Go Havant! and Waterlooville!
It's a few years since i discovered the wonder that is the FA Cup. (Yeah, they've only been playing it for something like 120 years. I'm a little late to the party.) It's a fascinating competition, unlike anything in the US sports world. Imagine the NCAA basketball tournament. Multiplied a thousandfold.
I wrote about it a while back, when the Brewers of Burton Albion held the mighty Red Devils of Manchester United to a draw in their third round match, and earned a replay at Old Trafford. The money earned from that game has obviously been put to good use, as Burton's part-timers are in the thick of the battle for promotion to League 2.
This year's Cinderella story belongs to non-league Havant and Waterlooville, a mid table team in the Conference South. That's a couple of divisions lower than League 2, by the way. H&W just knocked off Swansea City, who are the current League 1 leaders, and advanced to the fourth round. I think they're the first non-league team to make it that far in a decade or so. Their reward is a match against mighty Liverpool, at Anfield, where instead of the 50 or so family members they're used to playing in front of, there'll be 50,000 some fans screaming "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the top of their lungs.
Seriously, this is like your American Legion baseball team getting into a tournament with the Boston Red Sox. And playing at Fenway.
The game is scheduled for Saturday, the 26th. FSC is showing League 2 bottom dwellers Mansfield v Premiership mediocrities Middlesborough. Oh, well.
I wrote about it a while back, when the Brewers of Burton Albion held the mighty Red Devils of Manchester United to a draw in their third round match, and earned a replay at Old Trafford. The money earned from that game has obviously been put to good use, as Burton's part-timers are in the thick of the battle for promotion to League 2.
This year's Cinderella story belongs to non-league Havant and Waterlooville, a mid table team in the Conference South. That's a couple of divisions lower than League 2, by the way. H&W just knocked off Swansea City, who are the current League 1 leaders, and advanced to the fourth round. I think they're the first non-league team to make it that far in a decade or so. Their reward is a match against mighty Liverpool, at Anfield, where instead of the 50 or so family members they're used to playing in front of, there'll be 50,000 some fans screaming "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the top of their lungs.
Seriously, this is like your American Legion baseball team getting into a tournament with the Boston Red Sox. And playing at Fenway.
The game is scheduled for Saturday, the 26th. FSC is showing League 2 bottom dwellers Mansfield v Premiership mediocrities Middlesborough. Oh, well.
Labels: FA Cup
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