Everton 0-1 Oldham Athletic, 2008
David Moyes’s Everton rarely performed well in the cups, but when Oldham Athletic visited Goodison Park in January 2008 the Toffees must have thought this was going to be their year. Challenging for the top four in the Premier League and safely through the UEFA Cup group stages, Moyes’s side had already booked their place in the semi-final of the League Cup.
But Oldham had other ideas. Everton made sweeping changes to their starting 11 following a hectic Christmas schedule (and because the first-leg of the League Cup semi-final was just three days away) but should still have comfortably beaten League One Oldham. Early chances for James Vaughan and James McFadden were squandered before Gary McDonald scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time.
His dipping 25-yard strike was a fittingly romantic symbol of one of the most memorable days in Oldham’s recent history. Everton lost their League Cup semi-final while Oldham were knocked out of the FA Cup by Huddersfield Town in the next round.
Havant & Waterlooville 4-2 Swansea, 2008
Non-league Havant & Waterlooville enjoyed one of the most extraordinary FA Cups runs in the history of the competition in the 2007/08 season, and their most impressive result was a 4-2 replay win against League One Swansea City. Having remarkably earned a 1-1 draw in Wales, Havant & Waterlooville knew that a dream win would book them a trip to Anfield in the next round to face a Liverpool side 123 places above them in the league pyramid.
And they deservedly won with an outstanding performance on a wild and thrilling night on the south coast. The fans swamped the pitch at the final whistle and mobbed the players for a full 20 minutes, celebrating the most famous night in their club’s history. The non-league side lost 5-2 against Liverpool in the next round having led twice.
Stevenage 3-1 Newcastle, 2011
Already enjoying the fairytale of their first ever season of league football, Stevenage stunned the world by beating Premier League Newcastle 3-1 at home in the third round of 2011. Even more incredibly, Alan Pardew’s side were outplayed throughout, losing the possession battle and conceding more shots than their opponents in what was only the fourth time in history that a fourth-tier side had beaten a Premier League outfit in the FA Cup.
Goals from Stacy Long, Michael Bostwick, and Peter Winn sealed victory for Stevenage, who were helped by Chiekh Tiote’s sending off 12 minutes after coming off the bench. Pardew, who played a full-strength side, did nothing to endear himself to Magpies fans still fuming over Chris Hughton’s dismissal. Stevenage, meanwhile, lost 2-1 at home to Reading in the fourth round.
Manchester United 0-0 Exeter, 2005
Perhaps the biggest shock of them all didn’t even end in victory for the upsetters. In January 2005 non-league Exeter City did the impossible by holding FA Cup holders Man Utd to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford, setting up a highly lucrative replay at St. James’ Park that saw the Devonshire club awarded a huge sum of TV money.
It wasn’t a high-quality game of football, partly because United fielded a second-string side, but Exeter defended bravely and got their just rewards. Ferguson’s side won the replay 2-0 courtesy of goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – two players Exeter fans will never forget visiting their 9,000 capacity stadium. Man Utd went on to lose that year’s final on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Arsenal.
Manchester United 0-1 Leeds, 2010
This match had extra significance because it had so recently been one of the biggest matches in English football, but Leeds United were a League One side when they visited defending Premier League champions Manchester United at Old Trafford in January 2010.
With 42 places separating the two sides, this was an almighty upset, not least because Sir Alex Ferguson had never lost at this stage of the competition and had never been knocked out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition. Jermaine Beckford scored the winner in a fierce and hot-tempered match against a strong United side. Leeds lost 3-1 against Tottenham in their fourth-round replay.
