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Roofe floors Swansea, Kane saves Spurs in FA Cup
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 11 - 01 - 2016

Kemar Roofe scored twice as fourth-tier Oxford United pulled off the first major shock in this season's FA Cup by stunning Premier League straggler Swansea City 3-2 Sunday.

Chelsea avoided the same fate, beating third-tier Scunthorpe United 2-0, while Tottenham Hotspur needed an 89th-minute penalty from Harry Kane to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Leicester City.

Swansea went ahead at Oxford through Jefferson Montero's clever back-heel, but Liam Sercombe equalized and Roofe's classy 10-minute brace took the League Two side into round four despite Bafetimbi Gomis replying in the 66th minute.

"It's going crazy out there. Everyone is bouncing. The atmosphere was brilliant and it's the same in the dressing room now," Roofe, who came through the youth ranks at West Bromwich Albion, told BBC Sport.

"We're probably used to more possession in the league and obviously we came up against a well-known passing team, but we matched them and got in their faces."

Swansea manager Alan Curtis, who was this week placed in charge until the end of the season following the dismissal of Garry Monk, gambled by making 10 changes to his starting XI at the Kassam Stadium.

He saw his team go ahead with a beautifully constructed goal, Montero darting in from the left, exchanging passes with Marvin Emnes and beating goalkeeper Sam Slocombe with a deft, improvised finish.

But Oxford equalized in the 45th minute when Sercombe drilled home from the spot after Kyle Bartley was penalized for diving in on Alex MacDonald.

Roofe, who turned 23 Wednesday, put Oxford ahead four minutes after the break, curling a shot past Kristoffer Nordfeldt from outside the box, and 10 minutes later he claimed his second goal after a swift Oxford break.

Gomis reduced the arrears with a cool finish from Jack Cork's disguised pass, but Oxford, League Cup winner in 1986, withstood late pressure to claim one of the most famous results in their history.

Tottenham also looked to be heading out of the tournament after Marcin Wasilewski and substitute Shinji Okazaki struck to put Leicester 2-1 up at White Hart Lane, Christian Eriksen having earlier opened the scoring.

But with two minutes remaining, Leicester winger Nathan Dyer was penalized for handball and Kane, who had come on in the 68th minute, slammed home the ensuing penalty to keep Spurs in the cup.

The teams resume hostilities in the Premier League Wednesday, when fourth-place Spurs host second-place Leicester.

Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink's quest to repeat his feat of 2009 by leading the club to FA Cup glory got off to a positive start with a routine home win over Scunthorpe.

Diego Costa steered in Branislav Ivanovic's cross to give Chelsea a 13th-minute lead and half-time substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 19, clipped home his first goal for the club from Cesar Azpilicueta's pass in the 68th minute.


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