The five greatest FA Cup upsets
As the FA Cup action went underway this weekend with a host of minnows taking on more illustrious opposition, there were routine victories for top Premier League clubs such as Liverpool(2-1 against Mansfield Town) plus some upsets as well with Conference side Macclesfield Town beating Championship outfit Cardiff City and Newcastle United going down to Brighton.
Though others such as Everton and Chelsea had an easy time winning their respective games, the writer has come up with a list of some great cup games in the past where Goliath has taken a hammering from David!
1. Reds freeze at St George’s lane!
Skuse scored the opener for Worcester
Liverpool were facing Worcester in a third round cup tie at the Southern League(a rung below the Conference) side’s St George lane ground in 1959.
Worcester had beaten fancied Millwall in the earlier round, but were expected to roll over in submission against a strong Liverpool side(then playing in the Second Division).
In freezing conditions, egged on by a record crowd of 15,000, striker Tommy Skuse put the hosts ahead after just nine minutes.
Liverpool who struggled to equalise, fell further behind in the 81st minute when Geoff Twentyman scored a bizzare own goal by lobbing past his own keeper.
Though Twentyman quickly rectified his error minutes later with a goal from the spot , a frantic Liverpool could not score again as Phil Taylor’s side went out, giving Worcester a famous win!
2. Wrexham edge Gunners at a Racecourse thriller!
Thomas scored from this freekick to put Wrexham ahead!
It was a matchup between the best and worst of English football.
Fourth division Wrexham were set to face mighty Arsenal at their Racecourse ground, with George Graham’s Gunners firm favourites to hand out a footballing lesson to Brian Flynn’s side.
Wrexham had finished bottom of the Fourth Division in 1992, and had miraculously escaped relegation to the Conference(Aldershot took their place and were expelled due to bankruptcy), which meant Brian Flynn’s side would stay on for a season longer in the top flight.
On paper, the Arsenal side consisting of stalwarts such as David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn would have ‘murdered’ Wrexham, but as Flynn put it ‘the game wasn’t being played on paper’.
Arsenal had scored through Alan Smith in the 43rd minute and were coasting towards victory in the second half.
With nothing to lose as the game progressed, Flynn’s side started attacking Arsenal in search of an equaliser and got a freekick in the 82nd minute.
On stepped 37-year-old Welsh veteran Micky Thomas to take the kick, and he left Arsenal stunned as he fired into the top corner past Seaman’s despairing dive.
That goal turned the tie on it’s head as Wrexham scored yet again in two minutes after Steve Watkin latched on to a Gordon Davis ball and scored past Seaman to make it 2-1 and put the game past Arsenal.
Though Wrexham were knocked out by West Ham United the following round, the win remains greatest ever in the club’s history!
3. ‘Crazy gang’ topple Liverpool at Wembley!
Wimbledon upset fancied Liverpool in the 1988 final
Liverpool, reigning league champions and ‘the’ team to beat in the whole of England, were up against Don Howe’s Wimbledon in the 1988 FA cup final.
Wimbledon, nicknamed the ‘Crazy gang’ for their rough and no-nonsense style of football, were in their maiden Cup final after a dream run, but still were not given a chance against the Reds who had players such as Ray Houghton and two-time English player of the year John Barnes.
But despite the odds stacked against them, Howe’s side started off confidently and shocked the champions as Lawrie Sanchez put Wimbledon in front with a looping header just before halftime.
Stung by the goal, Liverpool came out strongly in the second half and earned a penalty which striker John Aldridge strode to take.
But Aldridge lost his nerve and missed as ‘Dons’ keeper Dave Beasant pulled off a spectacular diving save to his left.
That save turned the tie on its head as Liverpool could not find a way past some dogged ‘Dons’ defending for the rest of the match and went down 1-0 to give Howe’s side a historic cup win!
4. ‘Cherries’ on top at Dean court!
Bournemouth pulled off a major shock by beating United in 1984; here Graham scores the ‘Cherries’ opener
Bournemouth were a side playing in the Third division in 1984 and had a young manager named Harry Redknapp at helm.
The ‘Cherries’ as Bournemouth are famously known were to entertain mighty Manchester United, managed by Roy Atkinson in a third round fixture at their Dean court ground.
United, who were the current cup holders, had previously been knocked out of the League Cup by unfancied Oxford United(third division) and were looking to avoid another upset against Redknapp’s side.
The first half ended goalless with little or no attacking threat from either side.
United attacked the home side from the onset of the second half to score early and put matters to a close.
But Bournemouth suddenly hit top form and they started taking the game to United.
Redknapp’s side were a completely transformed outfit in the second half with forwards Trevor Morgan and Ian Thompson running rings around the United defence.
Even ‘Cherries’ fullback Everald La Ronde looked dangerous with his darting runs which unsettled Atkinson’s side.
And the home side took the lead at the hour mark when Milton Graham took advantage of some slack goalkeeping by United keeper Gary Bailey to score and send the 15,000 crowd into a frenzy.
United were left stunned after that goal and fell further behind a few minutes later after Thompson took advantage of a slip up by Bryan Robson to score the second and invoke a pitch invasion.
The match was temporarily called off for five minutes with police intervention needed to clear the pitch of crazy Bournemouth fans.
United never got back into the match after the restart as Bournemouth held out to claim a famous win!
5. Toffees ‘sink’ at Gay Meadow!
Jemson scored twice to send the Toffies packing!
David Moyes’ Everton travelled to Shrewsbury Town for a third round tie in 2003.
Everton, with a host of experienced Premier League players such as Richard Wright and Thomas Graveson, also had a young Wayne Rooney in their ranks and were expected to run riot at Gay Meadow.
It was an emotional reunion for both Kevin Ratcliffe and David Moyes with the former being an ex-Toffee captain(the most successful one till date!) and the latter having had played for the Shrews during the early stages of his footballing career.
The game started in wet and muddy conditions with Everton playing center backs in all four defensive positions(due to injuries to Joseph Yobo and Kevin Campbell).
Everton never looked like a team of Premier League stature as they allowed the Shrews to attack, giving them ample space and possession.
Thomas Graveson and Scott Gemill looked out of sorts in the Everton midfield and Wayne Rooney wasn’t clicking either.
Shrews striker Nigel Jameson looked in great form as he forced a couple of fine saves from Richard Wright.
Luke Rodgers was giving Jameson ample support as the duo troubled Wright and the Everton defence in the first half.
The Shrews who looked like the more dominant outfit got a freekick in the 38th minute owing to a foul on Rodgers by Graveson.
And Jameson put his side in front, curling a 20 yarder past the outstretched hands of Wright to leave Moyes’ side stunned.
Moyes brought in Niclas Alexandersson for Graveson after the break hoping to get a better performance in midfield.
The move paid off as Alexandersson levelled it for Everton as he slotted past Shrews keeper Ian Dunbavin courtesy an assist from Gemmill on the hour mark.
With the scores level at 1-1, the game later resembled a boxing match with both sides attacking to score a second.
But it was the Shrews who scored late on as Jameson glanced a header past Wright from an Ian Woan freekick to clinch a memorable win for his side and send the Toffees out of the cup!
Though there have been many more memorable cup games like Sutton beating Coventry City in 1989 and Barnsley beating both Liverpool and Chelsea in 2008, the writer feels the above mentioned matches are definitely worth the top five list!