Leicester's underdog FA Cup win over Reading offers only a glimmer of hope in a competition lacking magic

The magic of the FA Cup shines somewhat less brightly in the women's competition, where top-tier scalps are rarities and prize money minuscule enough to force some lower-ranked sides to compete at a financial loss.

But Thursday night offered some respite from that reality as Championship side Leicester City came from behind to knock Reading, currently fourth in the Women's Super League, out of the competition to set up a quarterfinal against holders Manchester City.

Though Reading went ahead with a first half penalty, and had two goals disallowed for offside, Leicester's Paige Bailey-Gayle's belter of an equaliser in the 79th minute pushed the tie to extra-time. Her second goal, another impressive effort which clattered the inside of the bar, secured only the fourth FA Cup upset over a first division club since 2016.

It was refreshing, especially after a second-string Manchester City team thrashed fourth-tier side Ipswich Town 10-0 last the weekend. The last few years have offered little in the way of hope when it comes to minnows who draw professional or semi-professional outfits in the Cup. And while Leicester is by no means a lowly side, their's is not a team made up of full-time professionals either. For example, their scorer, former Arsenal striker Bailey-Gayle, only started on a fully professional contract with the team in December after signing for Leicester in June.

The last similar result to Thursday night's was at the same point in the competition last season, when Championship side Durham beat Bristol City in the fifth round. Other than that there had been no real surprises for WSL sides since 2017, unless you count Manchester United - then a Championship side but with substantial financial backing - beating Brighton and Hove Albion in last season's fourth round.

Those scalps all still only range within the two top divisions, which were both restructured and professionalised for the 2018-19 season. The fears about the Football Association's 2018 revamp was that, at the expense of the investment, clubs outside the WSL 1 and 2 would lose significant ground. And the results suggest that has somewhat been the case. In the last two seasons there was only one instance of a team outside of the WSL and Championship beating a team in the top two tiers, when third-division Huddersfield beat then-Championship side Charlton in the fourth round in 2019.

The hope of course is that growth in the top two divisions will eventually trickle down into the lower leagues, and the competition might well become more competitive as investment in the women's game all the way down the pyramid increases.

The fourth-round this season offered some semblance of that, when fifth-tier Billericay Town of the Women's National League Division One South East held Championship side Lewes to a 1-1 draw in normal time, only to lose on penalties.

But the fact that the Foxes earned just £3,000 for their win over Reading on Thursday night casts an inevitable shadow on the Cup when you consider their Premier League male counterpart will take £360,000 home if they progress from their fifth round tie next month.

It means for teams like Ipswich Town, who made the trip to Manchester City's Academy Stadium for their drubbing last weekend, the reward for progressing to the fifth round was only the glory of punching above their weight - as financially the costs outweigh the perks. "Without a bigger financial reward, you can't really develop staff or facilities, the players don't earn a penny" their manager, Joe Sheehan, told the BBC in January.

So while Leicester's underdog win offers a hint of the magic inherent to the FA Cup's history, it remains only a faint glimmer.