The Hindu : Sport / Football : Manchester United millionaires embarrassed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 10, 2005

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Sport - Football

Manchester United millionaires embarrassed

LONDON, JAN. 9. Manchester United's millionaires were embarrassed on Saturday, held to a 0-0 draw by Exeter in the third round of the FA Cup. Exeter is ranked 100 places below the Red Devils in the hierarchy of English football.

It was a bad day for the northern city of Manchester as fellow Premier League side Manchester City was ousted from the Cup by Oldham 1-0.

``I'll take a replay,'' Manchester United manager said Alex Ferguson, whose team is the defending FA Cup champion. ``I'm not happy to get a replay, but we're still in the Cup. FA Cup football is about shocks.''

All told, four Premier League sides were eliminated from football's oldest knockout competition — all beaten by lower division teams. Three other Premier League teams were held to draws — again by lower-ranked opposition — and face replays later this month.

In addition to Man City, Aston Villa fell 3-1 at Sheffield United, Crystal Palace lost 2-1 at Sunderland and Norwich went down 1-0 at West Ham.

Joining Man United with draws were Blackburn and Fulham. Blackburn drew 1-1 at Cardiff and Fulham played a 1-1 tie at Watford.

Regulars rested

Man United manager Alex Ferguson rested some of his regulars. But in the second half he sent on three key first-team players — Paul Scholes, Alan Smith and Cristiano Ronaldo — but they failed to break Exeter down before stunned fans at United Old Trafford Stadium.

A screaming hoard of 9,000 Exeter supporters stood up for the last few minutes cheering their team.

A club that was near bankruptcy a few seasons ago, Exeter can count on another rich payday in the replay later his month at home.

``The players can go away tonight feeling incredibly proud of their performance,'' manager Alex Inglethorpe said. ``Obviously we have to think about the return now.''

The results:

FA Cup: Third round: Sheffield United 3, Aston Villa 1; Manchester United 0, Exeter 0; Manchester City 0, Oldham 1; Crystal Palace 1, Sunderland 2; Norwich 0, West Ham 1; Blackburn 1, Cardiff 1; Fulham 1, Watford 1; Birmingham 3, Leeds 0; Charlton 4, Rochdale 1; Chelsea 3, Scunthorpe 1; Ipswich 1, Bolton 3; Northampton 1, Southampton 3; Notts County 1, Middlesbrough 2; Portsmouth 1, Gillingham 0; Preston 0, West Brom 2; Tottenham 2, Brighton 1.

Spanish Primera Liga: Sevilla 0, Getafe 0; Numancia 1, Athletic Bilbao 1; Valencia 2, Levante 1. — Agencies

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