The English FA Cup fifth round produced some jaw-dropping moments over the weekend, showing why the nation’s premier Cup competition still waves a magic wand despite the growing commercialization of the world’s top leagues.
Lincoln City, who play in the National League competition one tier below the bottom tier of professional football – stunned Premier League side Burnley at Turf Moore, becoming the first non-league team to do so in 103 years.
Danny Cowley, the Lincoln City manager who doesn’t even have his own Wikipedia page, was a PE teacher just one year ago with his younger brother Nicky Cowley working in the same school. Now Nicky is his assistant manager at the Imps and together the pair have the created a miracle not seen in more than a century.
Interestingly, Cowley’s brother had “divided” the match into six small segments of 15 minutes each before the game. The mentality was that the players and coaches would cheer for each section in which they didn’t concede a goal. But they did more than that holding firm until the 89th minute before scoring themselves from a corner. They are now only one win away from heading to Wembley for an unprecedented FA Cup semi final!
Millwall had their own moment of magic when they defeated defending Premier League champions Leicester City by the same 1-0 scoreline. It was another blow for ailing Leicester, show are in danger of relegation from the League – although manager Claudio Ranieri will no doubt have Premier League survival as his top priority from here on in.
Meanwhile, Manchester City suffered a mini-setback at Huddersfield, a goalless draw adding another game to City’s already packed schedule in the coming weeks. Likewise, Huddersfield is in a fight for promotion and have one eye on their mid-week clash with promotion-bound competitor Reading. A re-match will do neither team any favors, but that’s the FA Cup for you – a competition full of surprises!
