost a decade ago, Derby boss Steve McClaren knew what was coming. "As soon as I saw him warming up to go on, I thought 'Oh no, not him!' I don't know how old he is now - I didn't really know his age when I signed him for Boro and he was telling me he was only 25 - but he'll always have that pace and ability to finish." Yakubu may be a veteran, but he provided the decisive goal in Reading's 2-1 win away to 10-man Derby.
It's typical of a player whose goalscoring return has been remarkably reliable over the years. Even in his most recent spell in the English top flight, he came up with 17 goals for a struggling Blackburn side. To put it in some context, that was one of four seasons in which he outscored Didier Drogba in the Premier League and Yakubu boasts a very similar record to the celebrated Chelsea man (93 in 252 versus 103 in 243). Judging by the way he swept the ball beyond Kelle Roos in the Derby goal, Yakubu will be among the deadliest finishers in the quarter-final draw.
‘Bobby’ Brown
Few would have expected Brown Ideye to fall into that above category after West Brom's £10million record signing from the summer endured a miserable start to his career, with just two goals in his first 17 appearances for the club. Indeed, he looked set for a deadline-day move to Qatar for a fraction of that fee but instead is now enjoying an unlikely renaissance under Tony Pulis. Ideye has scored in his last three games, netting four times in total. What's more, he looks a transformed man with his general play much improved and confidence high. Keeping Albion up is no Pulis miracle but getting Ideye scoring is a rather more astonishing achievement by the Welshman.
Unhappy Hammers
While Ideye was enjoying himself at the other end, West Ham were the only team to fail to score in the FA Cup on Saturday as they provided minimal resistance at the Hawthorns. Slow to close down and lethargic throughout, Morgan Amalfitano's wild hack and push to the face only served to sum up their slack approach. So insipid was the effort that West Ham fans actually targeted manager Sam Allardyce for some verbal abuse. That might seem bizarre given that the Hammers are enjoying a fine season but it hints at the feeling this was their chance to make that good form count for something significant - specifically a first major trophy in 35 years. Instead, like Stoke at Blackburn, they go out wondering what might have been.
Rovers return
Gary Bowyer might be among those managers to have safely negotiated the fifth round but the Blackburn boss was no more keen to encourage the dreamers after seeing hat-trick hero Josh King see off Stoke at Ewood Park. "Do me a favour" was his response when asked if Blackburn could win the FA Cup and while that seems fair given some of the big names still in the draw, Rovers fans will just be happy to have something to cheer after a difficult few seasons. Only 5,928 of them were present against Swansea in the previous round but 13,934 turned up on Saturday and more still will be expected if they can get another home draw in the last eight. Should that happen, then Wembley could yet beckon for Bowyer and the rest... despite his pessimism.
