Well another year of Third Round football in the FA Cup was not without its fair share of drama. Of the 20 premiership sides, 6 are already out, 8 only managed a draw and 6 are through. Of the 8 that drew, 4 were playing Premiership opposition meaning another 2 will definitely go out. The other 4 are against lower opposition where anything could happen including the likes of 13 times finalists, Liverpool against League 1 Luton Town.
This surely gives hope to lower league sides with only 8 (min) to 12 (max) Premiership sides left in the 4th round. However this does including the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United who both cruised past their opponents in the 3rd round.
Chasetown FC put up a valiant performance as the lowest ranked team to ever reach the 3rd round but couldn’t manage to get past a resilient Cardiff City. Non-league Havant & Waterlooville managed a well-earned draw against League 1 high-flying Swansea to set up a tasty replay and Southend United had the highest aggregate score of the 3rd Round with a 5-2 victory over local team Dagenham and will now be looking forward to the next round.
If Premiership sides keep getting drawn against each other, it is very likely that a non-Premiership will make the final this year. Bring on May 17th!!!