LONDON — Luton became the first non-league team in 24 years to beat topflight opposition in the FA Cup as Norwich was knocked out in the fourth round Saturday. Norwich, which is 85 places above fifth-tier club Luton in the English football pyramid, was beaten 1-0 at home after Scott Rendell scored in the 80th minute. The FA Cup has not witnessed such a giant killing since Sutton beat Coventry 2-1 in the third round in 1989. And not since 1949 has a non-league team managed to overcome a side from the top flight beyond the third round. Luton, FA Cup semifinalist in 1994, won the League Cup in 1988 and was in the top flight until 1992 before dropping down the divisions and enduring financial turmoil. MK Dons of the third tier delivered another FA Cup upset Saturday by beating Queens Park Rangers, which is bottom of the Premier League, 4-2. Arsenal avoided humiliation at Brighton by coming from behind to beat the second-tier club 3-2. Manchester City relied on Pablo Zabaleta's late goal to send the 2011 winner through with a 1-0 victory over Stoke. The Argentina defender neatly stabbed the ball into the net in the 85th minute after Edin Dzeko clipped the ball across from Sergio Aguero's pass. “We won it two years ago and know how important the competition is — we want to win it again,” Zabaleta said. “It's always great to score and three goals this season is not bad for a fullback. “It was a massive win on a very tough pitch. It's always difficult here but today we were fantastic, very solid on the park and aggressive.” But there was a setback for City with Vincent Kompany limping off with a calf injury in the first half, and the captain will miss the Premier League match against Queens Park Rangers Tuesday. Everton, fifth in the Premier League, needed an injury-time winner from John Heitinga to prevail 2-1 at second-tier Bolton Wanderers. Luton's fellow fifth-tier representatives Macclesfield Town was knocked out, going down 1-0 at home to Wigan Athletic courtesy of a seventh-minute Jordi Gomez penalty. The fourth round began with an upset Friday, when Aston Villa, beaten by fourth-tier Bradford City in the League Cup in mid-week, lost 2-1 at Championship club Millwall. — Agencies
