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Mark Middling, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Scrapping FA Cup replays has upset smaller clubs, but they could still win from being matched against the top sides

Newport County took on Manchester City in the 2019 FA Cup. Jacek Wojnarowski/Shutterstock

Football fans delight in historic moments enjoyed by their club. Exeter City supporters for example, will have fond memories of the FA Cup third round match their team played on the wintry afternoon of January 8 2005.

Jubilant scenes greeted the final whistle after the side fought valiantly to secure a 0-0 draw, which gave Exeter City two things worth celebrating. First, as a non-league side in the fifth tier of English football, they had gone toe to toe with Alex Ferguson’s hugely successful Manchester United at Old Trafford. And second, they secured themselves a lucrative replay to decide which team would progress to the fourth round.

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