FA Cup third round: Manchester United rely on late Wayne Rooney penalty to edge past Sheffield United

An injury-time penalty from Wayne Rooney saw Manchester United secure their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of Sheffield United. Louis van Gaal side didn't register a shot on target until the 69th minute of the contest and looked to be heading towards a replay at Bramall Lane before Memphis Depay was clipped by Dean Hammond inside the penalty area.

Rooney stepped up to seal the win from the spot with just minutes of the contest left, helping his side edge past their League One opponents despite another unconvincing performance.

Elsewhere, Colchester, Peterborough and Walsall all sprang minor shocks but no giants fell on the second day of action in the third round of the competition. Though they currently sit second from bottom in League One, The Us piled more misery on troubled Championship outfit Charlton thanks to first-half goals from George Moncur and Marvin Sordell.

Reza Ghoochannejhad provided a late consolation for Karel Fraeye's side, who have not won a match in any competition since November. Martin Samuelsen and in-demand striker Conor Washington secured a 2-0 win for Peterborough over Preston at the ABAX Stadium, while in-form Walsall triumphed away to a Brentford side led by former Saddlers boss Dean Smith courtesy of Sam Mantom's 34th-minute strike.

Darren Pratley netted a late equaliser as cash-strapped Bolton avoided embarrassment at Eastleigh. Dorian Dervite's earlier own goal had put the second-tier relegation favourites on the verge of a humiliating defeat on a dreadful pitch against the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, but they eventually did enough to earn a replay.

Holders Arsenal's quest to become only the third side in history and the first since Blackburn in 1886 to win the FA Cup in three consecutive years remains on track after a comfortable 3-1 win over Sunderland. Jeremain Lens gave the much-changed visitors a surprise early lead, but Joel Campbell soon equalised and second-half tap-ins from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud sealed their progression.

Manchester City are also in the hat for round four after Sergio Aguero, Kelechi Iheanacho and Kevin de Bruyne sunk Norwich City at Carrow Road. Remi Garde's winless run as Aston Villa manager also continued at Wycombe as a penalty from Joe Jacobson cancelled out Micah Richards' opener in the day's early kick-off. Fellow strugglers Newcastle United crashed out at 1-0 at Watford and Nikica Jelavic scored a superb late winner as West Ham overcame Wolves in east London.

James Morrison struck late to deny Bristol City a surprise victory at The Hawthorns. Saido Berahino's fourth goal of the season had set West Brom on course for victory, but Steve Cotterill's men fought back through Jonathan Kodjia and Kieran Agard. Everton were given no such trouble by League Two Dagenham and Redbridge, however, with Arouna Kone and a Kevin Mirallas penalty wrapping up a 2-0 win.

A late Nakhi Wells penalty secured a replay for Huddersfield against Reading and Derby came from behind to beat Hartlepool as a result of Darren Bent's late intervention. Stoke City's Jonathan Walters and Glenn Murray of Bournemouth prevented replays against Doncaster and Birmingham respectively. Leeds claimed bragging rights over Yorkshire rivals Rotherham and there were also wins for Hull, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley. Bury/Bradford, Ipswich/Portsmouth and Northampton/MK Dons will all require replays.