Times Sport editor John Hutchins offers his personal opinion on the events, topics and personalities in the world of sport.

THERE’S a fairly annoying phrase which BBC football presenters such as Gary Lineker use all too often these days — ‘the Magic of the FA Cup.’

The cynic in me says they only have been saying this particular phrase since the corporation secured the television rights for ‘the oldest football cup competiton in the world.’

But there was certainly some stardust in the air on Saturday when non league Lincoln City beat Burnley of the Premier League 1-0 on their home turf of Turf Moor in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Although ‘little’ Lincoln are deservedly riding high and top of the Vanarama National League there are 81 places separating the two sides in the league pyramid.

When goalscorer Sean Raggett — a player who has only been playing full time football since this season, rose to head the ball home late in injury time, it was Lincoln’s only ‘attempt’ on goal of the game. No wonder their few thousand fans went wild. To put the feat by Lincoln into context it was the the first time a non-league side has made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 103 years!

They weren’t the only ‘giant’ killers. Division one’s Millwall gave current League Champions and last year’s ‘magic team’ Leicester City a bloody nose. Sutton United, of the National League, also brought applause from football fans after their exploits — winning their way through to the fifth round with some notable league scalps on the way before going down to the mighty Arsenal.

I witnessed a little allure myself when I saw Plymouth Argyle play a great cup-tie against Liverpool at Home Park — although the real magic was deservedly reserved for the Green Army, who had made the trip to Anfield a week before, to witness the wonderful draw.

Now the Imps, as Lincoln City are known, have been drawn against the mighty Arsenal.

So the ‘Magic of the FA Cup’ still lives on — ‘Come on You Imps.’