FOOTBALL: THIS WEEK

On 2 January 1993, the British weather did its best to curtail the FA Cup programme, when frozen pitches, hard frost and a heavy swirling fog caused a third of the third-round matches to be abandoned.

Undeterred, Second Division Hartlepool went ahead with their game against Premiership visitors Crystal Palace, despite the fact that the pitch was icy and the visibility was awful.

Two minnows travelling to Selhurst Park this weekend - Scunthorpe, who play Palace today, and Wrexham, who play Wimbledon tomorrow - can take heart from the underdog's performance five years ago.

A dubious 82nd-minute penalty decision it may have been, and one barely visible that, but Hartlepool still won 1-0. With conditions at Selhurst likely to be wet, if not waterlogged this weekend, slip-ups could happen.