Manchester United 0-0 Exeter City
The FA Cup Third Round
Saturday 8 January 2005



Exeter City manager Alex Inglethorpe hailed all his players as heroes after they grabbed a memorable draw at FA Cup holders Manchester United.

And Inglethorpe even believes the Grecians can win the replay on Tuesday week at St James' Park after the goalless Third Round encounter at Old Trafford in front of over 67,000 fans.

Asked if the Conference side could achieve the unthinkable of dumping the 11-times winners out of The Cup, he insisted: "Of course we can win the replay. You have to go into games thinking you can win."

Inglethorpe could barely hide his delight over his side's performance: "The players can go away feeling very proud of themselves," he beamed. "Paul Jones in goal has done a really good job for us, but it is difficult to pick out heroes as everyone played their part - even those on the bench.

"We tried to do as much as we could to get a result on the day. And we had to work a little bit harder than usual because of the quality of the opposition.

"There are that many good players at Manchester United and they have so many good options so we knew it would be tough.

"They showed us respect by the quality of their team sheet."

Inglethorpe also had kind words for the nine thousand visiting fans who made the long journey from Devon: "I am delighted for the fans as they have been excellent. I am just glad we've given them a result to keep them happy."

The 0-0 draw means Exeter have another chance to replenish their coffers with a money-spinning replay. And for a club which nearly went bust two years ago, it will prove a much-needed boost to the bank balance.

Inglethorpe joked: "I wasn't under pressure from the Board to get a draw - but it can't do me any harm, can it?

"We nearly went out of business a few years ago so it's a great tonic."

The Teams

Manchester United: Howard, Phil Neville, Brown, Pique, Spector,Eagles (Ronaldo 63), Djemba-Djemba, Jones, Miller (Scholes 63), Bellion (Smith 76), Richardson.
Subs Not Used: Heinze, Ricardo.

Exeter City: Jones, Hiley, Sawyer, Gaia, Jeannin, Martin,Clay (Ampadu 66), Taylor (Edwards 89), Moxey, Devine,Flack (Afful 74).
Subs Not Used: Rice, Sheldon.

Attendance: 67,551

Referee: P Dowd (Staffordshire).