Jan 03 2009
Day of Destiny
For many fans of English football, today is what the game is all about.
Teams from outside the English Premier League that have survived this far lock horns with the big boys in the FA Cup 3rd Round this weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur (managed by 2008 FA Cup winning manager Harry Redknapp) may have already dispatched Premiership rivals Wigan Athletic 3-1 in the Friday night game, but it’s today, Saturday when the competition really goes into second gear.
Between 1pm Saturday and 8pm on Monday 5th January, 64 teams will lock horns in football battle. One game will decide who goes through, and who goes home (unless it’s a draw and they get as replay!) with teams as far apart in league terms as Middlesbrough and Barrow, Histon and Swansea and Blyth Spartans and Blackburn.
Previous FA Cup 3rd Round ties have seen a remarkable amount of giant killing over the years, as the lowly Football League teams (and on rare occasions the non-league teams) have dared to beat some of the biggest names in English soccer.
My own personal favourite was the thrilling tie between Wrexham and Arsenal back in the early 1990s when the North Wales team knocked Arsenal out of the competition through a (former Manchester United star) Mickey Thomas goal.
Classic.
There’s ample opportunity for more upsets this weekend, not least because Liverpool travel to Preston North End this evening with the seaside team getting the chance to embarrass the Premier League leaders live on TV…
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Arsenal v Plymouth 15:00
Birmingham v Wolverhampton 15:00
Cardiff v Reading 15:00
Charlton v Norwich 15:00
Chelsea v Southend 15:00
Cheltenham v Doncaster 15:00
Coventry v Kidderminster 15:00
Forest Green v Derby 15:00
Hartlepool v Stoke 13:00
Histon v Swansea 15:00
Hull v Newcastle 15:00
Ipswich v Chesterfield 15:00
Ipswich OFF Droylsden 15:00
Kettering v Eastwood Town 15:00
Leicester v Crystal Palace 15:00
Leyton Orient v Sheff Utd 15:00
Macclesfield v Everton 15:00
Man City v Nottm Forest 15:00
Middlesbrough v Barrow 15:00
Millwall v Crewe 15:00
Portsmouth v Bristol City 15:00
Preston v Liverpool 17:25
QPR v Burnley 15:00
Sheff Wed v Fulham 15:00
Sunderland v Bolton 15:00
Torquay v Blackpool 15:00
Watford v Scunthorpe 15:00
West Brom v Peterborough 15:00
West Ham v Barnsley 15:00
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Gillingham v Aston Villa 13:30
Southampton v Man Utd 16:00
Monday, 5 January 2009
Blyth Spartans v Blackburn 20:00
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