The FA Cup third round may still be underway but it has already delivered the thrills and spills that epitomise the oldest club competition in the world.
There have been some notable giant-killings but in the fourth round draw, Southampton will be the happiest with what was pulled out of the hat on Sunday afternoon.
Nigel Adkins’s Saints beat Premier League surprise package Blackpool 2-0 at St Mary’s Stadium through goals from Lee Barnard and Guilherme Do Prado on Saturday. While Ian Holloway did not exactly put out his strongest line-up, the old adage is that you can only beat what is put in front of you. That is exactly what Southampton did and they have been rewarded for their shock win by drawing Manchester United (4/1 to win the FA Cup) in the fourth round.
United overcame Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday afternoon thanks to a controversial first-minute penalty won by Dimitar Berbatov. That, coupled with a sending off for Steven Gerrard, compounded a disappointing afternoon for new Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish, but United fans will fancy their chances in the next round when they travel to the South Coast.
Arguably the biggest shock of the FA Cup third round was League Two Stevenage stunning Premier League Newcastle 3-1 in a game which avenged their controversial defeat to the Magpies 13 years ago. Goals from Michael Bostwick and Peter Winn followed a Mike Williamson own goal and were enough to send the Broadhall Way crowd into delirium.
Graham Westley and the Stevenage fans will have had dreams of drawing one of the big-boys such as United, Chelsea or Arsenal in round four – but unfortunately it did not quite live up to expectations as they were paired with Reading. It will still guarantee another big crowd at Broadhall Way and added money into the club’s coffers though.
Notts County pulled off a major shock as they humbled Premier League side Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Paul Ince’s side travelled to the North-East knowing not many people gave them much chance against a side sitting sixth in the Premier League, but they ripped up the form book and pulled off a shock 2-1 win.
Goals from Craig Westcarr and Lee Hughes put them into the draw and they will face either Leicester City or Manchester City (11/2 to win FA Cup) in the next round.
It really was a dire FA Cup weekend for the North-East teams as, along with Newcastle and Sunderland going out to lower league opposition, Tony Mowbray’s Middlesbrough lost to League Two Burton Albion. Paul Peschisolido’s side’s reward is a trip to managerless Burnley in round four.
Elsewhere in the fourth round draw, there are four all-Premier League ties, with Bolton facing Wigan, Fulham taking on Spurs and Aston Villa drawn against Blackburn Rovers. Meanwhile, Chelsea (5/1 to win tournament outright), who thrashed Ipswich 7-0 on Sunday, will travel to face Everton at Goodison Park.
FA Cup fourth round draw in full:
Torquay v Crawley Town or Derby
Watford v Brighton
Bolton v Wigan
Arsenal or Leeds v Huddersfield
Fulham v Tottenham
Everton v Chelsea
Southampton v Manchester United
Swansea v Leyton Orient
Burnley v Burton
Birmingham v Coventry
Doncaster Rovers or Wolves v Stoke or Cardiff
Notts County v Leicester or Man City
Stevenage v Reading
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
West Ham v Nottingham Forest
Sheffield Wednesday v Wycombe or Hereford
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