Tottenham avoids massive FA Cup shock with extra-time win as Man United beats Arsenal on penalties

Tottenham endured the humiliation of being taken to extra time by Tamworth, an opponent nearly 100 places lower in English soccer’s pyramid, before winning 3-0 and avoiding one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history on Sunday.

Defending champion Manchester United also advanced from the third round by beating Arsenal 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. Joshua Zirkzee converted the clinching penalty for United, which played from the 61st minute with 10 men following Diogo Dalot's sending-off.

Four days after beating Premier League leader Liverpool 1-0 in the English League Cup semifinals, Tottenham’s team of established internationals toiled against a group of part-time soccer players whose main jobs included bricklaying, selling zippers and being a financial advisor.

A massive surprise was on when fifth-tier Tamworth forced extra time with the score 0-0, only for the hosts to concede an own-goal in the 101st minute and then strikes by Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson to disappoint the majority of the 3,700 fans inside the tiny stadium called The Lamb.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou felt compelled to bring on his top players including Son Heung-min, Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke from the substitutes' bench to eventually overpower Tamworth, which is 16th in the National League and was playing in the third round for first time since 2012.

“It’s very easy on a day like this to lose your head when things aren’t going your way and you realize the consequences," Postecoglou said, "but for the most part we stayed calm, persistent and got through.”

Ninety-five places were between the teams in the league pyramid.

"Amazing day and a shame we couldn’t get over the line," Tamworth midfielder Tom McGlinchey said. “Back to work lecturing tomorrow — back to the day job unfortunately.”

In previous years, Tamworth would have earned a money-spinning replay by holding Tottenham to a draw in regulation time. However, replays were scrapped from this season because of the increasingly busy calendar.

There was some hilarity before kickoff, with the game having to be delayed because of an issue with the netting on one of the goals. A Tamworth player got on a teammate’s shoulder to fix the problem.

The last time Altay Bayindir played for Man United, the goalkeeper conceded a goal from a corner in a loss at Tottenham in the English League Cup quarterfinals.

On Sunday, he was United's savior by saving one penalty from Martin Odegaard in normal time to send the game against Arsenal to extra time at 1-1 and then another from Kai Havertz in the shootout.

United scored all of its penalties to keep the defense of its trophy on track in the unlikeliest of manners.

Bruno Fernandes put United ahead in the 52nd minute at Emirates Stadium only for Dalot to pick up his second yellow card and leave the visitors with 10 men for the final half-hour of regulation time.

Within two minutes, Arsenal equalized through Gabriel's deflected shot and then squandered a chance to go ahead after Havertz was adjudged to have been fouled by Harry Maguire in the area.

Odegaard's penalty was heading to the bottom corner but was tipped aside by Bayindir, whose save to keep out Havertz's penalty was very similar.

Joshua Zirkzee converted the clinching penalty and that was also redemption for the Dutchman, who was substituted in the 33rd minute of a recent Premier League game against Newcastle and jeered by some United fans.

There were no problems for other Premier League teams playing lower-league opposition, though Newcastle did have to come from behind to beat fourth-tier Bromley 3-1 after conceding an eighth-minute opener.

Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon and William Osula scored at St. James' Park for Newcastle, which earned an eighth straight win in all competitions.

Eberechi Eze's goal secured Crystal Palace a 1-0 win over third-tier Stockport, while Ipswich beat Bristol Rovers — also from the third tier — 3-0 thanks to goals by Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor.

Southampton beat second-tier Swansea 3-0, with Tyler Dibling scoring twice.

In Sunday's other game, fourth-tier Doncaster beat Hull 5-4 on penalties after the score was 1-1 at the end of extra time.

Man United's reward for beating Arsenal was a home match in the fourth round against Leicester, which is managed by former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. Van Nistelrooy was in temporary charge of United for its win over Leicester in a League Cup match in October.

Liverpool will play second-tier Plymouth away and Manchester City was drawn away to either third-tier Leyton Orient or second-tier Derby.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, center celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game with teammate Daniel Munoz during the English FA Cup third round soccer match between Crystal Palace and Stockport County at Selhurst Park, London, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Gabriel celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, centre, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's and Manchester United players argue during the English FA Cup soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Tamworth's Thomas McLinchey, left, and Tottenham Hotspur's Archie Gray battle for the ball during the English FA Cup third round match at The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, England, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Mikey Moore, left, and Tamworth's Thomas McLinchey battle for the ball during the English FA Cup third round match at The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, England, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur's Yves Bissouma, right, and Tamworth's Ben Milnes battle for the ball during the English FA Cup third round match at The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, England, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Tamworth's Beck-Ray Enoru, left, and Tottenham Hotspur's Pedro Porro battle for the ball during the English FA Cup third round match at The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, England, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

Tottenham Hotspur players celebrate an own goal from Tamworth's Nathan Tshikuna, second right, during the English FA Cup third round match at The Lamb Ground, Tamworth, England, Sunday Jan. 12, 2025. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.

There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.

The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.

The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.

Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.

After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.

The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.

An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.

Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.

Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”

Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."

Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.

There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.

The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.

Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.

Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.

“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.

Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)