Anelka helps City halt winless run
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Anelka helps Manchester City end long winless run
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LONDON, England -- Manchester City's 14-match winless run came to an end on Wednesday as Kevin Keegan's side left it late against Leicester to reach the FA Cup fourth round.
A Nicolas Anelka strike in the last minute of regulation time followed by a rare goal from Jon Macken deep into stoppage time secured a 3-1 replay win -- and a home tie with Tottenham.
Chelsea also made it into the fourth round, knocking four goals past First Division Watford and now have an away trip to non-league Scarborough.
The minnows overcame Third Division Southend 1-0 thanks to a goal from leading scorer Mark Quayle seven minutes from the end of their replay.
Antoine Sibierski put City on track to end their miserable run when he dived to head Trevor Sinclair's cross past keeper Ian Walker after only 11 minutes.
But after Anelka was twice denied by the Leicester keeper, City's promising start gave way to an extremely hesitant second half display.
An equaliser always looked on the cards and duly arrived when Les Ferdinand drove a 73rd minute free-kick through the wall and into the net with the help of a deflection off Joey Barton's backside.
Leicester looked the more likely winners at that point but they were made to pay for a mix-up between centerback Frank Sinclair and Walker that saw Anelka nip in between them and clip the ball into the net.
Unmarked Macken rubbed salt into their wounds by adding a third with more than two minutes of added-on time gone.
Chelsea meanwhile reaped the benefits of a return to form by their strikers -- perhaps spurred on by rumours linking the club with a transfer window move for Louis Saha, Christian Vieri or David Trezeguet.
Romanian international Adrian Mutu scored twice, while Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen notched one apiece as Watford were outclassed.
There was an added bonus for Blues fans with Damien Duff returning from injury as a second half substitute.
The Irish winger marked his comeback appearance by setting up Gudjohnsen for Chelsea's fourth and final goal.
