Gav says…
When someone mentioned that we’d beaten Oxford on the way to reaching our last FA Cup final in 1992, I did take a look at who else was in the draw to see if any of the other teams we faced that year were still in, and to my amazement, they all are.
Liverpool, Norwich, Chelsea, West Ham and Port Vale are all still in the competition, so it felt poetic when we drew one of them out of the hat for the fifth round…sort of.
Romanticising aside, you have to admit that Sunderland have gotten another favourable
draw regardless of who wins between Bristol City and Port Vale. Just ask the Mags — they’ve got to go to Manchester City again, which is of course hilarious.
You have to play the big boys at some point if you want to win the FA Cup, so we can’t fear it but I’d still like to avoid one of the top sides for as long as possible.
If we can get past whomever we’re due to face, the prize for winning in the round after that will be a trip to Wembley in the semis, and considering the ride that Sunderland have taken us on over the last decade or so, it almost seems written that we’ll end up there again.
But those are just dreams. There’s a lot of hard work to do before then, and we can’t take either of Bristol City or Port Vale for granted, because if we do, we’ll end up losing and being dumped out by a lower league side, and that simply wouldn’t be acceptable.
We’ve had an excellent season but now we’re all but safe, I’d like to see us make winning the cup a priority.
We’ve got the squad to do it, but even getting to Wembley for a semi-final takes a massive amount of focus, luck and hard work.
Ciaran McKenna says…
This game won’t be easy, but it’s a good opportunity to progress further in the competition.
I had a strange feeling we were going to get a tough draw against someone like Manchester City or Arsenal, so I was glad to be wrong. Port Vale are struggling in League One and Bristol City’s patchy form has seen them slip out of the playoff places, so on paper, it seems to be very winnable and a draw to be pleased about.
However, no game is a given.
I’m sure that regardless of form or league position, both possible opponents will be up for it. They’ll have home advantage and a place in the quarter-finals is a big motivator, so it’s not a game to be taken for granted.
This fixture will be sandwiched between a midweek bout at Leeds and a home game against Brighton, so it comes in a busy schedule that could force Régis Le Bris’ hand in terms of squad rotation. Also, due to the rearrangement of Port Vale and Bristol City’s game, the game is now going to be played only three days before FA Cup weekend, and I can imagine that will be annoying for Le Bris and the staff to plan around.
He’s clearly taking this competition seriously and I hope this continues. I want to see a good side out for this fixture and hopefully a confident, professional performance that results in a win and a place in the last eight.
John Wilson says…
We should never take anyone for granted as either of these sides will be very tricky indeed unless we aren’t totally focused and as up for the battle as they will be — especially Bristol City.
That said, it’s a fantastic chance to reach the quarter final stage.
If we play anywhere near our capability, we should be able to reach the last eight and once that stage is reached, anything is possible, and we’d be one game away from a trip to Wembley.
When do we dare to dream? Exciting times. Haway the lads!
