Everton 0 Oldham Athletic 1More depressing than Dave Kitson's dismissal of the FA Cup last week was the resounding chord it struck throughout the Premier League. For those who contest the Reading striker's belief that the riches of the English top flight have made an inconsequence of this grandest cup, Goodison Park mercifully restored the faith.
As the sixth-placed side in the Premier League trudged off embarrassed, disconsolate and deservedly beaten, their manager left bloody-nosed by a comparative rookie, Oldham Athletic of League One cavorted before 5,000 delirious supporters and the applause of the few Evertonians who remained. Several Everton players later entered the visiting dressingroom to congratulate opponents guaranteed a £75 bonus for the upset of the round but who, irrespective of age or experience, could place no value on their elation. The FA Cup does not rest on which two members of the "big four" bore the nation to tears in May.
For 19-year-old Deane Smalley, the outstanding Jean-Paul Kalala and Reuben Hazell, the matchwinner Gary McDonald and the 21-year-old forward Craig Davies who, along with his fellow striker Lee Hughes, drove Phil Jagielka and Alan Stubbs to distraction an unaccustomed place in the spotlight was theirs to savour. Yet the appeal of victory was no less for a 38-year-old veteran of the Premier League and the 1991 FA Cup final.
"I would imagine I'll be legless by about midnight - and I will be buying," said Mark Crossley, who became the second goalkeeper to save a penalty in the final when he denied Gary Lineker 17 years ago, and rated this experience among his career highlights. "We've got maybe four lads in that changing room who are on £200-£300 (€268 to €401) a week and so it is great for them to get a £75 (€100) win bonus for this."
Unlike in 1991, when his penalty save could not prevent Nottingham Forest losing to Tottenham, Crossley's contribution was pivotal here. A first-minute save from the striker James Vaughan rescued Oldham during a troubled, insecure opening and enabled John Sheridan's side, 13th in League One and missing four key players through injury, suspension and expired loan spells, to compete comfortably with a dreadful home performance.
The victory was secured when McDonald drove a wonderful shot from 25 yards over the fragile guard of the nervous Everton goalkeeper Stefan Wessels on the stroke of half-time and it vindicated Crossley's decision not to bring his 20-year playing career to an end last summer. "When I left Fulham in the summer I thought I might have to pack it in," he revealed, "but then John Sheridan said 'Come and give it a go up here,' and I'm loving it.
"I turned down a couple of coaching jobs with QPR and Norwich because I didn't want to pack in playing and it's great to see what a tight-knit club this is. Everyone pulls together from the tea lady to the owners and, although I know my career is running out, this is fantastic."
