THE greatest cup competition in the world returned this weekend and there were some incredible games, spectacular goals and fairytale stories that marked the first round proper of the 2010-11 FA Cup. Clubs from the npower Leagues 1 and 2 entered along with non-league sides, who have been qualifying for this stage, some since the middle of August.
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| FAIRYTALE: FC United of Manchester stun Rochdale |
The upset of the weekend was caused by FC United of Manchester, in the first tie of the weekend. The club, formed by angry ex-Manchester United fans over the Glazier takeover in 2004 and therefore, has only been in existence for five years, beat League One side Rochdale 3-2 at Spotland on Friday night. They are now only one round away from a dream tie with Manchester United in the third round. On Saturday, Dover Athletic caused the upset of the day, as they beat Gillingham at the Priestfield in a local Kent derby. Adam Birchall scored the goal of the day, and Luke L’Anson added a second to overcome the Gills 2-0. It was a painful day for Andy Hessenthaler, who quit Dover in the summer and took his coaching staff over to Gillingham. So, it was sweet revenge for his former side.
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| STUNNED: Dario Gradi could only look on at Crewe's shock loss |
Crewe Alexandra was another league side to experience embarrassment at the weekend, as they were beaten at Tamworth 2-1. Dario Gradi has plenty of experience, having managed Crewe for over 20 years. However, he could only watch Alex Rodman and Danny Thomas put his League Two side to the sword. Ashley Westwood pinched a late consolation, but it was too little, too late. Darlington, managed by former Peterborough and Kettering manager Mark Cooper beat Bristol Rovers 2-1 in the other main upset of the weekend.
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| HARD GRAFT: Sheffield Wednesday were made to work hard |
Sheffield Wednesday struggled to overcome a brave Southport side in Sunday’s live terrestrial match. The 1993 finalists were pegged back twice at Haig Avenue, before two goals from Clinton Morrison in three second half minutes helped Wednesday to an eventual 5-2 success. 2003 finalists Southampton also survived a scare, edging past Shrewsbury Town 2-0 at St. Mary’s. The result was cruel on Shrewsbury, who conceded both goals in stoppage time to the Saints. The current pacesetters of League One, Brighton were held to a goalless draw by non-league Woking. Gus Poyet’s men are eight points clear in League One, but he rested several key players and it nearly backfired. Port Vale was another side who narrowly escaped a humiliating loss, needing a late strike from John McCombe to scramble a 1-1 draw at Dartford. It wasn’t all fairytales, as the lowest ranked side left in the competition, Hythe Town went down 5-1 at Hereford United and Tipton Town got dismantled 6-0 at Carlisle United. The game of the day was at Dean Court, where Josh McQuoid scored a hat-trick in Bournemouth’s sensational 5-3 win over Tranmere Rovers.
The FA Cup is back and the long road to Wembley in May 2011 has only just begun.
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