The FA Cup is a grand old cup with history and tradition. The cup can be most exciting for pitting minnows against giants, especially in the earlier rounds when lower league teams play. Predictable victories are usually won, but not always. For every upset, the magic of the cup is stirred. These are the biggest FC Cup upsets in soccer history.
Few gave Mansfield a chance in the 1969 FA Cup fifth round of 1969. West Ham was a top first-division team and had world-class players such as Hurst and Moore in their team. In contrast, Mansfield was a third-division club. Mansfield made home advantage count when thousands flocked to Field Mill. In the game, Mansfield won comfortably with a 3–0 win, which sent West Ham out of the cup. For Mansfield, the run continued up until the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Leicester City.
In this big FA Cup upset, non-league Hereford was playing Newcastle at home in the third round of the FA Cup in 1971. A 2–2 away draw had already been gained, and as such, the game was a replay. Hereford was a non-league team, while Newcastle Utd played in the First Division. While a Newcastle win may have been a formality after they scored the first goal, Hereford came back thanks to a Radford equalizer. Then, one of the biggest FA Cup upsets was sealed with a second goal to give the non-league team an unlikely victory.
When Walsall played Arsenal in the 1933 third round, they were playing the best team in the First Division. Arsenal had a team with players such as Cliff Basten that would win the division in the season, while Walsall was a third-division side. In the game, Arsenal’s great manager, Herbert Chapman, rested a few of their best players. Walsall played well and scored two deserved goals to defeat a great Arsenal team in one of the biggest FA Cup upsets ever.
This was an FA Cup final upset in 1973. In the game, Second Division Sunderland were clear underdogs against First Division and cup holders Leeds United. In the end, however, Sunderland were able to get ahead thanks to a Porterfield goal. It was a lead that Sunderland would hold, as Leeds pressed for an equalizer that would not come. Sunderland won the FA Cup final 1–0 and was one of only a few second-division teams to have lifted the trophy.
These are just a few of the biggest FA Cup upsets ever seen in England’s flagship cup. There have been a good few more where lower-division teams have beaten teams in higher leagues. Rarely have non-league teams such as Hereford beaten top teams in the FA Cup, and teams from outside of the top league have won the FA Cup, like Sunderland in 1973.
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