FA Cup Third Round – A Hooligan Take | OneFootball

This rhetorical question was uttered by John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, at the conclusion of the Sex Pistol’s final concert in San Francisco in early 1978. It was also repeated by this author at the conclusion Sunday’s fixtures in the FA Cup Third Round. Negative hyperbole aside, the completed 28 fixtures up until then had very little of that FA Cup  “magic” so frequently touted in the press.

Not So Many Giants Killed…

Really just a few, highlighted below:

Brentford 0 – 1 Plymouth Argyle

Only one spot above relegation in the Championship, the Pilgrims stung the Bees at the G-tech. I guess sacking Wayne Rooney days before the fixture gave them a timely “manager bounce.” Their prize for this giant killing? A trip to Anfield on Feb. 8 to take on mighty Liverpool. Not fair sometimes, this world.

Hull City 1 (4) – 1 (5) Doncaster Rovers

Given that Hull sit in the Championship relegation zone, and plucky Doncaster are currently 5th in League Two, this wasn’t as big of a mismatch as folks might think. Still, the Rovers earned as many yellow cards (7) as saves (7) and needed a penalty shootout to advance.

Exeter City 3 – 1 Oxford United

Thirty-three places sit between the two, but the Grecians grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and wrestled the U’s into submission on Saturday. Oxford looked proper flummoxed after striking early but conceded two first half scores to Exeter’s Demetri Mitchell, and third after the break.

…But Lots of Giants Killing

Yeah, it’s not really a surprise given the insane disparity between Premier League clubs and those in lower tiers, but all the same these were ugly.

Manchester City 8 – 0 Salford City

City fielded some second-stringers (James McAtee, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Divin Mubama) and bench-warmers (Jack Grealish, Jérémy Doku, Nico O’Reilly) and STILL slapped Salford City silly. Warrants should have been issued for the abuse they inflicted. Crikey.

Chelsea 5 – 0 Morecambe

Morecambe’s chances against the Blues were no better than a shrimp cocktail buffet set before a line of hungry all-inclusive cruise ship passengers. But given the recent drama in the Morecambe camp, the 5-0 scoreline was actually quite fair. Props to the loyal and put-upon Shrimps supporters who festooned their side of Stamford Bridge with angry messages directed at the club’s owners.

Leicester City 6 – 2 Queens Park Rangers

I’m not sure anyone even saw half of the goals Leicester put up in their beatdown against hapless QPR, so thick was the fog. It was nice to see proper geezer Jamie Vardy drill a pen on his 38th birthday, though.

Shout-Out to Teams that Held Their Own

Despite the gap, there were some teams who brought their club some pride, passion and respect with good old fashioned effort.

Tamworth 0 – 3 Tottenham Hotspur (a.e.t.)

The Lambs gave a fine accounting against a somewhat limp Spurs team. They produced two excellent chances while keeper (and new dad) Jasbir Singh kept a clean sheet for over 100 minutes. When Heung-Min Son subbed onto the field, his weekly wages likely exceeded the entire Tamworth roster’s yearly wage bill. What a shame Tamworth were not afforded an opportunity for a replay in London. They certainly deserved it.

Leeds United 1 – 0 Harrowgate Town

High-flying Leeds United got a run for their money with Harrowgate’s stalwart defensive effort (and some help from the woodwork). The Sulphurites drew 4,000 traveling and enthusiastic supporters, but ultimately gave one too many chances to Largie Ramazani. He headed his last of five shots into the net.

Crystal Palace 1 – 0 Stockport County

League Two’s Stockport County performed just fine visiting Selhurst Park. You never really got the sense they would equalize after dropping the goal to Eberechi Eze in the 4th minute, but all the same Palace fans were lamenting not having a two or three goal cushion, just in case.

Liverpool 4 – 0 Accrington-Stanley

Accrington-Stanley were winners to the 4,700 supporters who gave them fine voice, and winced when young Scouser Josh Woods struck the bar in the 57th minute. The reported £500,000 payday for club won’t sting either.

Other Third Round Winners

Other Third Round Losers