Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1068299
29 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 JANUARY 2019 SPORTS FA CUP MANCHESTER United cruised past Reading 2-0 in the FA Cup third round to continue Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's win- ning start in charge of the club. United made the breakthrough after the intervention of VAR, when it was de- cided Omar Richards had tripped Juan Mata in the box, with the Spaniard con- verting the resulting spot-kick midway through the first half. Romelu Lukaku then doubled the hosts' lead in first-half stoppage time - the striker's 13th goal in his last 14 ap- pearances in the competition - to make it five straight wins for Solskjaer since he became United's interim boss. As for the visitors, second bottom of the Sky Bet Championship, Jose Gomes' side have now gone 11 games without a win. Despite heading into the clash in rude health after winning four Premier League matches in a row under the Norwegian, United were flat in the first quarter of the contest at Old Trafford, until VAR's in- tervention that is. The home team had the ball in the back of the net thanks to Fred's neat finish, only for the video ref to check for a pos- sible offside against Lukaku in the build- up to the goal. However, while the Belgian was off- side, Mata had been tripped by Omar Richards just prior to that, allowing the playmaker to score from the spot, the first time he had netted in the cup since against Crystal Palace in the 2016 final. The tie was all but over when with just seconds to go until the break, John Swift tried to catch Lukaku offside, with disas- trous consequences as striker ran clean through on goal. Lukaku then rounded the advancing Anssi Jaakkola, before rolling home his 13th goal in the last 14 appearances in the FA Cup. Despite enjoying an eyebrow-raising 60 per cent of possession, though, Read- ing lacked the firepower to really trouble Sergio Romero in United's goal and the visitors will now return to the Madejski to continue their fight against relegation. BURNLEY overcame a bizarre VAR intervention to beat Barns- ley with an injury-time Chris Wood penalty in their FA Cup third-round tie. Sean Dyche's side were award- ed a spot-kick in the first half when Matej Vydra was hauled down by Dimitri Cavare. However, just as the striker was beginning his run-up to take the penalty referee Simon Hooper blew his whistle and signalled that VAR had adjudged Vydra to have been offside in the build- up. There was no interruption in second-half stoppage time, though, when Wood (90+2) slot- ted in from the spot after Vydra had been fouled by Liam Lind- sayt. That was a cruel blow for League One high-flyers Barns- ley, who had looked to have bat- tled their way to a replay with their Premier League hosts and had two chances to take the lead just before half-time through Cauley Woodrow. In a game of few openings, Burnley had the better of the second half, with Sam Vokes heading over the bar and Vy- dra sending a volley and then a header wide. But it wasn't until injury-time that Burnley finally made the breakthrough with the help of Lindsay's desperate lunge at Vy- dra. Wood's cool penalty means they'll be in tomorrow night's fourth-round draw. Solskjaer extends run against Royals Referee Simon Hooper interrupts Matej Vydra's penalty-kick to signal the VAR had spotted an offside Burnley through despite VAR controversy Romelu Lukaku (right) celebrates with Alexis Sanchez