Blades revel in Villa Cup upset

Paul Lambert’s pre-match insistence that the days of FA Cup romance are dead and gone were exploded at Villa Park after goals from Jamie Murphy and Ryan Flynn gave League One Sheffield United a famous third round win.

Lambert labelled the tournament a “distraction” for his top-flight bosses but his words came back to haunt him as the architects of his demise revelled in a victory which clearly meant a lot to the Blades and their 6,000 travelling fans.