A look at five memorable third-round shocks in the FA Cup

A look at five memorable third-round shocks in the FA Cup
© Reuters
The League Two side upset their top-flight visitors 3-0.

Leeds found themselves on the end of a major FA Cup giant-killing as they were stunned by League Two Crawley.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five memorable third-round shocks.

Crawley 3 Leeds 0 (2021)

Crawley Town v Leeds United – Emirates FA Cup – Third Round – People's Pension Stadium
Jordan Tunnicliffe finished off Leeds (Adam Davy/PA)

Marcelo Bielsa's side were reeling from two goals inside three second-half minutes from Nick Tsaroulla and Ashley Nadesan before Jordan Tunnicliffe finished them off with 20 minutes remaining. To rub salt in the wounds Crawley even handed a debut to former reality star Mark Wright as a late substitute, but the only way was out of the cup for Leeds.

Hereford 2 Newcastle 1 (1972)

Soccer – FA Cup – Third Round Replay – Hereford United v Newcastle United
Ronnie Radford's memorable strike helped sink Newcastle (PA)

Southern League Hereford side had earned a 2-2 draw at St James' Park in February 1972 and were given little chance of emulating that feat in the replay. It was all going to plan when Newcastle took the lead in a game which had been postponed three times by bad weather. But Hereford grew stronger as the match went on and Ronnie Radford equalised with a long-range thunderbolt to take the game into extra time, where Ricky George hit the winner.

Sutton 2 Coventry 1 (1989)

Matthew Hanlan scores for Sutton
The goal that made Matthew Hanlan's name (PA)

Coventry arrived in Surrey just 18 months after winning the 1987 FA Cup, and were riding high in the top flight. It appeared to be a case of 'no contest' against the non-leaguers. But they were left stunned as Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan became the goalscoring heroes for a team fashioned by English teacher Barrie Williams. Both scorers became instant celebrities, appearing on Terry Wogan's chat show the following Monday.

Wrexham 2 Arsenal 1 (1992)

Steve Watkin, left. and Mickey Thomas celebrate beating Arsenal (PA)

The Gunners were the reigning league champions, Wrexham were bottom of the old fourth division – there was only going to be one result at the Racecourse Ground. Arsenal had taken the lead through Alan Smith but, with 10 minutes to go, 37-year-old Mickey Thomas unleashed a 25-yard free-kick past David Seaman for the equaliser. The Welsh side could sense an upset and Steve Watkin popped up late on to score the winner and send their illustrious opponents crashing out.

Newport 2 Leicester 1 (2019)

Newport County v Leicester City – Emirates FA Cup – Third Round – Rodney Parade
Padraig Amond's penalty KO'd Leicester (Nick Potts/PA)

League Two side Newport shocked Leicester, the Premier League champions just three years earlier. Padraig Amond's 85th-minute penalty fired the Welsh side into the fourth round as 2-1 winners after Marc Albrighton was guilty of a needless handball in the area. The penalty came just three minutes after Rachid Ghezzal had levelled for Leicester, who had trailed since Newport's well-worked opener from Jamille Matt from Robbie Willmott's cross.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeeds UnitedLeeds4629134953065100
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd462881063362790
5Coventry CityCoventry46209176458669
6Bristol City461717125955468
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn46199185348566
8Millwall461812164749-266
9West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4615191257471064
10Middlesbrough461810186456864
11Swansea CitySwansea461710195156-561
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds461513186069-958
13Norwich CityNorwich461415177168357
14Watford46169215361-857
15Queens Park RangersQPR461414185363-1056
16Portsmouth461412205871-1354
17Oxford UnitedOxford Utd461314194965-1653
18Stoke CityStoke461215194562-1751
19Derby CountyDerby461311224856-850
20Preston North EndPreston461020164859-1150
21Hull City461213214454-1049
RLuton TownLuton461310234569-2449
RPlymouth ArgylePlymouth461113225188-3746
RCardiff CityCardiff46917204873-2544


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