Magic of the Cup

Two of my adopted cities were drawn together in the FA Cup, but today loyalties were firmly with the home side, as Bradford City triumphed over Sunderland and so won through to the last eight. 

The largest crowd seen at Valley Parade in over fifty years, and indeed a record crowd since it became an all-seater stadium, didn't let up singing and cheering. Early goals in both halves stopped the atmosphere getting too tense.

This image captures the two teams walking out, greeted by a wall of claret and amber at the kop end. 10yo and I will be watching tomorrow's draw for the sixth round with intense interest. With nephew Adam having helped Blackburn through to the last eight yesterday, we still have plenty of family interest in the competition. But perhaps we can save a repeat of the Bradford-Blackburn pre-season friendly for a semi-final or final at Wembley?

One last word for the Black Cats' fans, who made their own contribution to the atmosphere and showed some class in warmly applauding City on their lap of honour.