The FA Cup third round served up a night of high drama and emphatic victories, headlined by Everton's shock exit on penalties to Championship side Sunderland at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Penalty Heartbreak for Toffees at New Home
Everton's first-ever FA Cup tie at their new stadium ended in catastrophe as all four of their penalty takers failed from the spot. The match had finished 1-1 after extra time. Sunderland's Enzo Le Fée opened the scoring, putting his midweek penalty miss behind him, before a late and somewhat soft spot-kick, awarded for a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge by Trai Hume on Adam Aznou, allowed James Garner to equalise for Everton.
The shootout was a disaster for the Premier League side. Garner, Thierno Barry, and Beto all missed their penalties. In contrast, Le Fée confidently converted his for Sunderland, avoiding another panenka attempt. It was left to Black Cats captain Luke O'Nien to slot home the winning kick, sparking wild celebrations led by Granit Xhaka.
Strand Larsen Treble Fuels Wolves Rout
Elsewhere, Wolverhampton Wanderers put their Premier League worries aside with a comprehensive 6-1 demolition of Shrewsbury Town. The star of the show was striker Jørgen Strand Larsen, who ended a 13-game goal drought with a superb hat-trick.
Wolves were already two goals up, thanks to a rare strike from Jhon Arias, when Shrewsbury's John Marquis pulled one back from the penalty spot. Any hopes of a shock were quickly extinguished as Strand Larsen took over, adding two more goals before the break. Late strikes from Rodrigo Gomes and Tolu Arokodare completed the emphatic scoreline for Rob Edwards's resurgent side.
Foxes Avoid Upset at Whaddon Road
Leicester City safely navigated a potential banana skin with a professional 2-0 win away at Cheltenham Town. Patson Daka broke the deadlock for the Championship leaders, and Stephy Mavididi doubled the advantage right on the stroke of half-time.
Those goals effectively killed the tie, ensuring the League Two strugglers, currently 18th in the fourth tier, could not mount a famous comeback. The victory sees Leicester progress smoothly into the fourth-round draw.
The results mean a bitterly disappointing early exit for Everton, while Sunderland, Wolves, and Leicester all live to fight another day in this season's FA Cup.
