From backyard grounds to a thriller at the Emirates ... The magic of the FA Cup still alive

Ahead of their FA Cup third-round tie against non-league side Tamworth, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou was asked about how his "multi-million pound players" would adapt to the less than posh facilities at the Lamb Ground.

In his response, he said "most have come from places like that. Some worse." Postecoglou himself started his football journey at a community football club in south Melbourne, Australia, where people from Greek origin came together to watch their local club.

It was a true clash David vs Goliath clash, with the two teams on the complete opposite ends of the English football pyramid — Spurs one of the richest clubs in the world with one of the best stadiums in Europe against and semi-professional Tamworth, who can't run the seven showers in the changerooms at once to preserve the water pressure.

Before the game, there was a net malfunction, which needed a bit of masking tape to fix. Spurs' players and management had to walk though to the stadium, while coping abuse from the locals.

Tamworth's players all have jobs, with midfielder Tommy Tonks, who drives a food van for work five days a week, causing Spurs problems with his long throw-ins. Their goalkeeper became a father hours before kickoff, while their manager Andy Peaks has been a professional football manager for precisely three days. He signed a new full-time contract on Thursday, meaning he can leave his job as a support worker at a nearby college.

But you wouldn't have noticed the disparity in resources on the pitch, with Tamworth taking Tottenham to extra time, before Postecoglou sent on the cavalry to save his team's blushes on the day with three goals in the extra 30 minutes played.

In the past Tamworth would have earned a replay for their efforts after the 90 minutes, a big cash injection as they would have split the gate money from the match at Spurs' 65,000-seater stadium. But replays were recently scrapped because of the congested fixture lists. 

It's a shame that there a no more replays, as Tamworth deserved something for keeping Spurs at bay for the 90 minutes in front of their 3,000 supporters. But the players, their management and fans will remember the occasion for a lifetime.

The match between Tamworth and Spurs is what the FA Cup is all about, the magic of the tournament. There was a sense a few years ago that the allure of the tournament was not as used to be, with the big guns not prioritising the world's oldest cup competition.

However, you wouldn't have said so having watched two giants of English football going at it on Sunday. Far removed from the Lamb Ground, the swanky Emirates Stadium played host to a thriller between Arsenal and Manchester United.

There was drama, controversial refereeing decisions, missed chances, a red card and a pulsating penalty shootout, as United claimed an unlikely win to progress to the fourth round.

The FA Cup is alive and well. There weren't many upsets, but enough drama and amazing storylines to show that the game is still for everyone, from the social player to the best in the world.

Sometimes those two species cross paths ... and that is where the magic happens. Let's hope we get more drama and great David vs Goliath tales over the next few months as the cup competition moves into the business stage.

@JohnGoliath82