The beauitful game really can be a harsh, cruel, unromantic sport at times. Just days after the hearts of the footballing nation were won over by a tremendous Burnley performance, only for them to be kicked off their perch at the very last by Harry's Spurs, Kettering Town and Torquay United of the Blue Square Premier were just minutes from gaining glamorous replays at the homes of their more illustrious opponents. Only late shows from Fulham, and more luckily, Coventry City ended non-league interest in this year's competition, whereas at this stage last season there had been 6 sides from outside of the Football League still in with a shout.
Havant & Waterlooville stick in mind, they twice led at Anfield before being eventually overpowered by Torres et al last season, but Kettering were even closer to causing a massive upset, twice coming from behind to draw level with Fulham, two goals from hero Craig Westcarr giving the Premiership side a real fright. Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora scored late goals to send Fulham into round five on a day where shocks were few and far between.
Torquay were so close, yet so far from claiming a massive scalp in Coventry City. Coventry boss Chris Coleman admitted he would have been "happy with a replay", which shows Torquay had the chances. Tim Sills and Matt Green were the villains - if you can call them that - both missing gilt-edged opportunities to put the non-leaguers in front, but Elliot Ward scored from a corner with a few minutes to play, sending the Championship outfit through.
Cupset fans (Yes, that is in fact now a recognised word) would have to look further South than Torquay to find the shock of the day, with holders Portsmouth crashing out at home to Roberto Martinez's Swansea. The Swans were nearly on the end of a few upsets themselves, having played four non-league opponents in the last two years - Horsham famously forcing a replay, and leading 2-1 in Swansea, before finally succumbing to a 6-2 defeat. Here though, they were the pantomime heroes. Nathan Dyer, on loan from Portsmouth's massive rivals Southampton slotted home the first after an excellent ball from Jason Scotland. Pompey had chances, not many, but Sean Davis should have levelled before Swansea scored a second to go through.
Much has been made of ITV's coverage of the FA Cup, in cohesion with Setanta Sports. The highlights shows have been criticised, with many of the public calling for a return to the BBC. The live games chosen by ITV were Hartlepool vs West Ham, which had potential for a Cupset which never really got going, and Man United vs Spurs, a game which threatened to be a complete joke with both managers' comments before the game, but actually turned out to be a decent encounter, for the first half an hour anyway. Say what you like about ITV, they're pulling in the ratings.
Tottenham led at Old Trafford through Roman Pavlyuchenko's header, but goals from Paul Scholes and familiar face Dimitar Berbatov, from other familiar face Michael Carrick's pass, saw United safely through to round five. Elsewhere there were wins for Chelsea, who eventually overcame a stubborn Ipswich side, and Middlesbrough, who scored a late goal to knock Wolves out.
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