Seasiders face Saints in Cup

Last updated : 28 November 2010 By INOIT

Mick Channon
Once again the curse of the FA Cup has landed the Seasiders with another long away trip this time back to the South coast to St Mary's. The Saints breezed past Cheltenham in the second round on Saturday to set up the tie.

The last time Blackpool met Southampton in this competition was back in 1976 after the Tangerines pulled off their own third round giant killing 1-0 win over Burnley with a Bill Bentley goal in front of 20,575 at Bloomfield Road.

The Seasiders then travelled to the Dell on 24th January 1976 in the next round but they were soundly dispatched 3-1 with 2 goals from Mick Channon and one by Bobby Stokes with Terry Alcock replying in front of 21,553. The Saints famously went on to win the FA Cup that season against Manchester United.

The two sides also met in 1974 in the 3rd round in front of 16,212 at the Dell on the 5th January and again returned empty handed in a 2-1 defeat with a consolation goal by Keith Dyson.

Previous meetings occured in 1959 with Pool returning from a 3rd round tie at the Dell in front of 29,265 on 3rd January with a 2-1 win following a Ray Charnley brace. It famously took the Seasiders a 5th round reply after a 1-1 draw at the Dell on February 14th 1953 with Perry scoring in front of 27,543 to earn the right to play Arsenal in the quarter-final. A Saints own goal and a second from Allan Brown helped Pool to a 2-1 win at a 30,000 packed Bloomfield Road as Blackpool progressed on their way to the famous Matthews Final of 1953.

The earliest meeting with the Saints in the FA Cup came in the second round at Bloomfield Road in 1924 with the Seasiders going down 3-1 in front of 19,519 with the Country's top scorer that season Harry Bedford netting for the Tangerines.

The last time the Seasiders met the Saints at St Marys 15,629 saw Ben Burgess convert a penalty in first-half stoppage time to fire Blackpool to their first Championship win of the season. On the 30th August 2008 Burgess beat Saints goalkeeper Kelvin Davis from 12 yards with a low drive after Gary Taylor-Fletcher had been fouled by Southampton teenager Jamie White.

The tie will be played over the weekend of January 8/9.

FA Cup third round: Burnley v Port Vale; Coventry City v Crystal Palace; Bristol City v Sheffield Wednesday; Fulham v Peterborough; Doncaster v Wolves; Brighton or FC United v Portsmouth; Huddersfield v Dover Athletic; Crawley or Swindon v Derby; West Ham v Barnsley; Reading v West Brom; Arsenal v Leeds United; Sheffield United v Aston Villa; Leicester City v Manchester City; Bolton v York City; Blackburn v QPR; Swansea v Colchester; Wycombe v Hereford United or Lincoln City; Stevenage v Newcastle; Burton v Middlesbrough; Millwall v Birmingham City; Southampton v Blackpool; Watford v Hartlepool or Yeovil Town; Chelsea v Ipswich Town; Sunderland v Notts County or Bournemouth; Scunthorpe United v Everton; Manchester United v Liverpool; Hull City v Wigan Athletic; Stoke City v Cardiff City; Tottenham v Charlton or Luton Town; Preston v Nottingham Forest; Norwich City v Droylsden or Leyton Orient; Torquay United v Carlisle United.