The Magic Of The FA Cup / Mike Norman / 05 January 2009 / 1

Mike Norman reflects on a spellbinding third round where the underdogs did themselves proud.

It may take a sizeable wand to truly bring back the magic of the FA Cup, but last weekend's third round action went a long way to restoring the prestige in which this magnificent competition is held.

Attendances may be dwindling, but weakened teams and demotivated players are now becoming just a fad, caused by the pressures of staying in the Premiership or qualifying for European football. Whilst winning a league title or the Champions League will always be a major achievement, the Cup affords players and clubs of all statures a chance to achieve something special in their own little way.

A total of 61 goals were sandwiched in between Roman Pavlyuchenko's second half spot-kick on Friday night and Darron Gibson's late strike on Sunday, none more special than Peter Clarke's injury time equaliser at Stamford Bridge.

Clarke was celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday, and playing as a defender for Southend United was faced with the daunting task of trying to keep Didier Drogba from scoring against his club. Not only did he achieve this, but he put in a magnificent man-of-the-match performance that saw him hit the Chelsea crossbar with a late header, before nodding in the goal deep into stoppage time that meant Southend earned an unlikely replay against the Premiership giants.

Clarke will surely never have a birthday as good as this one, but his Southend team are unlikely to keep the party going when they host Chelsea in nine days time. Phil Scolari's men are available to back at just [1.11] To Qualify to round four and at [5.4] to lift the FA Cup in May. I hope Clarke is content with the consolation of getting my nod as the player of the round.

No hat-tricks were scored in round three, and just five players (Pavlyuchenko, James Milner, Robin van Persie, Afonso Alves and Andy Johnson) managed a brace, ironically all Premiership players that in years gone by might have been rested for their respective games.

Arsenal ([7.6] to win outright), Liverpool ([7.2]) and Manchester United ([5.3]) safely made it into round four and are likely to be joined by Chelsea, but collectively, their odds in the Big Four v The Field market remain relatively unchanged - largely down to the fact that the next round promises to be significantly tougher. Liverpool v Everton ([34.0]) and United v Tottenham ([28.0]) undoubtedly being the pick of the fourth round fixtures. The Big Four can be backed at [1.54], The Field at [2.6].

Hartlepool and Nottingham Forest provided the major shocks on the day, Pool beating Premiership outfit Stoke City and Forest thrashing moneybags Manchester City at Eastlands. Both were rewarded with mouthwatering ties in round four. Hartlepool ([820.0]) will host West Ham United ([29.0]) and Forest ([300.0]) will travel to local rivals Derby County ([240.0]) in what promises to be an exhilarating east Midlands derby.

Derby made it into round four by beating non-league Forest Green 4-3 in what turned out to be the game of the round, whilst elsewhere, Torquay ([1000.0]) surprisingly beat stick-of-rock rivals Blackpool and will join other non-league team Kettering Town ([1000.0]) in the next round.

Aston Villa ([12.5]), Fulham ([28.0]) and Newcastle ([38.0]) are the teams that have come in for some support in the Outright Winner market, though Newcastle do have to beat Hull City in a replay before facing either Crewe or Millwall.

As always in the FA Cup, some lower league players proved that they can strike a ball just as well as the Rooneys, Lampards and Gerrards of this world. One of the finest goals of the round came from Sheffield Wendesday defender Tommy Spurr, who struck a magnificent left foot shot into the top corner of the net. Also brilliant was the effort from Harlepool's David Foley, another long range effort, this time after the player had skipped past a few despairing Stoke midfielders.

Hitting back for the Premiership was Albert Reira's cracking shot from the angle that found its way into the Preston net, and Leon Osman's technically brilliant goal against Macclesfield. The Everton player chested down a clearance on the edge of the box before unleashing an unstoppable half-volley that hit the underside of the crossbar. Mind you, back to the lower league players and Nathan Tyson's (Notts Forest) dipping volley and Jonathan Smith's (Forest Green) 25-yarder weren't bad either.

Foley's strike just gets my vote for the goal of the round, but what about you? Let me know who you think scored the best.

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1. SLou | 06 January 2009

   I think Tommy Spurr's goal was a cracker but agree there were many great goals at the weekend

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