Saints ended a run that goes back to the FA Cup Final at Wembley in 1976
When Saints fans left Wembley Stadium in May 1976 celebrating Bobby Stokes winning goal, they might have wondered when they would see the Club win the FA Cup again, but I doubt they were thinking
"I wonder when we will beat a team in a higher division again"
The answer would be 34 years and the defeat of Ipswich at St Mary's, as incredibly since that great day we have never repeated the feat of winning against a club in a higher division in the competition.
Of course for a large chunk of this period we were in the top flight and thus unable to play anyone in a higher league than us, but their have been seven season when we have had opportunities, although in truth they have been few and far between.
In 76/77 we beat Chelsea and Forest, both in the second division with us and both in replays, before being put out by revenge seeking United again in a replay, and in the following season we beat Grimsby from the 4th division after a second replay at Leicester, before crashing to our fellow second division club Bristol Rovers.
It would then be 28 years before we found ourselves out of the top flight and in the FA Cup able to be drawn against someone in a higher league, in that year 05/06 we beat MK Dons and Leicester before meeting Premier league Newcastle, losing 1-0, in 06/07, Torquay from League 2 were beaten before Man City knocked us out in the fourth round.
07/08, saw Leicester beaten followed by League 2 Bury and then Bristol Rovers beat us in the fifth round, last season of course saw Man Utd visit and soundly thrash us.
So the visit of the Tractor Boys and our 2-1 win became the first higher league opponents to be beaten since that great day at Wembley in 1976, little did Antonio realise wwhen he popper in the winner yesterday, the link between himslef and the greatest goal in the Club's history.