For 43 surreal minutes yesterday afternoon, one of the best football teams in the country, Liverpool FC, were given a scare by Havant and Waterlooville, a team several leagues below the mighty Reds. Liverpool had to come from behind twice to beat Havant 5-2.
Still respect due to the part-timers from the Blue Square South divison for having a go at Anfield - nobody expected a non-league side to score once, let alone two goals against highly-paid professional footballers who earn between £20,000 ($39,685) and £100,000 ($198,427) a week.
Still respect due to the part-timers from the Blue Square South divison for having a go at Anfield - nobody expected a non-league side to score once, let alone two goals against highly-paid professional footballers who earn between £20,000 ($39,685) and £100,000 ($198,427) a week.
Havant's FA Cup dream journey began against Bognor Regis in September last year. So yesterday's match was their big day, and they seized their moment in the limelight with gusto (which is more than one could say about the performances of some Premier League sides against Liverpool). Watching the interviews on TV last night, you could see what this match meant to the Havant players like their captain, Jamie Collins:
"When he [Steven Gerrard] came on I was standing next to him at a corner and the first thing I said to him was 'can I have your shirt?' He just laughed and replied: 'Sorry, the little man [team mate Alfie Potter] has already beaten you to it.' Then, as the Kop was singing You'll Never Walk Alone, I couldn't help myself and joined in. I was singing it at the top of my voice and he looked at me like I was a weirdo". Classic....
Kudos also to the Liverpool fans for applauding the Havant players off at the end of the game. This match was everything the FA Cup should be about. Unfortunately, these days the FA Cup is more about so-called "big" sides fielding weakened teams, in order to prioritise on entry to/ surrival in the Premier League (delete where applicable). And the BBC did themselves no favours either - they drone on about the "magic" of the competition, yet they overlooked this match for the ties between Mansfield v Middlesborough and Wigan v Chelski. Real smart, BBC TV....
One more thing - it's a pity the majority of those 6,000 Havant & Waterlooville fans who went to Anfield yesterday won't be there to to support the team against Hayes and Yeading next weekend. This team deserves a larger audience than the average home attendance of 600.
Liverpool 5-2 Havant & W'looville
hawks.net (Havant and Waterlooville)
Liverpool 5-2 Havant & W'looville
hawks.net (Havant and Waterlooville)
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