London, January 17:

Middlesbrough held off a late rally to beat Hull 4-3 and advance to the fourth round of the English FA Cup on Tuesday, and was joined by fellow Premier League club Manchester City.

Middlesbrough led 3-0 by the 57th minute before Hull scored twice in four minutes. Seb Caines scored the first in the 32nd minute and Mark Viduka added his first in the 49th. Aiyegbeni Yakubu converted a penalty to make it 3-0 in the 57th. Viduka scored his second in the 64th minute to make it 4-2, before Andy Dawson made it 4-3 in the 69th.

Manchester City beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. Darius Vassell scored the winner for Man City in the 56th minute. Stephen Ireland had put City ahead in the 44th minute before Lee Bullen leveled for Sheffield in the 51st. City drew will play Southampton in the next round.

In other third-round matches, it was: Barnsley 0, Southend 2; Coventry 0, Bristol City 2; Ipswich 1, Chester 0; Oldham 0, Wolves 2; and Plymouth 2, Peterborough 1.

Middlesbrough will face Bristol City in the fourth round and it will also be: Barnet vs. Plymouth, Ipswich vs. Swansea, and Wolves vs. West Bromwich Albion.

Copa del Rey

BARCELONA: Javier Saviola scored three goals and FC Barcelona edged second-division Alaves 3-2 on Tuesday to advance to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Forwards Wellington Paulista and Arturo replied for Alaves.

Saviola opened the scoring in fortunate fashion when the ball rebounded off his arm and into the net after Ronaldinho’s free kick was parried by Alaves goalkeeper Nicolas Ardouin. Saviola doubled his tally when he squeezed between two defenders and sent a looping header from a floated pass by midfielder Thiago Motta.

Alaves then rallied with two goals before halftime. Wellington beat the offside trap and flicked the ball past advancing goalkeeper Albert Jorquera to reduce the deficit in the 35th.

Seven minutes later, Arthuro equalized with a low, curling free kick from outside the area. — AP