Which was the biggest ‘cupset’ of the third round? 1/2
We reached the round of the cup which is prestigious for dishing up shock results yesterday, and although Saturday’s games did not offer a massive amount of goals in comparison to years previous, there were a number of ‘cupsets’ worth mentioning.
We will start with non-league Macclesfield Town who came from behind to show Championship leaders Cardiff the exit door with a late double in front of the 3165 fans that turned up to watch.
It took a while for the Bluebirds to make a breakthrough but when they did it looked like they were going to stretch their lead and take their place in the 4th round of the competition. However, the Blue Square Bet Premier side made sure they put up a fight, and when Matthew Barnes-Homer levelled the game in the 85th minute the home fans felt this could be their day. An 88th minute penalty, converted by the same man, was enough to eliminate a weakened Cardiff side.
Probably not as much of a shock as the first one, but not many people had Oldham down to get a victory from their trip to Nottingham Forest, especially not when Forest took the lead after just 13 minutes. Call it the Alex McLeish effect, a draw and now 2 losses from his 3 games in charge, but if he wants to get the fans off his back then surely this is the sort of game you need to win?
Well, when Matt Smith put the ball in his own goal the smile on McLeish’s face showed his relief, but it was wiped off after a 4 minute brace from Robbie Simpson in the second half. The first was an impeccable long-range hit and the second a clever header, with Jose Baxter scoring a 3rd from a free kick. Boos rang out and Billy Sharp’s late consolation was not enough to warrant a positive response from the fans, and who can blame them?
It is more than an exit from the FA Cup for Forest, it implies that their recruitment of the former Villa manager is a step in the wrong direction in their fight to reach the Premier League.
0 comments