Athletic came a cropper once again as they lost their third cup game at the first hurdle, this time going down 2-0 at home to Leeds United in the FA Cup. The game was a history maker in that it was the first live game ever to be broadcast live over the Internet. The Latics gave debuts to goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan and full back Lee Hills (pictured) who had signed on loan earlier in the week from Crystal Palace. A disappointing, paltry 5,552 supporters turned up for the event of which 2,671 (again disappointing) were visitors from across the Pennines.
Manager Dave Penney told the official website, "Without a shadow of a doubt it's disappointing to be out of the cup. They've had a couple of chances and got a goal with a slight deflection which looped it up over the keeper. First half we were not at the races and we had to change our shape to nullify the way Kilkenny was bossing the game. It was down to the shape they played, it allowed Neil to boss the first half, so we changed our shape to counter that. Danny Whitaker came in for Joe Colbeck and he worked on Kilkenny and also provided a threat off the ball going forward towards Deane."
"We created more chances second half. The 'keepers made a good save off Chris Taylor. But it's been the same as all season - mistakes in our box or missed chances in theirs have cost us again. Worse still we've lost Pav now. He's had his op and there's been a slight complication and he could be out 4-6 weeks, which is a big blow. It's not just his goals but his link up play that we'll miss. We have Brooke who can come in, Deane Smalley can play up there as well and Nick Blackman is back now we're not going to get him cup tied."
"Marrow will stay until the end of the season, which is fantastic news for us as he's done really well here. It's a tough game to come in to, Leeds in the FA Cup, but we have to thank Neil Warnock for letting them (Flahavan and Hills) come in. Lee settled in well and got better as the game went on, and Darryl's really not had a lot to do, but made a great stop in the first half. They'll both be available for another long away trip at weekend, but our away form has been excellent and so hopefully we can get back to winning ways."