And, by the time the game finished, the Cup holders included Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Smith. This was a bona fide piece of David matching Goliath.At the end, the Exeter players were given a standing ovation from Old Trafford and the 10,000 supporters who had made the journey from Devon reacted like they had won the final. In a sense they had.”The overwhelming emotion I have is pride,” Alex Inglethorpe, the Exeter manager, said. “I’m incredibly proud of the team, not just the way they played but the way they have conducted themselves over the last week on and off the pitch. From the first man to the last they were magnificent.”Sir Alex Ferguson, who guided United to a record 11th win in the competition last May, did not mince words.

“It was our worst performance in the FA Cup since I have been at the club,” he said. “We can only apologise to the fans because they deserved better than that. We worked hard but the quality wasn’t there.”When faced with the charge that he had brought the performance on himself by picking an inexperienced team, he replied: “We have used young players in the past in the League Cup and it hasn’t affected our performance. To be fair to his players, both were injected into their performance at the start of the second half.Eric Djemba-Djemba was just wide with a shot in the 47th minute and Jones, who was described by his manager as the team’s best player, had a shot saved off the line by Scott Hiley a minute later.When the goal did not come, however, and Moxey fired a shot dangerously close to his side’s bar, Ferguson’s patience came to an end and after 62 minutes he was forced to introduce two of his more celebrated charges, Scholes and Ronaldo.The result was almost instantaneous as Scholes swept the ball to the right and arrived in the area to receive the cross, teeing up Kieran Richardson. The end result was similar to what had gone before, however: a shot straight at the goalkeeper.Smith was also introduced in an attempt to grab a goal for the increasingly embarrassed United, but although the home team bombarded the Exeter area, they could not get a goal to spare their blushes.A 25-yard shot by Ronaldo was superbly saved by Exeter’s on-loan goalkeeper Paul Jones, diving to his left after 78 minutes, and in stoppage time Scholes almost nipped in when a tackle broke to him on the edge of the area. The no-nonsense defender left Old Trafford two years ago and has just re-established himself in Bryan Robson’s starting XI after injury.Coca-Cola Championship: David Healy (Leeds United)The Ulsterman made three appearances for United while a trainee, but was picked up by David Moyes at Preston for £1.5m in January 2001. I have by no means accomplished a fraction of what I want to achieve.”Should he play at Anfield, and do well, there will be a renewal of the interest that Premiership clubs showed following his early-season goal burst.

Lewington will hope Webber, and Watford, have a good night in this first semi-final leg, since the last time he took a team to Liverpool in the competition, as Fulham’s newly appointed player-manager in September 1986, he came away with a 10-0 defeat; the biggest humiliation of his life, he says.What became of the wannabe babes?By James CorriganBarclays Premiership: Ronnie Wallwork (West Brom)The Manchester lad signed for United straight from school in 1994 and earned notoriety on loan at Royal Antwerp when attacking a referee. If I’m good enough to train I’m good enough to play, good enough to take the knocks. I would just like to get back into it, get on with my football again, especially against Liverpool.”I have played against them through the ranks, from Under-14s to reserve-team level, but not yet the first team, so I’m keen to show what I can do, because ultimately my aim is a return to the Premiership I haven’t dropped a league to be happy. As long as I’m playing I will try to improve and strive for something better. “It’s a bit early to be starting him,” explained Watford’s manager, Ray Lewington, “but we have had to bring Danny back because of injuries.