Skiddle's open goal: A weekly roundup of football news and events

We got our first taste of action between the top two sides in the Premier League this weekend but it was in the FA cup as the old competition took centre stage this weekend. With Arsenal fielding a slightly weaker side, it was a bit of a surprise to see how lively they were, with them having the better chances of the first half, even if Rob Holding was getting bullied by Haaland.

In fact, Arsenal probably should have been ahead but failed to capitalise and Nathan Ake of all people finished cooly into the bottom corner. It was a game that could have gone either way. As ever with the FA Cup we're on the lookout for upsets but there were relatively few.

Leeds' quality ensured they got a 3-1 victory at Accrington, a hard game to get through due to the inadequacy of Martin Keown's mind-numbing commentary. Leicester grabbed a lucky win against Walsall thanks to a heavily deflected Iheanacho strike after Tielemans missed a penalty. The Belgian midfielder is far too often a passenger and this season has shown how overrated he is.

Sunderland earned a replay with Fulham who just about escaped from an embarrassing upset. Grimsby Town had one of the moments of the weekend when they equalised with Luton in a move straight from the kick-off after Luton had just scored themselves. They've taken it to a replay. Tottenham and Manchester United made easy work of Preston and Reading respectively, with the Championship sides offering very little.

Sunday saw Brighton assert further dominance on the shambolic Liverpool team thanks to another beauty from Mitoma who is on fire at the moment. The best game of the weekend was in Wales where Hollywood-backed Wrexham took on Sheffield United, a team chasing Premier League promotion.

The home side conceded in the first minute thanks to awful marking from a corner, with McBurnie scoring a header. Yet Wrexham never looked out of the game, Jones equalising in the 50th minute and then O'Conner scoring to put Wrexham ahead. A bit of poor defending and goalkeeping led to an equaliser through Norwood for Sheffield.

Then, up stepped the man of the match Paul Mullin who finished cooly in the 85th minute for what seemed like a winner. But it wasn't to be as poor marking from a corner yet again allowed Egan to score a 95th-minute equaliser. We're not sure Wrexham will be able to repeat that performance without a home crowd but they should be incredibly proud going head-to-head with a team three leagues above them.

For more football action take a look at the events below.

 

 

An Audience With Paul Merson and Craig Hignett

When: Thursday 11th May

Where: Oakwell Stadium, Barnsley

This will be an interesting conversation as current SKY TV pundit and former Arsenal player Paul Merson comes to Barnsley to talk with club legend Craig Hignett. Both have played key roles in historic moments for their clubs and we're sure that plenty of laughs will be had when talking about their careers.

 

Buy tickets:

 

---

 

Danny McGrain Live With A Celtic State Of Mind

When: Saturday 25th March

Where: Graces Irish Sports Bar, Glasgow

The A Celtic State Of Mind podcast is hugely popular with fans of the club, giving further insight and opinions on the current state of Celtic. They'll be joined on stage during a live production of the podcast by Danny McGrain and they'll be getting into all the discussion points Celtic fans want to know about.

 

Buy tickets:

 

---

 

Pre-match Legend Meal LFC vs Tottenham

When: Saturday 29th April

Where: Hotel Tia, Liverpool

Enjoy the chance to meet a legend of Liverpool at this pre-match meal which will precede the team taking on Tottenham at Anfield. Two sides who have had their fair share of problems this season, Liverpool are so poor that Tottenham will be expected to win, can the home crowd lift the Liverpool players?

 

 

---

---

 

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.