‘Cup runs have put Crawley on the map’

FOR the majority of those involved, the third round of the FA Cup is still the date in the football calendar most synonymous with unpredictability and the gloriously enticing idea that anything can happen.

It is the great leveller, the weekend when those from all levels of England’s football structure are forced together. The mix, of course, has produced momentous results. And, on a wider level, few reflect that better than the drastically different careers of these Irish players. From four distinct corners of the third-round draw, they each reflect a different aspect of the day and the type of backgrounds, histories and struggles that make it so intriguing. As virtually all said in some variation of the phrase, “you never know what can happen...”

ALAN BENNETT