Yeading v Newcastle United
The FA Cup Third Round
Queens Park Rangers FC, Loftus Road
Sunday 9 January 2005, 1.45pm



FA Cup Third Round Preview video
TheFA.com visits Yeading before the club's massive Cup tie against Premiership giants Newcastle United.
      
  Click here to download Windows Media Player.

There had never been an FA Cup tie quite like Yeading v Newcastle United, who met in the Third Round at Loftus Road this afternoon.

Yeading are a colossal six steps or levels below Newcastle.

Barclays Premiership to Coca-Cola Football League Championship, League One, League Two, Nationwide Conference, Conference South and Ryman League Premier Division.

There has never been such a gap between two clubs meeting in The FA Cup before.

Yes, it was the restructuring of the non-League game last summer that gave us an extra level.

Has there ever been a tie to compare? Well, the closest will be the Fourth Round meeting of Manchester United (First Division) and Walthamstow Avenue (Athenian League) at Old Trafford in 1953. That was a five-step difference, bearing in mind there was no "Fourth Division" in those days.

How did the Avenue get on? They actually managed to draw, 1-1! The replay was played at Highbury five days later and Jack Rowley scored twice in United’s 5-2 victory.

A number of other ties over the years have caught the eye:

  • Burnley (First Division) v New Brighton (Lancashire Combination) in 1957.
  • Newcastle United (First Division) v Wigan Athletic (Lancashire Combination) in 1954.
  • Runcorn (Cheshire County League) v Preston North End (First Division) in 1939.
  • Burton Town (Birmingham & District League) v Blackburn Rovers (First Division) in 1932.
  • Thornycrofts (Hampshire League) v Burnley (First Division) in 1920.
  • Sunderland (First Division) v Chatham (Kent League) in 1914.
  • Burnley (First Division) v South Shields (Wearside League) in 1914.
  • Aston Villa (First Division) v King’s Lynn (Norfolk & Suffolk League) in 1906.

In terms of matches not involving top-division clubs the Harrogate Railway Athletic v Bristol City Second Round tie in 2002 had a five-step difference between the two clubs.

"Nothing quite captures the magic of The FA Cup like a match between a top-division side and one from outside the Leagues", says FA historian David Barber.

"They remain a rarity and it’s 16 years since the non-League team actually came out on top, Sutton United of the Conference beating Coventry City 2-1 at their own little Gander Green Lane ground.

"At Loftus Road on Sunday the disparity between the statures of David and Goliath [was] a little bit greater than it has ever been before".