Leeds shock Spurs after Torres rescues Chelsea

LONDON (AFP) –

Tottenham Hotspur‘s Clint Dempsey (left) Leeds United’s Rodolph Austin and Lee Peltier during the FA Cup football match between Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur at Elland road stadium, Leeds, northern England on January 27, 2013. Spurs wee dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round beaten 2-1 by second-tier Leeds.

Tottenham Hotspur were dumped out of the FA Cup in a 2-1 fourth-round loss at second-tier Leeds United on Sunday, after holders Chelsea scraped a 2-2 draw at local rivals Brentford of League One.

Spurs, currently fourth in the Premier League, join Aston Villa, Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers in being eliminated from the tournament by lower-league opposition this weekend.

Three-time English champions Leeds, who stunned Manchester United in the third round in 2010, took a 15th-minute lead when Luke Varney scampered down the inside-left channel before calmly beating goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Ross McCormack made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half with a sweet left-foot shot following a lobbed pass from El-Hadji Diouf, before Spurs replied through a Clint Dempsey header in the 58th minute.

Brentford’s Marcello Trotta (right) shoots to score the opening goal against Chelsea’s English goalkeeper Ross Turnbull during the FA Cup fourth round football match between Brentford and Chelsea at Griffin Park in west London on January 27, 2013. Holders Chelsea neeed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw at third-tier Brentford.

McCormack had a chance to seal it in the 72nd minute, only for Friedel to save, but the Elland Road side withstood Spurs’ attempts to find an equaliser to take their place in round five.

“It’s a fabulous performance,” Leeds manager Neil Warnock told ESPN.

“It’s a great day for us. The atmosphere was good, two cracking goals. There were a lot of heroes today. It was a typical FA Cup tie.”

Chelsea needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw at third-tier Brentford as they narrowly avoided a humiliating exit.

A penalty from Brentford starlet Harry Forrester looked destined to send the European champions out of the competition, only for Torres to curl home a fine goal to deny his side’s west London neighbours a memorable upset.

Brentford players celebrate with Marcello Trotta after he scored the opening goal against Chelsea during the FA Cup fourth round football match between Brentford and Chelsea at Griffin Park, London, January 27, 2013. Chelsea needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw.

“Brentford did well. We knew they would play with a high tempo and try to press,” said Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez.

“As a team they showed great character. You could see the manager (Uwe Rosler) on the touchline telling them what they needed to do, and they did it.”

John Terry made his first Chelsea start since November after injury but his first involvement saw Ross Turnbull penalised for picking up his misplaced back-pass, with Forrester shooting over from the ensuing free-kick.

Emboldened, the League One side stepped up their assault on the Chelsea goal and three minutes before half-time they scored, with Marcello Trotta arrowing home after Turnbull parried a 25-yard curler from Forrester.

Chelsea introduced Juan Mata at half-time and within 10 minutes the visitors were level, as Oscar brought down a high ball and skipped past a couple of challenges before arcing a lovely shot into the top-left corner.

Chelsea’s Spanish striker Fernando Torres (R) arrives at Griffin Park ahead of the game against Brentford during the FA Cup fourth round in west London on January 27, 2013. Cup holders Chelsea needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw at third-tier Brentford.

Chelsea appeared to have taken control, but in the 72nd minute Turnbull sent Tom Adeyemi sprawling in the visitors’ box and Forrester, 22, swept the spot-kick into the bottom-left corner.

With home fans lighting flares in the Griffin Park stands, an unforgettable victory looked to be on the cards, until Torres swept home his late equaliser from the edge of the box to take the tie to a replay.

Another Premier League side face an awkward away fixture later on Sunday, with Liverpool visiting League One Oldham Athletic.

There were two major shocks on Saturday, which followed Villa’s elimination by Millwall on Friday.

QPR were humbled 4-2 by third-tier Milton Keynes Dons, while Luton Town of the Conference National won 1-0 at Norwich to become the first non-league side to eliminate top-flight opponents since 1989.