A HUGE groan rang around the sports desk here at the Echo when we stumbled across the awfully one-eyed TV schedule for the FA Cup fourth round.

As if failing to screen Havant and Waterlooville's wonderful win over Swansea City on Wednesday night was not bad enough, they put the bore tie between Man City and West Ham on ahead of it.

Admittedly, hindsight is a great gift, but I can honestly say the all-Premier League match failed to stir any excitement in me whatsoever.

On the other hand, we very rarely get the chance to see non-league minnows like the Hawks in the third round on home soil. And where were they in the listings - nowhere to be seen - apart from some all-to-brief commentary on Sky Sports News.

Yet we have to wait all of four days for the chance to view another mouthwatering - if you'll excuse a healthy dose of journalistic licence - clash between the teams of Sven Goran Eriksson and Alan Curbishley, as the two sides go head-to-head again in the league tomorrow.

It might not have looked such a miserable decision by the TV big-wigs had the top flight showdown turned out to be a feast of football. But it wasn't. Instead we watched as both teams created little before a header from all of five yards settled matters - a scrappy goal to win a dull match.

More fool me - and whoever else saw it - for tuning in.

With messrs Lineker, Hansen, Shearer and Dixon trying their utmost to make a silk purse from a sow's ear in the breaks between action', a momentous game and huge cup shock was unfolding 245 miles south in Hampshire.

There must have been some serious shaking of heads as Havant hit four past the League One leaders, not to think of the egg-on-face for the decision-makers on Thursday morning at Television Centre.

My colleagues and I, as well as many neutrals nationwide I'm sure, were not the only ones mystified by the beeb's decision. Hawks secretary Trevor Brock wasn't particularly impressed either.

Speaking to the Daily Echo yesterday, he said: "They look at it purely for ratings, rather than the romance of the cup."

Well said Trevor, I couldn't agree more. What better way to remind everyone that the sport still has more to offer than pampered Premier League stars and billionaire owners than to show the whole country one of the greatest cup upsets for years?

This was bad enough, but overlooking the Hawks' once-in-a-lifetime tie at Anfield against Liverpool, one of the world's biggest clubs, seems ridiculous. Talk about rubbing salt in the wounds.

We're led to believe that the TV companies prefer it if the lesser' side is at home, giving them a glimmer of hope.

But, regardless of the outcome, I know which game I want to be watching in the fourth round. And it's not Wigan v Chelsea, and it's certainly not Sheffield United against Man City, two of the games picked out for live treatment.

The Westleigh Park team are rank outsiders to shock the world and dump Liverpool out of the cup. Is it likely to happen? No. Will it end up a cricket score? Perhaps.

But that doesn't matter to me, I just know I'd love to see the builder and taxi driver strolling out in front of 40,000 to pit their wits against the likes of Gerrard and Torres.

This year has seen the magic return to the world's finest domestic knockout competition, with plenty of twists and turns along the way, more than I can remember for a long time.

But while their scheduling continues to feed the rich and starve the poor, both the BBC and Sky are serving only to diminish the importance of Havant's glorious 15 minutes of fame - and that of any other side plucky enough to fight for their moment in the spotlight.