Howard Wilkinson gained his first victory as Sunderland manager tonight when his side came from two goals down to beat Arsenal 3-2, at Highbury, in the Worthington Cup.
Robert Pires opened the scoring with his first goal since returning from knee surgery and Francis Jeffers doubled that advantage seven minutes before half-time.
Kevin Kyle gave Sunderland some hope with a goal in the 56th minute and Marcus Stewart restored parity midway through the second half.
Two minutes later Darren Williams struck to complete a remarkable third-round comeback and condemn Arsenal to their fifth defeat in their last six games.
Ipswich cruised into the fourth round after a first-half masterclass helped them beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at Portman Road.
Joe Royle's new charges stormed into a seemingly-unassailable first-half lead as Boro struggled to contain the Tractor Boys.
Thomas Gaardsoe got the ball rolling in just the second minute with a close-range finish before two goals just before half-time sealed the win for Town.
Jamie Clapham fired into the top corner after 40 minutes and four minutes later headed home a third. Franck Queudrue fired in a late consolation for Boro but it was too little too late.
Oldham stunned Premiership strugglers West Ham with a 1-0 victory at Upton Park to reach the fourth round thanks to Carlo Corazzin's strike just before half-time.
Burnley stunned Tottenham with a 2-1 victory at Turf Moor after overhauling a one-goal first-half deficit.
Spurs had looked comfortable as they dominated the first half and led at the interval after a powerful Gustavo Poyet header.
But Burnley emerged from the break a different side and equalised through Robbie Blake before Steve Davis gave the Clarets the lead.
Two goals in injury-time dumped Leeds out as Sheffield United staged a last-gasp comeback to win 2-1 at Bramall Lane.
Steve Yates' own goal after 24 minutes looked enough to send Leeds through but Phil Jagielka levelled in the second minute of injury time and Peter Ndlovu wrapped up a dramatic win for the Blades with a tap-in in the fifth minute of added time.
Liverpool survived a determined Southampton challenge to win 3-1 at Anfield.
Patrik Berger's deflected effort on the stroke of half-time gave the hosts the lead but Agustin Delgado levelled. El Hadji Diouf restored Liverpool's advantage before Milan Baros secured the victory.
Carlton Cole made the most of his first start of the season, netting twice as Chelsea edged past First Division 2-1 Gillingham at Stamford Bridge.
The teenager opened the scoring in the 20th minute minute before killing off the Gills' resistance seven minutes into the second half. Marlon King netted a last-minute consolation for Gillingham.
Goals either side of the half-time break from Andrejs Stolcers set Fulham on their way to a comfortable 3-1 win over Bury at Loftus Road, with Lee Clark making sure of the win midway through the second half despite a Jon Newby goal late on.
Oxford clung on for 74 minutes against Aston Villa at the Kassam Stadium but goals from Ian Taylor, Dion Dublin and Gareth Barry saw the Premiership side through 3-0.
Andrew Johnson netted twice and Julian Gray netted late on as Crystal Palace saw off 3-0 Coventry at Selhurst Park.
Worthington Cup Results
Arsenal
2-3Sunderland
Blackburn
2-2Walsall(
Blackburn win 5-4 on pens)
Burnley
2-1Tottenham
Chelsea
2-1Gillingham
Crystal Palace
3-0Coventry
Fulham
3-1Bury
Ipswich
3-1Middlesbrough
Liverpool
3-1Southampton
Newcastle
3-3Everton(
Everton won 3-2 on penalties)
Oxford Utd
0-3Aston Villa
Sheff Utd
2-1Leeds
West Ham
0-1Oldham