WHEN you think about the magic of the cup, you think of battles in mud with teams called Lordstown & Tittsville Albion on grounds so tiny that you can almost smell the players' hair product.

The Tittsville chairman will inevitably double up as the bloke on the turnstile, the corporate hospitality will be an ice-cream van, and the Match of the Day cameras will clog every corner of the craggy stands in the hope of recording a shock giant killing.

It's either that scenario, or a nail biting adventure for the Horns to a "big" club like Man United or Arsenal, where the Golden Boys will battle hard, deserve to win, but tragically lose. 

Watford's third round cup tie with Palace at home then, was hardly an awe inspiring fixture to fill your lungs with FA Cup magic dust. We seem to have played Croydon's Eagles about 8000 times in the past four years.

In fact, only Trevor Brooking pulling "Palace away" out of his velvet FA ball sack would have made Watford's potential cup adventure less exciting. However as I plonked myself down in a half empty (no, let's say half full) Vicarage Road on Saturday, little did I know I'd be treated to one of the highlights of the season so far.

With the lack of cup magic in the air, and home form that makes you want to weep onto your Rookery Stand hotdog at half time, the ground was quiet at kick off. For once it was almost as if the players needed to lift the crowd instead of the other way around as it should be.

Brilliantly skipper Jay DeMerit and his horns certainly did that. Mere minutes after kick off it was clear to see how up for the cup the Golden Boys were, and the atmosphere in The Rookery rapidly lifted.

The drummer got thumping, and with the few empty seats littered around there was plenty of space to wave your arms around screaming when big Dan Shittu ploughed through Palace like a hot chainsaw through butter.

By the end of 90 minutes, there was even a small conga out onto Occupation Road. The Horns had won at home again, at last. Talk about FA Cup magic, that's more magical than Paul Daniels pulling Debbie McGee out of a white rabbit's ear-hole.

Season Ticket holder Lee Coan will be bringing you regular updates on life as a Hornet and following the team on the road throughout the season. To see past articles click here.

The views in this blog are not necessarily the views of Watford Football Club.

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