LONDON (AP):
MANCHESTER UNITED'S millionaires were embarrassed yesterday, held to a 0-0 draw against Exeter in the third round of the FA Cup. Exeter are ranked 100 places below the Red Devils in the hierarchy of English soccer.
It was a bad day for the northern city of Manchester as fellow Premier League side Manchester City was ousted from the Cup by Oldham 1-0.
All told, four Premier League sides were eliminated from soccer's oldest knockout competition all beaten by lower division teams. Three other Premier League teams were held to draws again by lower-ranked opposition and face replays later this month.
In addition to Man City, Aston Villa fell 3-1 at Sheffield United, Crystal Palace lost 2-1 at Sunderland and Norwich went down 1-0 at West Ham.
Joining Man United with draws were Blackburn and Fulham. Blackburn drew 1-1 at Cardiff and Fulham played a 1-1 tie at Watford.
FIRST-TEAM PLAYERS
Man United manager Alex Ferguson rested some of his regulars. But in the second half he sent on three key first-team players Paul Scholes, Alan Smith and Cristiano Ronaldo but they failed to breakdown Exeter before stunned fans at United Old Trafford Stadium.
A screaming hoard of 9,000 Exeter supporters stood up for the last few minutes cheering their team.
A club that was near bankruptcy a few seasons ago, Exeter can count on another rich payday in the replay later his month.
"The players can go away tonight feeling incredibly proud of their performance," manager Alex Inglethorpe said. "Obviously we have to think about the return now."
