Cup magic kept alive in Lancashire

THE magic of the FA Cup is back thanks to the heroics of two Lancashire clubs around 20 miles apart.

Those who say the oldest cup competition in the world has lost its appeal only need look at the faces of the players, coaches and fans of Rochdale and Wigan to see it still has the power to stir the deepest emotions.

The two teams, who sit at opposite ends of the League One table, did themselves – and their division – proud, against Tottenham and Manchester City respectively in the space of just 30 hours.

If Rochdale’s last-gasp equaliser to earn a money-spinning replay at Wembley – Tottenham’s temporary home – was the stuff of dreams, then Wigan surpassed them on Monday night with a 1-0 triumph that defied all logic.

Although they are riding high in the third tier, Paul Cook’s team are 43 places below City and on a different financial planet to the Abu Dhabi-backed Premier League leaders who have been hailed as the best team in Europe.

City’s starting team on Monday was valued at £349 million. Compare that to the Latics whose team comprised eight players signed on free transfers, while their most expensive operator was Will Grigg, who effectively paid back his £1.3 m fee with one superb swish of his right foot.

Many will share Grigg’s view that the win was actually a better achievement than when Wigan beat City in the 2013 final simply because of the ever-widening gulf between the clubs.

Back then City were an emerging force – they had been crowned Premier League champions a year earlier – but were nowhere near the slick side they are now. Wigan, of course, were a top-flight team themselves, albeit on their way down.

To put Wigan’s achievement into perspective, City had only lost twice this season – once at Anfield, the other when Pep Guardiola fielded a weakened team for a Champions League ‘dead rubber’. But Wigan achieved the distinction of becoming the first team to beat them and stop them from scoring. Some feat when you consider City have plundered 114 goals this season.

The FA Cup has produced some big shocks in its long and illustrious history.

No one of a certain age will forget Ronnie Radford’s screamer as non-League Hereford knocked out Newcastle in 1972. In 1989, non-League Sutton beat top-flight Coventry – the cup winners two years earlier. Shrewsbury knocked out an Everton side including Wayne Rooney in 2003 while three years ago Bradford City came from 2-0 down to beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea – who went on to win the title.

But considering City’s current standing, Wigan’s win might just be the greatest cup upset of them all.