The FA Cup is the thing of legend. It's the sort of thing that tends not to exist in mainstream North American sport, it throws up games the like of which are not seen in many other sporting competitions. Games where internationally renouned players, playing for clubs with millions of pounds (or should that be dollars) in the bank, and fans in every time zone in the world, are pitted against teams playing in grounds where only a few thousand people can attend, with players who rather than owning massive houses, several cars and a private helicopter, have to go to work like you and I, being anything from a PE teacher to a dustbinman.

One of those massive clubs is Liverpool, owned (at the moment at least) by US duo Tom Hicks and George Gillett, home to international stars Ryan Babel (Holland), Fernando Torres (Spain) and Steven Gerrard (England). They've won 5 European Cups and the FA Cup seven time

One of the minnow clubs are Havant & Waterlooville. Havent & Water-who-ville I hear you say. Well, I don't blame you, they currently lie 123 league places below Liverpool, playing their regular league games in the 'Blue Sqaure League - South'. They are home to such renouned talents as Jamie Collins (School Football Coach) and Tony Taggert (Dustbinman)

And yet for one day, these polar opposites of sport will be put on a level playing field (it's being played at Liverpool's home ground, as undoubtedy Havent's is on a slope as all non-league grounds are required to by law).

It took only a few minutes for the first goal to go in. And I bet you can't guess who it was to. Havent & Waterlooville. Yep, that's not a typo. Richard Pacquette (no news on his occupation) scored after 8 minutes. Don't worry I had to check as well. But it didn't last long, Lukas scored to make it 1-1, but then it happened again, as Havent made Liverpool look like the underdogs as they took advantage of 'hapless', to quote the BBC website, defending, the dream day was back on. Then off again,as Israeli international Yossi Benayoun made it 2-2.

Liverpool were booed off at half time and it was time for Reds' manager Rafa Benitez to earn his paycheck, presumably turning red with the amount of screaming involved. And what ever shade of puce he managed obviously worked as (unfortunately) Liverpool can out looking like they were really better, scoring 3 goals in the second half through Benayoun, who completed his hatrick, and Peter Crouch.

After the match Havent were rightly saluted, applauded and every Liverpool player gave a Havent player an incredible souvenier - their shirt. And even though they lost they still smiled like they'd won.

Yes, it was a dissapointment that Havent didn't perform the biggest Cup shock of all time, or at least of recent years. But I'm not really sure that matters. for a combined about 40 minutes binmen, plasterers and teachers were the talk of a sporting nation. People who don't support Liverpool, or Havent, in fact people who don't even know where Havent is were watching this game like their lives depended on it. The FA Cup remains a gigantic draw in the world of football. Cup matches are often where the spirit of football is seen, they are often the most exciting matches of a season. The 'romance', the 'drama' and 'magic' of it may or may not exist, but it breeds the sort of matches that will remain on archive reels for decades. I don't care how 'almost' this match was, it will still be spoken about for years to come.