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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JANUARY 2016 49 Sport FOOTBALL - FA CUP AMERICAN FOOTBALL Rooney penalty saves Man Utd WAYNE Rooney's injury-time penalty gave Manchester United an uninspiring 1-0 win over Shef- field United in the FA Cup third round at Old Trafford. The captain's spot kick, earned after Memphis Depay was brought down by Dean Ham- mond in the 93rd minute, came at the end of a game severely lacking in clear-cut opportuni- ties. Louis van Gaal's side had to wait until the 69th minute for their first shot on target, through Matteo Darmian, which was met with ironic cheers from the home crowd. Darren Pratley scored an 87th- minute equaliser as Champion- ship strugglers Bolton avoided a humiliating FA Cup loss at non- League Eastleigh. An own goal from Dorian Dervite early in the second half put the National League side in sight of a famous victory in their third-round tie at a rainswept Silverlake Stadium, but Pratley spared Bolton's blushes.. West Brom's James Morrison also struck a last-gasp equal- iser as the Premier League side snatched a 2-2 draw against Championship Bristol City. Morrison levelled in injury time after goals from Jonathan Kodjia and substitute Kieran Agard had seen the Robins come from be- hind to lead with just six minutes remaining at The Hawthorns. Saido Berahino, with his first goal for almost three months, had opened the scoring for West Brom in the 67th minute. Premier League basement side Aston Villa also avoided an upset are still without a win under Re- mi Garde after being held to a 1-1 draw by League Two Wycombe. Captain Micah Richards gave Villa a 22nd-minute lead, but Joe Jacobson levelled with a penalty after Ashley Westwood caught Matt Bloomfield with a f lailing arm. Holders Arsenal had to come from behind in their all-Premier League tie against Sunderland. Jeremain Lens struck early for the relegation-threatened Black Cats, but Joel Campbell quick- ly replied and two goals in the space of three second-half min- utes from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud put the Gunners through. Another of the competition fa- vourites, Manchester City, had few problems against a top-f light rival as they eased past Norwich 3-0 with goals from Sergio Ague- ro, Kelechi Iheanacho and Kevin De Bruyne. In-form Troy Deeney scored for a seventh time in 12 matches as Watford beat Newcastle 1-0, while Crystal Palace won 2-1 at Southampton where Joel Ward and Wilfried Zaha scored either side of an Oriol Romeu equal- iser. Glenn Murray scored an 85th- minute winner as Premier League Bournemouth finally saw off de- termined Championship side Birmingham 2-1 at St Andrew's. The Blues led through Michael Morrison and later missed a pen- alty through James Vaughan, but the Cherries had the final say af- ter Lee Tomlin's spot-kick level- ler. Stoke also had to dig deep, with League One hosts Doncaster cancelling out Peter Crouch's opener. Nathan Tyson scored the equal- iser but there was to be no shock as Jonathan Walters secured a 2-1 win in the 57th minute. Everton beat League Two strug- glers Dagenham & Redbridge 2-0 at Goodison Park through an Arouna Kone header and Kevin Mirallas' late penalty, while Ni- kica Jelavic's 85th-minute strike gave West Ham a 1-0 win over Wolves. Championship leaders Mid- dlesbrough went down 2-1 at home to Burnley after the Clar- ets replied to Diego Fabbrini's opener with goals from Rouwen Hennings and Stephen Ward. Ipswich, sixth in the second tier, needed an 88th-minute equaliser from Ryan Fraser to claim a 2-2 draw at home to League Two Portsmouth. Goals from George Moncur and Marvin Sordell earned League One Colchester a 2-1 win over Championship Charlton, while Sam Mantom scored the only goal as Walsall won 1-0 at sec- ond-tier side Brentford. Champi- onship Preston were also beaten by lower division opposition as they lost 2-0 at Peterborough. Hull saw off Championship promotion rivals Brighton 1-0 with a penalty from Robert Sn- odgrass while Leeds beat York- shire rivals Rotherham, manager Steve Evans' former club, 2-0. Nahki Wells scored a last- minute penalty as Huddersfield claimed a 2-2 draw with Read- ing just three minutes after Hal Robson-Kanu had put the Roy- als ahead. Ricky Holmes scored twice as Northampton claimed a 2-2 draw against MK Dons while Bury and last season's giant-kill- ers Bradford will also replay after a goalless draw at Gigg Lane. Darren Bent's 85th-minute winner saw Derby through with a 2-1 victory at Hartlepool while Sheffield Wednesday overcame Fulham by the same scoreline thanks to an Atdhe Nuhiu win- ner. Jamie Ward scored the only goal as Nottingham Forest beat QPR 1-0 while Newport's clash against Blackburn at Rodney Pa- rade was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch. Manchester United's Wayne Rooney celebrates his late penalty American football to be introduced in Malta THE Malta American Football Association (MAFA) is pleased to announce the first official American Football practice session in Malta. This will take place in Ta' Qali this com- ing Sunday between 2 and 4pm. This should be an excellent opportunity for anyone wishing to start practising a fast and excit- ing sport that celebrates the values of team spirit, hard work and tactical appreciation. The practice session is open to anyone who is interested in getting in shape whilst learning the rules and tactics of the game, irrespective of physical condition, gender or experience. As an association we prom- ise a safe and respectful environment and take into consideration the lack of experi- ence of most who will be present. Thus one can expect a gentle, non-contact introduc- tion to the fundamentals of the game, with little or no risk of injury. The practice session will be directed by experienced coaches who played the game in foreign competitive leagues and who will be passionately bringing with them all the experience and love of the game. All the necessary practice equipment will be provided by the association and thus the only thing that one will need to bring is a good pair of running shoes and a healthy dose of enthusiasm and willingness to learn (and run). The first training session will be held on public grounds and thus will be completely free. For further information and develop- ments please visit our Facebook page "Mal- ta American Football Association" and fol- low the page to receive the latest news on this and future events. We hope to see you all there with the hope that this could be the start of another great sporting category in the Maltese islands.