No upset, so no romance? Well, superficially, perhaps yes, but if the predictable scoreline is set aside it is possible to claim this as a more than healthy FA Cup occasion.
For, even though Manchester could have scored 10, there was enough sentimentality, especially at the end, to quiver the bottom lip of even the sternest traditionalist. When the final whistle was blown, Walsall's tired players willed their tired legs towards an adoring and deserved ovation from their eight and a half thousand supporters.
Shirts and T-shirts were thrown to the throng before the team set off for the tunnel at the other end of Old Trafford. Along the way they received a second warm reception, this time from the home fans, and not a patronising one.
Hard-bitten scribblers then retired to the press room to hear United manager Alex Ferguson praise Walsall's "good attitude . . . in a good contest . . . they are a tidy team". Above all, Ferguson said: "Credit should be given to Walsall for coming to play. A lot of sides come here just to sit behind the ball."
Walsall's tactics suited United, but respect was due and respect had been given. The man responsible for this appeared next, Jan Sorsensen, a Dane, an outsider, delivering a reminder to the cynical of the FA Cup's soul. "You don't come to the FA Cup to dig graves in front of your own goal," said big fat Jan, as Walsall fans know him.
"You come to make a game of it. This is one of those games that happen every 10 or 20 years to a club like Walsall. So do you want to remember standing on the 18 yard line kicking the ball away for the rest of your life? Or do you want to be able to say `At least we gave them a run for our money."'
Sorensen's choice meant an open fluid match right from a first minute that Walsall dominated. There were not too many of those after that but there were some admirable individual displays from the men in white. In midfield 19year-old Dean Keates - a Paul Walsh look-alike - was neat and adventurous in his passing, as was Gary Porter beside him.
In goal, Jimmy Walker made spectacular saves and was not conspicuously at fault for any of the goals. Up front, Eric Cantona's mate Roger Boli justified his billing with slick turns and 72nd minute goal that prompted his team-mates into a mass mock faint.
Walker said afterwards that he was in a daze and the young goalkeeper's jest was understandable - United had so many attempts on target it was futile trying to list them. Their first effort, however, did not arrive until the 10th minute but then Andy Cole exploited a momentary hesitation in the visiting defence to ping his 20th of the season into the corner. His 21st arrived in the second half after the substitute Erik Nevland - United's fourth Norwegian - had been stopped by Walker.
Ole Solksjaer also scored two - both after Cole's goals - and Ronny Johnsen added a soft fifth two minutes after Boli's header. With Nevland, Ben Thornley, Michael Clegg and Philip Mulryne all on by then, United had something of a next generation look about them, another angle of a curious afternoon. Surprising result or not, it's still the Cup that interests, and cheers.
Manchester United: Schmeichel, P Neville, Irwin (Clegg 24), Johnsen, Beckham, Cole, Berg, McClair, Scholes (Mulryne 69), Solskjaer, Thornley (Nevland 64). Subs Not Used: G Neville, Giggs. Booked: Solskjaer. Goals: Cole 10, Solskjaer 39, Cole 65, Solskjaer 69, Johnsen 74.
Walsall: Walker, Evans, Marsh, Viveash, Mountfield, Peron (Blake 88), Boli, Porter, Keates, Watson, Hodge. Subs Not Used: Naisbett, Roper, Platt, Ricketts. Goals: Boli 72.
Referee: P A Durkin (Portland).
