Havant and Waterlooville take the lead against Liverpool

The FA Cup is a knockout competition 最引人注目的赛事 between teams from all the English leagues 联赛队 as well as non-league sides. The scale of the competition is immense 巨大的 with more than 700 teams taking part in this year’s tournament.

Surprising results 惊人的比赛结果 are common in the FA Cup, as 'minnows' 小鱼，这里指无名的足球队 from the lower leagues have the chance to take on the stars of the Premier League. This weekend saw Premiership teams Manchester City and Derby lose to Sheffield United and Preston – both from the Championship 冠军赛.

Have a go  People laughed when we said we were going to come here and have a go, but we did just that.   Shaun Gale, Havant & Waterlooville manager

But the real drama was at Anfield where seven-time FA Cup winners Liverpool took on 挑战 Havant & Waterlooville, a non-league 外围队 team made up of 由什么组成 part-time footballers whose real jobs range from primary school teacher to bin man 收垃圾的人.

Havant & Waterlooville captured the hearts 赢得了某人的心 of the nation's neutrals 中间派 by scoring the first goal eight minutes into the game. Liverpool equalised 扳平 only to go behind again when an own-goal 乌龙球 from a Liverpool player took Havant back into the lead.

Great competition  When you see a club six divisions below us playing like that and giving everything, it shows what a great competition the FA Cup is.   Rafa Benitez, Liverpool manager

However, normal service was resumed 重新踢出自己正常水平 in the second half as Liverpool piled on the pressure 给对方极大压力, scoring freely and crushing the would-be 'giant killers' 准强队 5-2.

Havant’s manager Shaun Gale praised his team’s efforts, calling them "magnificent".

"People laughed when we said we were going to come here and have a go," he said, meaning his team planned to play attacking football.

Gale added: "If you sit back 放松警惕 against a team like Liverpool you will be murdered 被干掉, and we certainly weren’t murdered."

Deserved applause  We were magnificent. The standing ovation the Liverpool fans gave us at the end was fully deserved.   Shaun Gale, Havant & Waterlooville manager

The plucky 勇敢的 part-timers were rewarded by a standing ovation 长时间的鼓掌欢呼 from the Liverpool fans after the match.

Even Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool manager, had kind words for the Havant players, calling them "outstanding" 杰出的.

"Credit to them 向他们致敬, they did everything they could and when they scored early on it gave them hope," said Benitez.

As his team progress to the fifth round of the competition, Benitez summed up 总结 the magic of the FA Cup.

"When you see a club six divisions below us playing like that and giving everything, it shows what a great competition the FA Cup is," said Benitez.