The good, bad and ugly of the third round…
THE BIGGEST WINNERS
UNLIKE Newcastle, Cambridge United are not the be-all and end-all of their city. But when spending a day at the Abbey Stadium in November, Sportsmail found a forwardthinking club with a family feel. in the city more famed for its university, the U’s took a punt on an inexperienced coach who graduated from their Under 8s side all the way to the first team. Mark Bonner, 36, had never kicked a ball in professional football but is a personable, positive coach who now can put this 1-0 giant-killing on his c.v. alongside a shock promotion to League One last term.
BIGGEST LOSERS
IS ‘the magic of the cup’ dead? the broadcasters certainly think so. the BBC and itV missed potential upsets, instead choosing two ties which happen again in the Premier League next weekend: West ham against Leeds and Manchester United versus Aston Villa. their desire to show top-flight quality matches is understandable but misses what the Cup is about. Lowest-ranked Kidderminster knocked out second-tier reading in dramatic fashion and their chairman summed it up. ‘Why has the world of sport forgotten about us when we are the lowest-ranked club?’ asked richard Lane. ‘it is disgusting. the Cup thrives on the aspirations and dreams of lower clubs. that is not being shown live, it is wrong.’
BEST LAUGH
CHORLEY players sang Adele’s Someone like you to toast every win on their run to the fourth round last year — maybe they have started a trend. this year it was Boreham Wood’s turn to crank up the tunes, with a rendition of Wheatus’ Teenage Dirtbag.
HISTORY MAKER
REBECCA WELCH made history this weekend as the first female to referee a men’s FA Cup third-round tie — Plymouth’s win at Birmingham City. the former NhS administrator has had a meteoric rise and marked the occasion with a red card for City’s George Friend.
BEST INTERVIEW
MANCHESTER CITY’S Cole Palmer was a delight in their win at Swindon, as was his honest and raw post-match interview. When asked if the next step was breaking into the league side, his thick Wythenshawe accent replied in a non-media-trained style: ‘i know yeah delighted, Prem soon come but i gotta take it game by game.’ then asked a question about boss Pep Guardiola, he misheard and said, ‘Who?’ Stand-in boss rodolfo Borrell soon followed up to confirm he had been in constant contact with Guardiola — until his phone ran out of battery!
SECOND-STRING STAR
WHOLESALE changes by topflight teams allow others to flourish, and Michael Olise was the pick of the bunch. the Crystal Palace midfielder has been plagued by injury since his summer move from reading, but this was a stellar showing. he scored Palace’s first goal and assisted the other in their comeback win at Millwall. the home fans threw bottles at him as he took a corner, leading Olise to gesture a ‘shush’ and ‘keep them coming’. Palace boss Patrick Vieira slammed Millwall fans for homophobic chants and booing his side’s players taking the knee.
BEST AWAY END
THERE were some big and loud away followings up and down the country this weekend but hats off to the five Southampton supporters who had travelled to south Wales. their match with Swansea was behind closed doors due to local Covid restrictions, but a bunch of Saints fans stood in the car park and greeted the team buses with flags and scarves. they would have been warmed by a well-earned win but let’s hope they didn’t wait outside through the full 120 minutes of action.