THE magic of the FA Cup eh? A dour goalless draw at a half-empty Stadium of Light, with both sides fielding a smattering of first-team regulars combined with a selection of fringe players.

And to make matters worse, the thought of it all happening again at Ewood Park in ten days time. Sometimes, the self-styled greatest cup competition in the world has a lot to answer for.

Having left both Kenwyne Jones and Djibril Cisse out of his starting line-up, Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia watched his second-choice strike force of Michael Chopra and David Healy confirm why they spend most of their time on the sidelines.

Healy had a goal rightly disallowed for offside but, that aside, the pair carried little threat. It is safe to assume they will be back on the bench for Tuesday's league game against Fulham.

The same will probably be true of stand-in skipper Grant Leadbitter, who battled gamely at the heart of midfield but, like fellow midfielder Andy Reid, failed to offer much in the way of creativity.

The Black Cats were solid enough at the back, and the return of long-term absentee George McCartney provided a welcome boost given Sbragia's failure to sign a defender so far this month.

But, on the whole, this was a game to forget. Let's just hope the replay at the start of next month is a more exciting affair.