Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur held off giant-killers in the FA Cup fifth round, with varying success.
Stoke overcame the early loss of Rory Delap to score either side of half-time in a 2-0 victory over Crawley Town at Broadfield Stadium, while Spurs- favourites for the trophy in the FA Cup betting - earned a replay after a goalless draw at League One Stevenage.

Stoke had lost their previous six games in all competitions going into their clash against League Two promotion-chasers Crawley and many punters who bet on the FA Cup had tipped an upset. That looked even more likely when the Potters went up against it as early as the 17th minute when Delap saw red for a dangerous challenge on David Hunt.

Potters boss Tony Pulis was incensed by the decision and a shock looked to be on the cards. However, the dismissal of Delap galvanised Stoke and they delivered a thoroughly professional performance.

John Walters gave the visitors the lead from the spot five minutes before the break when Kyle McFadzean brought down Ryan Shawcross in the box. Peter Crouch gave Stoke some breathing space just after half-time when he headed home Glenn Whelan’s free-kick.

Stoke held on to book a quarter-final meeting with Liverpool at Anfield and kept their bid for a second successive Wembley final on track.

Spurs headed into their game with Stevenage in excellent form but found the going tough against spirited opposition.

Harry Redknapp’s side struggled to get going on a difficult pitch and rarely threatened during a scrappy opening period.

Spurs upped their intensity after the break and thought they had opened the scoring when Louis Saha turned the ball goalwards, only to see Scott Parker turn it in from an offside position.

The visitors continued to press but couldn’t find any way past the host’s dogged backline and Stevenage held out for a lucrative replay at White Hart Lane. The winners will entertain Bolton Wanderers in the next round.