Well the fifth round of the F.A. Cup certainly threw up the results we expected and gave no angle for the press to talk up, exaggerate, and sentimentalise over. [END OF ARTICLE] Oh no, wait – that’s not true.
Only two of the weekend’s games threw up the expected results.
Liverpool strolled past Brighton 6-1 at Anfield thanks to goals from Martin Skrtel, Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, and a hat-trick from the prodigiously talented O.G., to set up a match with the weekend’s other obvious winner Stoke – who defeated Crawley 0-2.
Crawley v Stoke – aka ‘The Battle of the Long Balls’ – saw the dumping out of last year’s media darlings, as Crawley’s position was usurped and they were consigned to the scrap heap for another year to lick their wounds and fantasise about happier times when the nation briefly cared about what they did. (There’s no place for you in our stories!)
Clearly the real story of the weekend was the heart-warming tale of plucky underdogs Stevenage holding Spurs to a draw, which has given everyone the chance to talk about this ‘magic of the F.A. Cup’ nonsense again, long after the competition fell way behind the Champions League and the Premiership title in the importance stakes.
In fact, it’s not even as important as finishing fourth in the Premier League… but let’s ignore that and just sing the praises of Stevenage, repeat how wonderful it is that a small team managed to get a result against a Premier League giant, and enjoy until they get absolutely battered at White Hart Lane during the replay.
By Peter Simpson
@weasel_delight
