Saturday January 3, 2009 17:52

FA Cup 3rd Round - Stoke City Crash Out

Posted by The Soccer Blogger as FA Cup

The FA Cup hits the traditional 3rd Round stage which is when the big Premier League team come into the competition.

This is when the “little” or lower league teams can meet the big boys and the giant killing can take place. And over the years the spirit of the FA Cup has certainly produced some amazing results. There’s no cup competition quite like the FA Cup anywhere.

On Friday night two of the Premier League teams kicked off the 3rd round and it was Tottenham Hotspur who progressed at the expense of Wigan. Spurs are of course managed by the current FA Cup winning manager, Harry Redknapp, who steered Portsmouth to Victory over Cardiff City at Wembley last May beating Cardiff City.

The second game of the 3rd round however produced yet another giant killing when, in the early kick-off on Saturday lunchtime, lowly Hartlepool, a team that plays in the third tier or League One of the English Leagues, beat the Premier League side Stoke City 2 - 0.

Hartlepool scored twice in the second half. A goal four minutes into the second half gave Hartlepool the lead. The giant killing win was secured in the 76th minute with a shot into the top corner from 25 yards.

That’s the glory and the excitement of the FA Cup and at the time of writing there looks like there could be yet another giant killing on the cards. The once mighty Nottingham Forest, former European Champions, but now struggling in the lower leagues are currently 3 - 0 ahead against the world’s richest club, Manchester City. Amazing really! Stay tuned as more will be coming about the FA Cup.

Cheers

Rik

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