FROM fields to fairytales. The match-day programme could not have described Yeading's finest occasion more fittingly, although it was one that Newcastle United ensured did not have a happy ending.

Football's greatest ever mismatch in the FA Cup's 133-year history and one of the North-East's premier clubs could quite easily have gone embarrassingly down in FA Cup folklore again - just as they did in 1972 to Hereford and in 1964 to Bedford Town.

Yeading's collection of plasterers, van drivers and warehouse couriers may only be paid as little as £10 a game but they proved more than their worth against Newcastle's millionaires at Loftus Road.

While Newcastle's star-studded squad arrived all together on the club coach, having spent the night in a hotel after flying down to the capital on Saturday, the little unknown characters of the Ryman Premier had to go it alone.

Striker Errol Telemaque was dropped off almost three hours before kick-off in a rusting Peugeot 105 by his girlfriend, while skipper David Clarke could be seen walking along Wood Lane towards the home of Queens Park Rangers on his lonesome.

Telemaque may not have had a luxurious £50,000 personalised American 4x4 Hummer to get him to the biggest game in Yeading's history but the size of his whole team's performance was far greater.

It may have been billed as The Ding versus The Bling but it was difficult to tell them apart right up until Lee Bowyer handed Newcastle the lead.

There may have been 123 places and six promotions acting as evidence of the massive divide between the two but Yeading's well-organised and well disciplined non-league outfit had the chances to add their name to a long list of FA Cup giantkillers.

Rather fittingly David Bowie's We Can Be Heroes was blasted over the ground's PA system and manager Johnson 'Drax' Hippolyte will wake up this morning proud of his players' achievements.

It was Hippolyte who had stoked the fire ahead of the match by revealing his hopes that Newcastle would field their error-prone centre-back Titus Bramble at the heart of their defence.

So when Bramble appeared alongside the £8m Jean-Alain Boumsong it was clear who Yeading's attacks were going to focus upon.

And the Ruud van Nistelrooy of the Ryman League, DJ Campbell, with 63 goals during the past 18 months alone, led Yeading's advances and caused enough problems to the new-look backline.

Bramble's yellow card, dished out for a second silly foul in a short space of time, looked destined to see the red card and that is why Graeme Souness took the step at half-time to replace him with the more focused Andy O'Brien.

The substitution was hardly unexpected and Bramble's un-necessary booking highlighted Souness' determination to add £7.5m rated Sylvain Distin to his list of January buys.

Those sort of figures are unheard of down at The Warren, Yeading's tiny home that was deemed unsuitable to host yesterday's event, but nevertheless their chairman Phil Spurden will feel like his little club have won the lottery this morning after switching the tie.

With an average crowd of just 137 this season, Yeading played in front of more than 10,000 at Loftus Road and entertained the large away following as well as the much-inflated home support.

Newcastle, with 4,000 members of their London branch alone, are the second best supported club in the country and it was the black and white section of Shepherd's Bush yesterday that went home happy that no Cup shock was forthcoming.

Perhaps the biggest loser in the Yeading side was goalkeeper Delroy Preddie, who would have received a new Ford Focus from a national newspaper had he been able to keep a clean sheet against the Magpies.

And in the first half alone that prize, as well as a place in round four, proved the perfect motivator to his game as he denied Bowyer, Jermaine Jenas and Laurent Robert in a super show.

Instead, unless there is an enormous change of heart, Preddie will have to make do with his L-reg Escort after being unable to do anything to stop either Bowyer's opener or Shola Ameobi's downward header.

Unfortunately for Yeading, Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper, stopped the southerners from grabbing a goal to remember the day by - Harper was forced into two great saves from a long range Darti Brown strike and a Clarke free-kick.

And, as Yeading were given a touching standing ovation from every corner of the ground for their endeavours, it was Newcastle who achieved what Manchester United failed - to progress at the expense of lowly opponents at the first attempt.

After six times of trying, Souness became the first Newcastle boss since the war to succeed over non-league opposition at the first attempt in the FA Cup. Now he will be hoping to go all the way to the final - something they did in 1998 when they beat Stevenage en route via a replay.

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