It's a kind of magic

Although every club would like to have a romantic notion of the FA Cup, Oxford's relationship with it has been pretty poor really. It's not a surprise, in the last twenty years we've only played 8 home ties on a Saturday. Two of those were against non-league teams (Morecambe in 1999 and Dorchester in 1995).

It's been eleven years since we played a league team (Northampton in 1995), and I personally haven't seen a home FA Cup tie on a Saturday, for a variety of reasons, since we lost 2-1 to Chelsea in 94. And even then, I missed the kick-off.

There have been some pluses, I enjoyed going to Eastbourne last year, the Swindon win and visit to Highbury was good, nearly beating Chelsea and equalising in the last minute at Nottingham Forest were highlights, Watford not so because they postponed the first game at the last minute and couldn't get the floodlights on in the second.

Perhaps the most memorable FA Cup moment came after the rip-snorting 3-3 draw with Millwall. A last minute equaliser direct from a corner by Bobby Ford sealed it. As I walked back to the station I watched as a Millwall fan demanded his wife walked in the street rather than the pavement as some kind of penance for their abject display.