FA Cup third round (and onward) 2006

Well done both teams.

That was a classic, and Stevie G's second goal was an absolute belter. All the West Ham penalties were rub, except Teddy's obviously.

Did anyone else see what looked like TUMBLEWEED floating across the pitch during extra time? Possibly because none of the players could move by then. That extra time was high comedy, just like park football.

Avanti!

xpost - oh God...NSFT, Jerry

Oh, I've just switched to BBC Scotland via digital and I can't watch it. The message on screen says it's available on freeview though.

It was on telewest. My dads a hearts fan. He's happy cuz he knows Gretna deserved to win (despite hearts not getting a stonewall penalty)
Thats how good gretna were.
Im glad they got beat tho. Bloody moneybags chelsea of the lower divisions :) Romance of the cup my arse!

Too tired for rational thought right now, so more tomorrow, but the whole occasion was magnificent, and also the most friendly and respectful atmosphere between two sets of fans it's ever been my privilege to be involved with.

I think Gretna got in because Hearts qualified for the Champions League (Qualifying rounds).

They won't do any worse than other Scottish teams in the UEFA Cup recently as they've spent a lot of money (and wages) on experienced premier league players in the past 2 seasons. Even before a ball was kicked in the season they won the 3rd division everyone knew they would go straight through the divisions to the premier , but It's incredible that they did make the Scottish Cup Final and they had a right good go at hearts and really did deserve to win on their 2nd half performance.

I don't think it will be Gretnas last final either.

Let's ponder the last two seasons if Gerrard had left Liverpool in summer 2004, as many expected. Good, isn't it? When's the next bus to this alternate universe?

This brings me onto Pardew - we were sat 18 rows behind him so I found myself watching him a fair amount, he is absolutely fascinating, really lives the game, and when you see him have words with an on-coming sub you can really see him get through to them.

Liverpool were...... subdued, not sure what happened there, maybe it was nerves (surely not though?) or maybe the end of a 63 game season. We looked second to the ball on many an occasion, in the first half hour or so, even Gerrard was pretty wasteful and off the pace. Carragher had the worst game I've seen in a long while and the premierships most on-form keeper had a bit of a stinker for the most part. He was slipping all over the place for one.

Both sets of fans though were amazing, the last chorus of bubbles got such a round of applause from the scousers, and the West Ham fans, in the majority stayed on to applaud the Liverpool players too. indeed, before and after the game there were no tensions that I saw at all.

all in all, absolutely wonderful day *sigh*

I've had enough of these last-minute sitters going astray against the Filth - Shevchenko, Gudjohnson, Cole, now Harewood. Maybe it's payback for Michael Thomas in '89.

Chris is right - Liverpool were there for the taking yesterday, inferior in every department; West Ham's goals may have been fortunate but they really could've finished the game off before Stevie G's party piece. There was a corner around 85min which they wasted entirely, letting the ball run out thinking a substitution was taking place, which resulted in a Liverpool throw - there were lots of little incidents like that (mostly nothing-challenges yielding Liverpool freekicks) after Konchesky's goal which thwarted West Ham.

I'm glad I'm not much of a patriot - I can watch the World Cup now hoping for drama like yesterday safe in the knowledge that I won't be screaming at the TV in frustration. It's hardly the Kirin Cup, is it?

(I enjoyed what I saw of your cup final down there, but I also enjoyed our one up here too. Hurrah for pubs with two tellies showing different games!)

For me, the higlight was the Ricky Villa interview.

I don´t see how anyone can call a game with some many mistakes, half an hour of useless extra time, and a "victory" on penalties, "the best game of modern times" unless modern times means this week, or they are telling fibs.

But then I did fall asleep, it might hab¡ve been really exciting while I was asleep.

Glad the cockneys lost though, I dislike their double nazi salute, which probably isn´t a double nazi salute but is harsh on the eys, whatever it is.

Thought Riise was pretty awful, gave the ball away incessantly, on the other hand Finnan had quite a decent game. Kronkamp looked useful enough when he came on but I guess everyone was so tired by then. Momo Sissoko seemed to really give it a great effort, and is very good at nicking the ball.

But West Ham definitely looked more dangerous, everytime they went forward Liverpool were shakey, the reverse was not true at all, after it was 3-2 we looked dead and buried.

I watched Arsenal-Sheffield Wednesday; I watched Liverpool-Man Utd; I watched Arsenal-Newcastle and Man Utd-Newcastle; I watched Liverpool-Sunderland. I even went to Chelsea-Villa. And this is how I'm repaid. Sick. As. A. Parrot.

What great games have you been forced to miss due to circumstances beyond your control?

Oh, and commiserations to Mikey G.

It is disappointing from a Hammers perspective to come so close, not once, but twice. For all the talk about Reina coming good with his penalty saves, it was the tip onto the post in extra time which was most important.

I stayed in Abagavenny and the train back was crammed with Liverpool sipporters. They were great, although I did point out that "we all dream of a team of Carraghers" might be a counterproductive gameplan.

Superhuman MOTM - Stevie Gerrard
Mortal MOTM - Danny Gabbidon (just shaded it over Yossi)

Arsenal 1 Man Utd 2 - FA Cup semi-final replay 1999 with the legendary Giggs goal: living in Italy without a mobile phone, or regular access to the internet, or anywhere showing English football on satellite TV, popped down to Milan the next day and got the international edition of The Guardian which just said 'the score was 1-1 with the game heading into extra-time' so didn't even know the result until nearly 24 hours after the match.

Man Utd 6 Arsenal 1 - 2001: similar to above, got the score in a text message, have never seen the goals

Man Utd 2 Arsenal 0 - 2004: the invincibles are vinced, I'm on a plane somewhere over Spain

Arsenal 2 Man Utd 4 - 2005: the invincibles are thoroughly vinced in their own backyard, I'm teaching English to bored Czechs

I'd completely forgotten this game took place.

I missed the previous 3-3 Cup Final in 1990 because I was in Picton Library in Liverpool, desperately cobbling together something on LASERS for my degree. Not exactly beyond my control, as I could've got my finger out and got all my assignments/minor projects out of the way before my finals were in sight, but there we are. I got a 2:2 (before extra time).

That, and the 2002 final (when I was in Edinburgh for a wedding and couldn't be bothered searching for a boozer than wasn't showing Celtic-Rangers), are the only FA Cup finals I've missed since 1976. (I have the vaguest memory of Montgomery's heroics in '73 and of Keegan humbling Supermac the following year, but no memory of the West Ham and Southampton wins that followed.)

I suspect I missed Scotland 3-2 Holland in '78 because I wasn't allowed to stay up late on account of it being "a meaningless match". Dad was right. Less forgivable was being sent to bed before extra time started in the '79 ECWC final between Barcelona and Fortuna Dusseldorf (I was supporting the Germans).

Furious checking on BBC and eventually Robbie Keane equalised. Still bet it must have been amazing to have seen it.

Missed a few, maybe all of the Everton Liverpool FA Cup saga, I wasn't allowed to stay up, I remember each morning getting up early and waking up my dad to ask who had won, and thinking he was joking when he said it was a draw. Then eventually we lost, 1-0, Dave Watson, if I remember correctly.

Missed Liverpool beating Portsmouth on penalties, in the game I got muddled up about, possibly on this thread last week. I remember watching it on the early news the next day, the shootout.

Missed the first 70 minutes of Juventus Liverpool last year, second leg, I arranged to go out with my girlfriend and it was early days back then so when I realised the match was on I didn't want to cancel or anything. After we went to a film and ate dinner I said "let's go for a drink" and then kind of owned up.

It was ok though, I think she enjoys watching me pull freakers watching Liverpool, or so she says....

So, I'm the only one who thought it was a load of shit then? There have been so many last minute winner/equalisers etc lately that they have ceased to be remarkble.

I think Wednesday's EUROPEAN CUP FINAL may be my last football match ever. Well, perhaps that is a bit over the top. But untill the stop shooting streamers up in the air when a cup is presented, I am withdrawing my support.

Oh, I forgot about England-Jamaica.

I missed Villa away to Dinamo Tblisi (or someone) because I was at the dentist's. It wouldn't have been on the telly though, just the radio. Match kicked off earlier than I thought too (to save electricity!). I think it was nil-nil.

This is true. It's like in the last World Cup when the upsets started to get a bit boring after a while.

Dave – Vialli book was great. The chap from Supporters Direct had many interesting and informative things to say.

We need a period of drama-free games to replenish our wonder circuits.

I think most people who follow a team have a massive backlog of drama-free matches stored in their brains by this stage of the season. Most of the last two months as an Evertonian has been pretty dull.

Listening on the radio probably doesn't count as "missing" a match, does it? I was on a train for Everton 4-4 Leeds in '99, which, I presume, was on Sky somewhere.

surely a good thing?
except i kind of agree just because i wanted more big countries clashing.

Don't do that to yourself, Alba. It should be an accident of birth not a lifestyle choice.

Another sodding Stereolab box set?

I seem to spend every May moaning about streamers in the air.