Blank Premier League weekends – or ones where there’s only one top-flight game – can be tough to get through, as you watch Paul Merson and co on Soccer Saturday trying to convince you they care about football in the lower leagues.
But today was anything but disappointing, as the action from one Premier League game, two FA Cup quarter-finals and a host of other matches around the country more than made up for the big boys being dormant.
Results
Premier League
QPR 1 Tottenham 2
FA Cup
Aston Villa 2 West Brom 0
Bradford 0 Reading 0
Championship (selected)
Derby 2 Birmingham 2
Nottingham Forest 2 Middlesbrough 2
Wigan 0 Leeds 1
Wolves 2 Watford 2
Player of the day
Harry Kane, who just can’t stop proving the doubters wrong. He was the difference between the two sides as Tottenham beat QPR 2-1, grabbing both of Spurs’ goals.
Big club of the day
Tim Sherwood set himself and Aston Villa up for a fall when he described West Brom as a “good little club” ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final. But his side overcame a woeful start to claim a 2-0 win over their midlands rivals – a result which apparently warranted a mass pitch invasion from their fans.
Anticlimax of the day
After all the hoo-ha about the Bantams’ match against Sunderland not being on TV, today was the perfect chance to show everyone what they were missing. But their game against Reading, screened live and for free by BT Sport, was a turgid 0-0 draw. We can’t imagine imagine it’ll be pistols at dawn between the BBC and BT Sport to decide who gets to show the replay.
Selfless capitulation of the day
Derby were winning 2-0 against Birmingham heading into injury time but conceded goals in the 93rd and 96th minutes to throw away two points. That result, along with a defeat for Middlesbrough and a draw for Watford, means the top four teams in the Championship are all locked together on six points. A generous act from Derby to make make things as exciting as possible for the neutrals.
Stat of the day
There are almost too many Harry Kane stats to choose from, but the above shows just the kind of company he’s keeping now. It’s ever more difficult to brush this guy off as a flash in the pan.
Bionic arm of the day
Party poopers of the day
Dave Whelan, after announcing he was stepping down as Wigan chairman and handing the reins over to his grandson David Sharpe, took to the pitch before his side’s game against Leeds to say goodbye to the fans. “To our supporters, we have played two and won two under our new chairman, my grandson David,” he said. Leeds promptly spoiled that record with a 1-0 win.
Headgear of the day 1
Headgear of the day 2
Source: SNAPPA