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THE magic of the FA Cup was made apparent once again this week as several Premier League clubs fell to lower league opposition.
The 'romance of the Cup' (as it is often referred to) seemed to be concentrated around the North-East with rivals Newcastle and Sunderland suffering shock defeats.
Top of the list comes Newcastle, who became only the third Premier League club since its inception in 1992 to fall at the hands of a team in the lowest professional league. Although suffering from a couple of injuries, newly-installed manager Alan Pardew still selected his first choice team but saw them slip 3-1 away at Stevenage.
Sunderland at least had the excuse, if you can call it that, of having selected a reserve team against the football league's oldest club, Notts County.
Other Premier League clubs to fall were Liverpool, to arch-rivals Manchester United, West Brom away at Reading and Blackpool to up-and-coming Southampton who were rewarded with another home tie, this time against Manchester United.
