And that’s all from me - now it’s over to Scott Murray, who’ll be minute-by-minuting the United derby, as Manchester face Sheffield, featuring obligatory half-and-half scarf photo.
A couple of other wee bits to tidy things up - Barcelona sashayed to a 4-0 win over Granada, with Messi warming up for reclaiming the Ballon d’Or with a hat-trick, while on a similar level, the JPT Northern Final first leg between Barnsley and Fleetwood ended 1-1.
Full-time scores
And so, no massive upsets, but the headlines go to Eastleigh for getting that draw, and presumably a pleasant wee earner at the Macron, against Bolton. Here are all the scores from the 3pms in the FA Cup.
Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland
Birmingham 1-2 AFC Bournemouth
Brentford 0-1 Walsall
Bury 0-0 Bradford
Colchester 2-1 Charlton
Doncaster 1-2 Stoke
Eastleigh 1-1 Bolton
Everton 2-0 Dag & Red
Hartlepools 1-2 Derby
Huddersfield 2-2 Reading
Hull 1-0 Brighton
Ipswich 2-2 Portsmouth
Leeds 2-0 Rotherham
Middlesbrough 1-2 Burnley
Northampton 2-2 Milton Keynes Dons
Norwich 0-3 Man City
Nottm Forest 1-0 QPR
Peterborough 2-0 Preston
Sheff Wed 2-1 Fulham
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-0 Newcastle
West Brom 2-2 Bristol City
West Ham 1-0 Wolverhampton
UPSETS DENIED
So far, Premier League sides have got away with it...
- Birmingham 1-2 Bournemouth
- West Brom 2-2 Bristol City
...while these Championship sides looked like they were going to be thoroughly embarrassed, but grabbed escaped the end...
- Eastleigh 1-1 Bolton
- Hartlepools 1-2 Derby
UPSETS CONFIRMED
Full-times and three Championship sides have been toppled by teams from lower divisions:
- Colchester 2-1 Charlton
- Brentford 0-1 Walsall
- Peterborough 2-0
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Colchester 2-1 Charlton
Reza Ghoochannejhad grabs a consolation for Charlton.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! West Brom 2-2 Bristol City
Cruel, cruel, cruel - looks like Bristol City will be denied their upset after James Morrison scores in the 95th minute. Oy vey.
Updated
GOAL! Everton 2-0 Dagenham and Redbridge
Apparently there’s a cat on the pitch at Goodison, but arguably more importantly Kevin Mirallas has made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
Updated
Hal! Robson! Hal Robson-Kanu! has scored for Reading at Huddersfield, so that’s 2-1 to Reading, while Souleymane Doukara has sealed things for Leeds v Rotherham - that’s 2-0 at Elland Road.
GOAL! Barcelona 4-0 Granada
Do I really need to tell you who scored it?
Well, yes, on this occasion - Neymar is yer man.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Ipswich 2-2 Portsmouth
Well Pompey’s lead didn’t last too long - tricksy winger Ryan Fraser makes it two apiece at Portman Road.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Eastleigh 1-1 Bolton
Well this is absolutely no fun at all. After a significant amount of pressure, Bolton have equalised, Darren Pratley the man finding the net for Neil Lennon’s beleaguered side.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Ipswich 1-2 Portsmouth
Oh, but here’s one - Conor Chaplin bags a cracker to put League Two Pompey ahead against Championship Ipswich.
Sam the Eagle is going to be fuming.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Birmingham 1-2 Bournemouth
And another potential upset circles the drain, as Glenn Murray gives the Premeir league team the lead at St Andrews.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Hartlepools 1-2 Derby County
Booooooooooo Darren Bent, booooooooo!
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! West Brom 1-2 Bristol City
Hello! Hello! Hello! Kieran Agard, just a minute after coming on, has put Bristol City 2-1 ahead with seven minutes remaining at the Hawthorns. Well, well, well.
Updated
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Wolves
What sounds like the first interesting event at the Boleyn this afternoon, as Nikica Jelavic gobbles up an Andy Carroll knock-down to give them the lead.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Northampton 2-2 MK Dons
Ah, pants. A potential upset is postponed as MK Dons level, Nicky Maynard credited with that one.
GOAL! Norwich 0-3 Manchester City
No messing around for Manuel Pellegrini’s boys - Kevin de Bruyne, recently on for Sergio Aguero, pops a little bow on their afternoon’s work to make it 3-0.
Updated
An equaliser for Barnsley in the Northern Final, first leg of the JPT - Ashley Fletcher has that one.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland
And that would seem to be that - Olivier Giroud puts some daylight between the Gunners and the Mackems.
Updated
Goals in some Champo encounters - Stephen Ward has put Burnley ahead over Middlesbrough, 2-1 there, while Atdhe Nuhiu has given Sheffield Wednesday a 2-1 lead over Fulham and Matej Vydra has equalised for Reading at Huddersfield.
GOAL! West Brom 1-1 Bristol City
Well that didn’t last long - Jonathan Kodija has levelled for Brizzle.
Updated
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland
It had all been building a bit, but now Arsenal have the lead, as Aaron Ramsey makes it 2-1 to the Gooners, beating Jordan Pickford in the Sunderland nets.
Jordan Pickford, hotly tipped, has made at least one really good save today
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) January 9, 2016
Simon McMahon has been on again: “Upset possible at Annan as the home team lead Hamilton, three divisions above, 3-1 going into the final quarter. Airdrieonians are holding Dundee ‘FFS’ United 0-0, Stirling are doing the same against Inverness, and it’s Dunfermline 2 Ross County 2. Livingston are in hot water at the Tony Macaroni Arena where Morton have just taken the lead.”
And as I paste that in, Annan have scored a fourth!
GOAL! West Brom 1-0 Bristol City
Doesn’t look like Saido Berahino will be at West Brom for too much longer, but while he’s there he’s making himself useful, coming off the bench to bag for his (current) team.
Updated
GOAL! Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
Southampton’s parity didn’t last too long - Wilf Zaha gobbles up a rebound from a saved Papa Souare shot to put Palace back in the lead.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Hartlepools 1-1 Derby
Ach, spoilsports. No sooner had Jeff Stelling’s blood pressure returned to normal levels, so Jacob Butterfield had levelled for Derby.
Updated
GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Granada
Do I really need to tell you who scored it?
It was Leo Messi.
Updated
Many apologies for missing this before, but it’s the Northern Final of the Johnstones Paint Trophy today, and an Adam Davies own-goal has made it Barnsley 0-1 Fleetwood.
Deadlock broken at the McAlpine, or whatever the hell it’s called these days - Jamie Paterson makes it Huddersfield 1-0 Reading.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Hartlepools 1-0 Derby
This is more like it! Jake Gray, on loan at Hartlepools from Crystal Palace, has put the League Twoers ahead against Derby, for whom playing every striker in the Championship isn’t working too well at the moment.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Northampton 2-1 MK Dons
It’s on! League Two Northampton, in fine form, are ahead against Championship scrappers MK Dons, Ricky Holmes getting his second after he equalised a bit ago.
GOAL! Doncaster 1-2 Stoke
Stoke are making the world a more boring place, as Jonathan Walters has lessened the chances of an upset by scoring Stoke’s second, just after Peter Crouch missed an open goal.
Updated
Two quick goals at Portman Road - Ipswich were ahead for about two minutes, after Tommy Oar put them ahead, only for Kyle Bennet to equalise for Portsmouth almost immediately.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Peterborough 2-0 Preston
A minor upset this would be, but an upset nonetheless - Conor Washington has doubled his League One side’s lead over Championship Preston. Darragh McAnthony is going to go off on Twitter later.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Eastleigh 1-0 Bolton
Here we go! The lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup are ahead, and fairly typically for Bolton this season it’s a self-inflicted wound, as Dorian Dervitte puts through his own net to give the underdogs the lead!
Updated
GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Crystal Palace
The man who looks like an extra from American History X has bagged for Southampton, Oriol Romeu making things level at St Mary’s.
Equaliser for Northampton against MK Dons - Ricky Holmes has made it 1-1 with his goal for them Cobblers.
Haven’t had many updates from Eastleigh v Bolton yet, which is largely because not a great deal has happened yet. More as we get it.
Second halves are getting going - been a trifle sedate thus far, with no Premier League sides trailing to a lower division one. Four are being held though - will an upset occur?
Half-time scores in the FA Cup
Arsenal 1-1 Sunderland
Birmingham 1-1 AFC Bournemouth
Brentford 0-1 Walsall
Bury 0-0 Bradford
Colchester 2-0 Charlton
Doncaster 1-1 Stoke
Eastleigh 0-0 Bolton
Everton 1-0 Dag & Red
Hartlepool 0-0 Derby
Huddersfield 0-0 Reading
Hull 1-0 Brighton
Ipswich 0-0 Portsmouth
Leeds 1-0 Rotherham
Middlesbrough 1-1 Burnley
Northampton 0-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Norwich 0-2 Man City
Nottm Forest 1-0 QPR
Peterborough 1-0 Preston
Sheff Wed 1-1 Fulham
Southampton 0-1 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-0 Newcastle
West Brom 0-0 Bristol City
West Ham 0-0 Wolverhampton
Half-times all over the place - no massive upsets on the cards at present, other than Colchester beating Charlton, and the Addicks are in such a state at the moment that it’s not a colossal surprise, perhaps.
Goals in some all-Champo numbers - Mustapha Carayol has given Leeds the lead over Rotherham in the Steve Evans Classic, while Moussa Dembele has evened affairs at Hillsborough - Wednesday 1-1 Fulham.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Birmingham 1-1 Bournemouth
Well, that didn’t last long. Lee Tomlin levels things for Bournemouth with a penalty.
Updated
GOAL! Watford 1-0 Newcastle
Sounds like it’s been a touch against the run of play, but Troy Deeney capitalises on a mistake by Gini Wijnaldum to make it 1-0 at Vicarage Road.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Colchester 2-0 Charlton
Ach, sucks to be a Charlton fan at the moment - if things weren’t bad enough for them, they look like they’re being tipped out of the FA Cup as Great Britain Olympian Marvin Sordell has made it 2-0 to Colchester.
Updated
Another two all Championship affairs - Robert Snodgrass has put Hull 1-0 ahead against Brighton, while Barry Bannan has made it Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Fulham.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Birmingham 1-0 Bournemouth
It still feels slightly odd saying Blues beating the Cherries is a turn-up for the books, but it undoubtedly is - Michael Morrison has made it 1-0 at St Andrews.
Updated
Sounds like a barn-burner at the Boleyn...
Slaven Bilic has put his hat on. And that's about all there is to report nearing half-time.
— Alan Smith (@alansmith90) January 9, 2016
Another of those all-Champo encounters has a goal, and Diego Fabbrini has put Middlesbrough ahead over Burnley.
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Walsall
Dean Smith didn’t have to wait long to play his old team, even though Brentford are a division above Walsall, but he’s having his pants pulled down at the moment - the splendidly named Sam Mantom has the goal.
Get a load of the bins on Alex Song...
35: Alex Song in action at the Boleyn #WHUFC #WHUWOL #Tckakap pic.twitter.com/3DsnZSNzRj
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) January 9, 2016
GOAL! Everton 1-0 Dagenham & Redbridge
Obviously spurred on by me repeatedly calling him useless in recent weeks, Arouna Kone has put Everton 1-0 ahead against Dagenham & Redbridge.
Upsettingly, Dagenham have no players called Dave.
Updated
GOAL! Norwich 0-2 Manchester City
Sounds like a walk in the park for City, M, at the moment - they’re 2-0 up, and Kelechi Iheanacho is the latest scorer.
Oh, there’s the home leader - George Moncur has put Colchester ahead against Charlton.
Updated
GOAL! Southampton 0-1 Crystal Palace
No home winners at the moment, and that continues as Joel Ward converts after some nice work by former Southampton man Jason Puncheon. Is it considered disrespectful to celebrate against a former club when you’ve only set the goal up?
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Sunderland
Chances of upset: reduced. Joel Campbell has equalised for the Gunners, after Theo Walcott cut back on the left side for the Costa Rican to slap home from about 12 yards.
Lovely goal from Campbell, nice run and pass from Iwobi, great cut back by Walcott. 1-1
— Barney Ronay (@barneyronay) January 9, 2016
Updated
GOAL! Doncaster 1-1 Stoke
Ah! Well, look at this - Nathan Tyson has taken advantage of one of the rare times when he isn’t favouring twanged hamstring to level things up in Donny.
Updated
Goal in the all-Championship/one of the more boring ties of the round, and Jamie Ward has put Nottingham Forest 1-0 up against QPR.
Update from Scotland, via Simon McMahon: “A few early goals in Scotland, Nick, as Motherwell lead Cove Rangers of the Highland League 2-0, Kilmarnock have taken the lead at St. Johnstone, Dunfermline and Ross County are level at 1-1, and League Two Annan Athletic lead SPFL Hamilton 1-0. And in the early kick-off non-league Linlithgow Rose have come from two goals and a man down to draw 3-3 with Forfar.”
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Granada
Do I really need to tell you who scored it?
It was Leo Messi.
Updated
UPSET WATCH
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Sunderland
Hello! They’re both Premier League teams so it might not technically count as an upset in the official FA Cup dictionary of this sort of thing, but it would certainly be a surprise - Jeremain Lens spanks one home from inside the area to give the second-bottom team the lead over the league leaders.
Updated
GOAL! Norwich 0-1 Manchester City
Ah, we’re cooking on gas now. A strong team selection for Manchester City is paying off as Jesus Navas sets Sergio Aguero up to give them the lead at Carrow Road.
Updated
GOAL! Doncaster 0-1 Stoke
He doesn’t get many games these days what with all their good players and stuff, but Peter Crouch is taking advantage of a rare start by putting his Stoke boys a 1-0 lead over Donny.
Incredible performance boys ! No wonder I can't get a run out 👍🏻😢 #STKEVE
— Peter Crouch (@petercrouch) December 28, 2015
Updated
First ogger of the day, and Ryan Cresswell has put through his own net to give MK Dons a 1-0 lead over Northampton.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Granada
Do I really need to tell you who scored it?
It was Leo Messi.
Updated
Ah - first goal of the FA Cup 3pms - Martin Samuelson has given Peterborough a 1-0 lead against Preston.
Biggest development so far is the West Ham social media team’s foray into the world of colloquialisms and banter...
7: No mate. Zyro tries to beat Jenko for pace on the outside, but the right-back has wheels and cleans up [0-0] #WHUFC #WHUWOL
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) January 9, 2016
And we’re off. Games are underway, but no goals in the 3pms thus far. SO MUCH FOR THE MAGIC OF THE CUP, EH?
For no other reason than it’s a monster of a song and one that feels like it fits as warm-up to a day of MASSIVE DRAMATIC FOOTBALL ACTION, here’s ‘Cochise’ by Audioslave.
This from Newport...
John Sheridan unhappy with his groundstaff about postponement: "I'm disappointed. I think we should've done better in trying to get game on"
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) January 9, 2016
A spot of pre-match reading. Here’s Alan Smith’s interview with Chris Todd, cancer survivor and Eastleigh manager:
Chris Todd remembers the phone call as if it were yesterday. It was a typical midweek evening in November 2008 and life was about to change for ever. A rare strain of cancer had taken hold; unbeknown to him, he was living on borrowed time.
Despite warnings from medical professionals to get checked weeks earlier, he remained ignorant to the condition spreading rapidly inside. A nurse noted a problem with his blood after a routine groin operation but Todd did nothing apart from jest that he was seriously ill. Except it was not a joke: his spleen was expanding and the clock was ticking.
The then 27-year-old had a severe stomach infection when recovering from that minor procedure but again failed to take the hint. He struggled for fitness upon returning to training at Torquay and one day he collapsed at his steering wheel. Luckily his car was stationary at a roundabout and it “triggered something in my mind” to get checked. He went for a blood test having trained as normal despite that brief loss of consciousness.
That night, while sitting at home, the phone rang. “You have chronic myeloid leukaemia,” the nurse on the other end of the line said. In minutes Todd went from worrying about getting back on the pitch to thinking “my days are numbered”.
But for that timely test the now Eastleigh manger would not be alive and preparing for the biggest day in the club’s history, Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie at home to Bolton Wanderers. He is in remission, taking Gleevec, a form of oral chemotherapy, every day – “probably forever” – but appreciating life more than ever.
It’s all over at Adams Park, and Aston Villa have held Wycombe to a 1-1 draw...
“Afternoon Nick,” writes Simon McMahon, who has some updates from Scotland. “Scottish Cup fourth round action today, and game of the day is Airdrieonians v. Dundee United, as the Tannadice men look to end a disastrous run of league defeats that sees them 11 points adrift at the foot of the SPFL, with a disastrous cup defeat at League One Airdrieonians. New Finnish loan signing, and headline writers dream, Riku Riski, goes straight into the squad. There are two all SPFL ties with St. Johnstone v. Kilmarnock and Hearts v. Aberdeen. The latter is a tea time kick off. Other matches includes Dunfermline v. Ross County, Hibs v. Raith Rovers, Linlithgow Rose v. Forfar (currently 0-1) and Motherwell v. Cove Rangers, whilst East Kilbride v. Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale and Dundee v. Falkirk have been postponed.”
And one final bit of team news...
Barça XI: 13.Bravo 3.Piqué 4.Rakitic 7.Arda 9.Suárez 10.Messi 11.Neymar 18.Jordi Alba 20.S.Roberto 22.Aleix Vidal 23.Vermaelen #FCBLive
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 9, 2016
OFICIAL | Alineación del @GranadaCdeF ante el @FCBarcelona_es #VamosMiGranada #FCBvGCF pic.twitter.com/dqSjHCrrmU
— Granada C.F. (@GranadaCdeF) January 9, 2016
Yet more team news
Southampton v Crystal Palace
The teams are in! Here's how #SaintsFC line up for this afternoon's #EmiratesFACup clash with #CPFC – pic.twitter.com/kQNOCsXGdZ
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 9, 2016
#CPFC XI: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney (c), Souare; Zaha, Cabaye, Ledley, Puncheon; Mutch; Campbell. pic.twitter.com/3mIsOssazZ
— Crystal Palace FC (@CPFC) January 9, 2016
Watford v Newcastle
TEAM NEWS: 4 #watfordfc changes v @NUFC. Prödl, Guedioura, Berghuis & Oulare in for Britos, Capoue, Abdi & Ighalo. pic.twitter.com/t1BKVEf4PU
— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) January 9, 2016
TEAM NEWS: Here is how Newcastle United will line up at @WatfordFC in the #EmiratesFACup today (3-5-2). #NUFC pic.twitter.com/NgEighMr3e
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 9, 2016
West Ham United v Wolves
TEAMS: Here are today's starting XIs, brought to you with @eToro #WHUWOL #WHUFC #COYI pic.twitter.com/fTVycRPFyg
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) January 9, 2016
More team news
Eastleigh v Bolton
Today's team vs @OfficialBWFC #Spitfires #EmiratesFACup #DoingItForNonLeague pic.twitter.com/gSdRdPObK3
— Eastleigh FC (@eastleighfc) January 9, 2016
Hartlepool v Derby County
Carson, Richards, Harrison, Jackson, Carroll, Featherstone, Woods, Gray, Hawkins, Oates, Fenwick. Subs: Bartlett, Jones, Nearney, Oyenuga, Walker, Smith, Bingham.
TEAM: A full review of this afternoon's #HUFCvDCFC team news can be read online now: https://t.co/CZGsb0npNQ pic.twitter.com/obPctY6eyN
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) January 9, 2016
Norwich v Manchester City
TEAM NEWS | Here's today's starting XI, brought to you in association with @Coral. Your thoughts? #ncfc pic.twitter.com/CEkt5F1sfD
— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) January 9, 2016
City XI: Caballero, Zabaleta, Demichelis, Otamendi, Kolarov, Fernando, Delph, Navas, Sterling, Iheanacho, Aguero #norwichvcity #mcfc
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) January 9, 2016
Team news
Birmingham v Bournemouth
IMAGE: Blues v AFC Bournemouth team sheet #bluesLIVE #BCFC pic.twitter.com/Bhefolyqrv
— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC) January 9, 2016
Doncaster v Stoke
#DRFC STARTING XI: Stuckmann, Butler, Evina, Alcock, McCullough, Taylor-Sinclair, Middleton, Grant, Keegan (c), Williams, Tyson
— Doncaster Rovers FC (@drfc_official) January 9, 2016
#SCFC XI v @drfc_official: Haugaard; Bardsley, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Wilson; v.Ginkel, Adam; Walters, Joselu, Diouf; Crouch
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) January 9, 2016
Everton v Dagenham and Redbridge
Team news is in! Here's how we line up to face @Dag_RedFC in the @EmiratesFACup... #EFCvDAG pic.twitter.com/9lcIvQb2Un
— Everton (@Everton) January 9, 2016
Daggers XI v Everton: Cousins, Passley, Labadie, Nosworthy, Dikamona, Chambers, Doidge, Raymond, Muldoon, Hemmings, Worrall
— Dagenham & Redbridge (@Dag_RedFC) January 9, 2016
A quick point of admin - with 24 FA Cup games in addition to Barcelona v Granada kicking off simultaneously, it’s going to be quite tricky to keep track of all of them. Therefore:
- I’ll pick out a few games of interest to bring you team news from, and updates throughout, with anything else notable from the others thrown in.
- If you’d like to keep track of all the goals as they go in, our live scores page is the place to be.
- If it’s Arsenal v Sunderland you’re interested in, then your friend and mine Tim Hill has a live minute-by-minute on that one that you can follow right here.
- Apologies in advance if I miss anything.
Meanwhile, the match at Eastleigh goes ahead, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be much fun....
BREAKING NEWS
Newport v Blackburn is off, due to a waterlogged pitch. Our man Nick Ames has toddled all the way there for nothing, as it turns out. Well, not quite nothing - he did get some sweet snaps...
Perhaps not a day for getting chalk on your boots. pic.twitter.com/8EVac33Rfy
— Nick Ames (@NickAmes82) January 9, 2016
Big shame for Newport, that. You’d imagine they will lose a few quid after this...
And here, for your records, is the full list of 3pm kick-offs in the FA Cup today:
Arsenal v. Sunderland
Birmingham v. AFC Bournemouth
Brentford v. Walsall
Bury v. Bradford
Colchester v. Charlton
Doncaster v. Stoke
Eastleigh v. Bolton
Everton v. Dag & Red
Hartlepool v. Derby
Huddersfield v. Reading
Hull v. Brighton
Ipswich v. Portsmouth
Leeds v. Rotherham
Middlesbrough v. Burnley
Newport County v. Blackburn
Northampton v. Milton Keynes Dons
Norwich v. Man City
Nottm Forest v. QPR
Peterborough v. Preston
Sheff Wed v. Fulham
Southampton v. Crystal Palace
Watford v. Newcastle
West Brom v. Bristol City
West Ham v. Wolverhampton
Preamble
The FA Cup has, it’s fair to say, been going for a while. There’s plenty of history involved here, so before we get too closely involved in who’s playing who in the latest edition of the third round - which, as the shrewdies among you will have spotted, is today - let’s have a look at a few upsets from this stage in the competition down the years, with the help of the Guardian and Observer archives.
1933 - Walsall 1-0 Arsenal
Over to the venerable Scott Murray in his latest ‘A brief guide to...’ for the skinny on this one:
The greatest act of giant-killing occurred way back in January 1933. Arsenal, under the legendary Herbert Chapman, were the best team in the land by far. They were top of the First Division, on their way to the league title, and in that competition had already beaten Sunderland 6-1, Wolverhampton Wanderers 7-1, Leicester City 8-2 and Sheffield United 9-2. Their opponents in the third round of the FA Cup were Walsall, sitting10th in the old Third Division (North). “It will be the joke of the day if the league leaders are beaten,” opined this newspaper of Arsenal’s visit to the Midlands.
Ho ho ho! Arsenal were under-strength, Chapman having decided to rest stars Eddie Hapgood and Joe Hulme. But not that under-strength: their team still boasted George Male, David Jack, Alex James and Cliff Bastin. “A handsome assembly saw the London team attempting to play class football against a side using typical cup-tie tactics – with the inevitable result,” reported the Observer. Walsall striker Gilbert Alsop headed the opener after an hour, beating reserve left-back Tommy Black to the ball. Black then thuggishly cut off Alsop at the knee, a foul resulting in several players having a square go at each other, as well as a penalty. Billy Sheppard converted, and on the final whistle an 11,000-strong crowd chaired their heroes off the pitch. A livid Chapman, his bowler hat hovering in mid-air over his head, suspended by the steam blasting out of his lugs, told Black he would never play for Arsenal again. He was transferred to Plymouth Argyle within the week.
1975 - Burnley 0-1 Wimbledon
Burnley, who the previous season had finished sixth in the top flight, faced a team who would have a rather more famous scalp 13 years later, but when Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the 1988 final, they were also in the First Division. On this occasion, they were in the Southern League - now the Evo-Stick League - and became the first non-league team to beat a First Division side away in the FA Cup’s history, Mick Mahon scoring the only goal. In the Observer the following day, Ronald Atkin wrote:
What a weekend for the Southern League wonders from Wimbledon. Having wombled Burnley out of the FA Cup’s third round yesterday, they were promptly drawn away against the League champions, Leeds United...
It was a Cup afternoon which eclipsed even that evocative occasiona when Walsall beat Arsenal. All five non-league sides covered themselves in equal parts mud and glory, and not one of them was beaten. But without doubt it was Wimbledon who had everybody marvelling last night. ‘Hey,’ said Liverpool’s John Toshack after the Anfield match, ‘did you hear that Wimbledon beat Burnley 6-2, 6-3, 6-0?’
Wimbledon would take Leeds to a replay having drawn the first game of the fourth round 0-0, but lost 1-0 in the second encounter.
1984 - Bournemouth 2-0 Manchester United
The holders were out, defeated by then-Third Division Bournemouth, not too long after Oxford, also then in the Third Division, had beaten them in the Mild Cup. The goals came from Milton Graham and Ian Thompson, and in her report in the Observer the following day, Julie Welch wrote:
You aren’t going to believe this, but Manchester United are out of the FA Cup. The holders of the trophy, the club who might yet be this year’s League champions, were swept out of the competition at their first defence of it by Bournemouth. With a minute of the match remaining, fighting broke out in the terraces behind Bournemouth’s goal, halting the tie for five minutes as spectators spilled on to the pitch.
But the hiatus was irrelevant: the cause had been lost long before for United, who had started off timorously, played without style or daring or adventure, and finished up on the wrong end of one of the most staggering wins in Bournemouth’s history...
Without the injured Albiston, who had failed to emerge after the half-time break, they were crucially discomposed when Sulley took a corner in the sixtieth minute. Milton Graham hooked it past Bailey to the sound of a stadium-bulging roar. If that was hellish enough for United, what happened two minutes later is going to keep them awake at nights for months. Still shaking their heads in disbelief at being a goal down in such humble company, they were mortified when La Ronde’s free kick was claimed by Robson, who hesitated so long that Thompson stole it back and whacked it in for a second goal.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see Harry hasn’t changed...
1986 - Birmingham 1-2 Altrincham
A fine tradition in years gone by, Birmingham became then ‘Gola League’ (the Conference to you, or Vanarama National League if you insist) side Altrincham’s 12th league scalp in 1986. In truth Birmingham were ripe for an upset, given they were second-bottom of the table and hadn’t won a game since September, but it was still quite a fine effort, which you can watch for yourself here. Stay tuned for a quick cameo by a young Tony Wilson, of Factory Records fame.
1992 - Wrexham 2-1 Arsenal
We’ll end this trip into the archives in the year football was invented. You probably already know the story of Mickey Thomas, the free-kick and George Graham’s humbled side, but here’s how Hugh McIlvanney reported on events of the day for the Observer.
Two minutes that were conceivably the most glorious in the 119-year history of Wrexham AFC turned Arsenal’s season into an undiluted disaster. When the goal produced in the 83rd minute by a blasted free-kick from the oldest and (on the day) the most effective player on the field, Mickey Thomas, was followed in the 85th by a killing stretch of Watkin’s right leg, the League champions found themselves dumped from the last of the major competitions they had a realistic hope of winning. They will go on striving in the First Division but only a fanatic could believe that a team as traumatised as they are now will salvage consolation there.
Nothing they have endured recently - their explusion from the European Cup by a stylishly superior Benfica, their dismissal from the Rumbelows Cup or their struggles in the League - can compare with the horrors inflicted on them by Fourth Division opposition late on this chilly afternoon in North Wales.
But the shock at the fall of the might should not blur appreciation of Wrexham’s achievement in battling so stubbornly from behind to overcome visitors who were favourites to take the FA Cup last season right up until they lost in the semi-final. Certainly it must not obscure the credit due to the 37-year-old Thomas, a frequently controversial veteran involved in so many transfer that he sometimes seems to have made more moves than Gary Kasparaov.
Updated
Nick will be here shortly.
