Watching Match Of The Day, it occurs to me that - more often than not - it's the goalkeepers who really perform during FA Cup outings.

I may be biased. I'm a goalkeeper myself (or at least I was the last time I played, in the dim and distant past) and it's usually a thankless task. No one really notices when you play well, everyone can tell when you make a howler because a goal against your side is the inevitable end result. You have to have a bit of a masochistic and/or insane streak, which explains how people like Bruce Grobbelaar are compelled to join the profession.

Anyhow, all the top performances by lowly sides in today's games were aided and abetted by stunning shows of goalkeeping. The Luton Town keeper Marlon Beresford saved a penalty in the game against Liverpool, which very nearly turned into the upset I had earlier predicted, with Luton leading 3-1 at one point (final score: 3-5). The Tamworth keeper was highlighted by the studio panel on MOTD for a string of fine saves and some heroic bravery against Stoke, and the Nuneaton keeper was heralded as 'magnificent' by Middlesbrough boss Steve McClaren.

At the other end of the pitch, these sides were usually offering little or nothing. Tamworth had a few chances but nothing special, and Nuneaton needed a penalty (albeit a coolly taken one) to get on the scoresheet.

It's not just the minnows whose goalkeepers deserve a pat on the back tonight, either. Birmingham's Maik Taylor spared his side's blushes with a series of great saves against tiny Torquay during their 0-0 draw. Which serves as a reminder that the heroics may not be over yet - Nuneaton, Tamworth and Birmingham are all going to be in action a week on Tuesday in the replays of their drawn matches.

Finally, if I were a Colchester United fan tonight, I'd be upset. They pulled off the only 'proper' upset of the day, defeating highflying second tier outfit Sheffield United away from home by two goals to one, only to be shoehorned unceremoniously into the back end of MOTD whilst the show focused on nil-nil draws at Torquay and Stoke. If the coverage had been entirely true to the giantkilling spirit of the day, Colchester deserved to be right up there at the start. But I'm not a Colchester fan. So I'm not upset.