Preston North End can be proud of their efforts tonight, but it wasn’t quite enough. They had the lead, but perhaps they had it too early, because Manchester United’s response to strong. While it’s another game where they haven’t impressed with their overall performance, they are into the quarter-finals. Next? A home tie against Arsenal. Thanks for reading and emailing tonight. Bye.

90 min+3: Preston almost set up an interesting finale by snatching a second goal. A corner went in from the right and Laird flicked it on at the near post. De Gea pushed it out and Valencia cleared before it crossed the line. “I’m no United fan, but if Rooney doesn’t jump out of the way of keeper then he gets absolutely clattered,” says Aidan Jackson-Evans. “It’s got to be a penalty, regardless of contact.” I’m inclined to agree with you.

90 min+1: There will be four minutes of added time. Another replay shows that Stuckmann made very little contact with Rooney. A bit of a dive, but the goalkeeper’s decision to try to win the ball with a slide tackle made it easy for Rooney to throw himself to the floor once had got there first.

89 min: I’m not actually sure how much contact Stuckmann made with Rooney.

83 min: Valencia kindly gives the ball to Robinson, who decides to shoot from 25 yards instead of running at the exposed Rojo. It’s an easy save for De Gea.“Fellaini must be the most awkwardly effective person to ever play football,” says Caleb Jones. “Like Peter Crouch without the touch. Or the dance moves.

80 min: Kyel Reid drags a shot wide from the edge of the area after panicky defending from the always unconvincing Chris Smalling.

78 min: Di Maria cuts inside and finds Fellaini with his back to goal in the area. He turns and shoots, but it’s blocked by a Preston defender. Fellaini has his faults, but he’s been effective since moving up front.

77 min: Valencia twists and turns and tees up Herrera for a shot that he drives wide from 18 yards.

75 min: Preston make three changes all at once, Wright, Kilkenny and Davies replaced by Reid, Robinson and Wiseman.

74 min: United have their tails up now. With Preston’s defence caught too high, Di Maria hares through the middle, trying to reach a pass, but Stuckmann is there to boot it away.

72 min: “The keeper has to play Herrera’s ball and Rooney,” says Rob Coughlin. “It’s impeding even if Rooney doesn’t touch it.”

71 min: Kevin Davies commits himself and takes Smalling down with a late slide tackle. Already on a booking, he panics, thinking that Phil Dowd is going to send him off, but the referee is surprisingly lenient. It was a fairly obvious booking.

70 min: Gallagher takes the free-kick and whips the ball a yard or two over the bar.

69 min: Rojo is booked for a foul on the left. Preston have a free-kick just outside the United area.

68 min: On the BBC, Martin Keown is convinced that the ball had to have touched Rooney for the goal to have been disallowed. Is that the law? It wasn’t the law when Alex Song’s goal for West Ham was disallowed against Arsenal in December. I think that Rooney put the goalkeeper off with his movement.

62 min: Ashley Young almost makes an immediate impact with an inswinging cross from the left that drops to the feet of Fellaini. He controls and tries to shoot, but he’s denied by the stubborn Huntington. He sits on the ball for a bit and eventually Stuckmann can pounce on it and relieve the pressure. “Can I say, speaking as an Arsenal fan, how much I’m enjoying this?” says Steve Jelen. “Proper Cup Tie between equally matched teams.”

61 min: This is a decent chance for Preston to double their lead. Humphrey drifted a cross into the area and Garner stole in front of Smalling, only to fail to get enough power on his header. De Gea saves it.

60 min: Di Maria belts a rising drive over from 30 yards and that’s the cue for Ashley Young to replace Radamel Falcao, who seems a bit miffed at that decision by Van Gaal. Marouane Fellaini joins Wayne Rooney up front.

59 min: There’s more urgency to United’s play now. Rooney turns on the left, cuts inside and finds Blind. He moves it to Herrera, who finds Valencia on the overlap. He hangs a cross into the six-yard box, but there’s Clarke to glance it away, with United players piling in. Rooney tries to control the loose ball, but his touch only takes it to Stuckmann.

58 min: Di Maria recovers sufficiently to hammer a shot on target from 30 yards. It’s straight at Stuckmann, who deals with a potentially awkward bounce in front of him.

57 min: Di Maria is rolling around after being tackled fairly on the left. Preston’s fans are unimpressed. Ashley Young is going to come on for Manchester United. Manchester United’s fans are unimpressed.

55 min: Di Maria slithers a pass inside Humphrey and to Shaw, but his cross is too heavy. United’s delivery has been awful. Meanwhile it turns out that Laird was booked for celebrating his goal with too much exuberance.

53 min: Di Maria curls a cross to the far post from the right. Fellaini nods it harmlessly wide.

52 min: United are rocking out there. Gallagher drifts a free-kick to the far post from the right. Davies can’t meet it, but Clarke is waiting - but he can’t make proper contact with his volley and the ball runs to De Gea.

51 min: Daley Blind aims a cross to the far post. It’s a terrible effort. Stuckmann easily claims it. It’s catching practice for the Preston goalkeeper.

50 min: Of course, it was around this point that United fell behind at West Ham last Sunday and they eventually stole a point in stoppage time. There’s a long way to go. “Manchester United need to rename themselves Brown Ideye and appoint the inspirational Pulis,” honks Richard Hooker.

46 min: United get the second half underway. Hopefully they’ve been given plenty of sugary treats during the break. “Dyke turns up with his begging bowl,” says Gerard Aston. “It’s the FA’s game not the premier league’s.”

Greg Dyke is on television. He’s asked about the new deal for Premier League TV rights. “We’re trying to raise money inside the FA, because we think there’s a real need for more artificial pitches and more pitches. We need to raise about £30m a year.” He adds that it would be very nice if the Premier League wants to donate some cash.

45 min+1: Gallagher knocks a tame shot straight at De Gea from 20 yards. There will be one minute of added time.

44 min: Suddenly United have stepped it up. Falcao bursts into the area, swivels brilliantly and tries to tee up Rooney, but he’s denied by a superb last-ditch tackle from Wright. Rooney surely would have scored.

43 min: “If Jess Drezner wants high tempo, he should switch over to the University Challenge QF between St. Peter’s Oxford and Liverpool,” says Simon McMahon. “It’s currently 215-100 to St. Peter’s, who should really be down to three men because of Armitage’s ridiculous suit.”

42 min: Here’s a moment of promise for United. A high pass over the top from Di Maria catches the Preston defence out. Rooney isn’t offside, but he can’t bring it down. That’s an escape. If Rooney had brought it down, he only would have had to beat Stuckmann.

41 min: Not that he’s done much since joining Manchester United, but it’s difficult to believe that they couldn’t do with some of Juan Mata’s creativity. He’s on the bench. The pace of James Wilson could also make a difference.

39 min: Rooney seeks out Fellaini with a diagonal from left to right. Groot takes it down on his chest and finds Di Maria. His shot is charged down, but Preston are still under pressure and Davies ends up picking up a deserved yellow card for a foul on Herrera.

37 min: Rooney drops deep, picks up possession, turns and spanks a pass straight out of play for a Preston goal-kick. This is not a happy team. “I can’t remember the last time I saw a United player take a shot on goal,” says David Flynn. “I miss that. Harmless possession is really no substitute.”

35 min: Blind dumps a pass into the area. Stuckmann collects. There is no movement, no vision, no pace. “The debate about whether or not Man Utd should persevere with Falcao is insane,” says Paul Kerton. “Was there ever a more lost, bewildered and generally fragile striker in the Premier League? Man Utd must be mad to even consider it.”

He could come good yet - he’s easily talented enough - but it’s not particularly surprising that he’s struggled given his recent injury problems.

33 min: Angel Di Maria, a £60m player, balloons a cross behind for a goal-kick. “United are technically dictating the tempo it just so happens they are choosing a woozy ballard at about 90 bpm in 3/4 time,” says Jezz Dresner. “You get a higher tempo at a 1930s tea dance.”

31 min: Di Maria wafts a pass into the Preston area. Stuckmann claims it. United are starting to look short on ideas.

29 min: Herrera does something most out of character for a United player: he shows some wit and imagination by sliding a forward pass inside Laird and through to Valencia on the right. Valencia promptly chips a tedious, high cross into the area, looking for Fellaini, and nothing comes from it. What has happened to Manchester United?

27 min: Laird nips the ball around Herrera on the left and goes down under a challenge from the Spaniard. Phil Dowd awards Preston a free-kick in a promising position. It’s whipped in by Gallagher and Garner meets it, but directs it over the bar from eight yards out, Rojo doing enough to put him off. That was a decent chance, though. De Gea’s positioning was iffy there and he might have been in trouble if Garner had steered that on target.

25 min: A free-kick to United on the right. Di Maria bends it into the six-yard box, but Falcao can’t reach it at the far post, the Colombian squeezed out by two Preston defenders.

24 min: Kevin Davies bundles into Valencia by the right touchline and concedes a free-kick. Still got it.

23 min: On the BBC commentary, Martin Keown has just started having flashbacks about Ryan Giggs’s goal against Arsenal in the 1999 semi-final. Can you call your therapist when you’re live on air?

20 min: We’re still waiting for the first meaningful effort on goal from either side.

19 min: Di Maria tries to curve an ambitious pass from the left through to Rooney. Almost. Clarke intervenes and concedes a corner, from which nothing occurs.

17 min: Davies is back on. His shirt was covered in blood, so he’s got a new one, with no name and no number. Meanwhile Marouane Fellaini is being treated for a bloody nose after being caught by an outstretched arm from Laird. Is that irony?

16 min: Preston are down to 10 men for the time being, with Kevin Davies receiving treatment off the pitch.

15 min: Di Maria takes it. It’s whipped over the wall. Stuckmann stands still. It’s curling. It’s curling too far. It’s wide. But not by much, despite the jeers of the home fans. “Evening Jacob,” says Simon McMahon. “FA Cup on a Monday night? What would Sir Tom have made of if all? Or Sir Alex for that matter. And will Man U recover in time to play their CL last 16 tie on Wednesday? Sorry, what???”

Oh, how my Manchester United-supporting chum laughed when I asked him who they have in the Champions League this week.

14 min: There seems to be little danger during a scrappy period of play just outside the Preston box, but Wright needlessly concedes a free-kick with a clumsy slide on Falcao 25 yards from goal. Rooney and Di Maria are both interested. It’s made for the left foot of Di Maria.

13 min: Kevin Davies has played for England more times than Harry Kane has. Which makes you think.

12 min: Laird skips inside, past Valencia, who bundles him over. Preston have a chance to lift a cross into the box. Gallagher does so, but Rojo heads it away.

10 min: United have started confidently. Di Maria hares through the middle and this time he does get his pass right, poking it through to Rooney, who just gets it stuck under his feet when it looked like he was in the clear. He tries to move it on to Fellaini, but Preston survive. “Is there any phrase more pleasing to the heart, and yet at the same time at once encapsulating the entire age of English football and pointing towards all that punters bemoan today, than that phrase from the 1889 Observer report: ‘The Preston forwards passed cleverly, but each time they were met by vigorous kicking on the part of Mason and Bangh,’” says Phil Sawyer. “The history of English football, right there.”

9 min: Davies wins the ball on the halfway line and jabs a pass to Garner, who holds off Valencia, before dribbling a shot straight at De Gea from 30 yards. A waste. United immediately bound up the other end and Di Maria really should play Rooney through on goal, only to overcook what was a simple pass. He’s better than that.

7 min: Di Maria tries to chip a pass through to Falcao, but Clarke extends his neck and nods the ball back to Stuckmann. “Don’t think that Rooney fella has what it takes to be a striker, looks more like a midfielder to me,” says Mark Judd. “Someone should tell the manager.” Perhaps Big Sam could send the message over.

5 min: Those loveable comedians in the United defence are at it already. Rojo plays a pass back to Daley Blind, who stumbles backwards, as if someone was kneeling down behind him, tripping over his own feet on the edge of the area as he tries to control the ball. He’s fortunate that no Preston player is around to take advantage, the ball just running back to De Gea, who’s probably wondering when he’s going to have to stop sparing the blushes of these perennial klutzes in front of him.

3 min: Rooney’s corner from the left is headed away at the near post, but only to Rooney, who finds Di Maria. He sticks another cross into the mixah, but Preston are awarded a free-kick.

2 min: Herrera gets his first touch of the ball and feeds Valencia on the right. He hoicks a high cross into the box, seeking out Fellaini, but Clarke heads away. But back come United. Rooney sends Shaw scampering in behind Humphrey, who does well to recover and concede a corner. Rooney will take it.

And we’re off! Preston, in their white shirts and navy shorts, get the game underway, kicking from left to right in the first half. Manchester United ... you know what Manchester United are wearing. There’s a cracking atmosphere inside Deepdale. It is noisy.

The teams are in the tunnel. Stuckmann, the Preston goalkeeper, hammers his gloves together and shouts some words of encouragement to his team-mates and then the teams emerge to a huge reception from the Deepdale crowd. This should be good. It’s the fifth round of the FA Cup and on offer to the winner is a home quarter-final against Arsenal. It’s on!

The winner of this tie will play Arsenal at home in the quarter-final. I reckon I know who Arsenal fans will want to play.

“I beg to differ Jacob but I reckon Rooney will continue to loiter aimlessly in midfield with Di Maria in the hole behind fox in the box Fellaini and Falcao in goals,” says David Flynn.

Perhaps, although Van Gaal has said that Rooney will be up front. There’s only one way to find out.

Simon Grayson, of course, has managed a lower league team to a victory over Manchester United before. All hail Jermaine Beckford!

Have you ever wanted to see David Beckham score a free-kick for Preston North End?

Alan Smith has live coverage of the quarter-final draw here. Email Alan support in his brave quest not to drink a bottle of Pepsi Max every single day.

So. It would appear that Manchester United’s best striker, Wayne Rooney, will be playing as a striker tonight, with Robin van Persie injured, while the rarely spotted Ander Herrera is also given a chance to make an impression. Why hasn’t he been allowed to make an impression already? It’s very odd. He was supposed to be good when they signed him, but Louis van Gaal hasn’t seemed convinced by the Spaniard.

Hello. Let’s turn back time and look back to when Preston North End’s original Invincibles, a club with a long and proud history in the FA Cup, were the best side in the country and completed the Double by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 in the 1889 final. Below is the Observer’s match report.

To those who remember the early days of the competition for the Challenge Cup, yesterday’s scenes at Kennington Oval is almost incredible. It does not seem long since little or no steps had to be taken to prevent any encroachments from the small knot of spectators. The contrast afforded in the final tie between Preston North End and the Wolverhampton Wanderers on the present occasion, when we have a multitude of over 26,000 on the ground, is simply wonderful. To residents in the metropolis these scenes are of rare occurrence, but in the north contests even between prominent clubs attract crowds, if not of the same magnitude, that can be numbered by their ten and twelve thousands.

With military punctuality Brodie kicked off for the Wanderers. Both sides at once set to work in earnest. The Preston forwards passed cleverly, but each time they were met by vigorous kicking on the part of Mason and Bangh, the Wolverhampton backs. For a time it seemed that the North End must speedily triumph, so superb was their early passing. Wolverhampton, however, defended with great vigour, while their forwards soon in turn took the offensive. The spectators cheered lustily as Allen made a long shot at the Preston goal, the ball passing ver the bar. Tripping and handling were prominent about this time, and numerous penalty kicks were given to both teams. It was after one of these that Ross of the North End almost scored, the ball grazing the right post. Wolverhampton were not slow to retaliate. Their forwards and halves threw plenty of spirit into the game, and one splendid shot by Wood struck the post and rebounded. Holmes’ clever heading kept the ball out of the Lancashire goal; after which there was a rapid move to the other end and a beautiful shot by Dewhurst gave the Prestonians the lead amid deafening applause. The play became remarkably fast as the game progressed.

There were brilliant attacks on both sides and in ten minutes a bad mistake by the Wolverhampton goalkeeper gave Preston a second point, a low shot by Ross passing through Baynton’s hands. The Wanderers strove hard to make up their lost ground. But both keepers had plenty of work, which they accomplished effectively, and half time arrived with Preston two goals ahead.

When the teams had crossed over, Wolverhampton went off with great dash. The ball had been re-started only two or three minutes when Mills-Roberts stopped a swift shot from Wykes and immediately afterwards one from Lowder hit the bar and went behind. Preston were defending in splendid style, in spite of which Wolverhampton kept up the pressure. Free-kicks and corners fell to them in rapid succession. Thrice the ball was driven behind, while from a “foul” it was kicked through. Of course no goal was gained by the latter action, as the ball in its passage touched no other player. Still, the Wanderers were the aggressors, but do what they would their opponents kept their goal intact. Mills-Roberts hit the ball away with great skill, and when the last quarter of an hour had been entered on the Preston forwards re-asserted themselves. Several scrimmages near the Midland goal were witnessed. Baynton had thrice saved when the ball was sent across from the extreme right by Gordon to Thompson, who shot it through, and thus Preston were leading by three goals to none. The North Enders by no means relaxed their efforts. Other attacks by them were well met, while, on the other hand, the Wanderers’ forwards twice dribbled up the mouth of the goal. They failed to get the ball through, however, and Preston won a fine game by three goals to none.

Every piece of play was eagerly watched and the partisanship of was thoroughgoing, the provincialism of the north-countrymen preponderating. A few minutes before the end of the game the spectators could be restrained no longer, but formed a circle around the field; and, when the referee’s whistle proclaimed the end of the struggle, the players with difficulty reached the pavilion. The crowd which then assembled might have vied with those which gathered in front of the hustings at political meetings. Thus this celebrated contest ended up in a popular victory, as Preston last year were the “runners up” and were doubtless the better team. Major Marindin, R.E, C.M.G, was the referee and Lord Kinnaird (so well known for many years as the Hon. A.F. Kinnaird and a prominent player for the Etonians) and Mr J. C. Clegg were the umpires.”

What a report! Did you enjoy it? I liked the mention of a cross from “the extreme right”. It was a different time. Preston went on to win their second FA Cup in 1938, beating Huddersfield Town 1-0 in a match that featured Bill Shankly as a player...

... yet while they have also been runners-up on five occasions, they have not been in a final since 1964, when they were beaten 3-2 by the West Ham of Moore, Hurst and Peters at Wembley.

The FA Cup, however, has rarely been a friend to Preston since then. Drama has been thin on the ground, but tonight they get a chance to party like, er, it’s 1889. Long Ball Louis’s Manchester United are the visitors to Deepdale and Preston, fourth in League One and in possession of one Kevin Davies, will be confident about their chances of causing an upset to rival Bradford City’s victory at Chelsea in the previous round. United, after all, failed to convince against either Yeovil Town or Cambridge United, even though they had enough firepower to force their way through.

Yet while United, who haven’t won this competition since 2004, have not been playing well, their focus is likely to be high. This, realistically, is their one chance of winning a trophy this season and Van Gaal would clearly love to get one under his belt in his first season. They’ll be up for this. Although they should be aware that Preston have revenge on the mind. They aren’t particularly fond of United after Sir Alex Ferguson responded to his son Darren’s sacking by Preston in December 2010 by recalling Richie De Laet, Matty James and Josh King from their loans. Preston were relegated from the Championship at the end of that season. That wouldn’t have happened in 1889.

Kick-off: 8pm.