It’s a journey that began back in October with a preliminary round win over Macclesfield.
Tamworth FC then dumped EFL sides Huddersfield Town and Burton Albion out of the FA Cup to see their name entered into the iconic third round draw.
And out came… Tottenham, who will be the guests at The Lamb Ground on January 12. But will the Premier League giants be lambs to the slaughter… joining the ranks of famous non-league victories in the FA Cup third round?
Hereford United 2-1 Newcastle United (1972)
The Premier League title odds suggest that, at 125/1, Tottenham’s hopes of finally lifting the EPL trophy are all but dead in the water.
They have no concern about demotion either, of course, with Spurs priced at 500/1 in the Premier League relegation odds behind the odds-on trio of Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
Maybe Ange Postecoglou will consider the FA Cup as a competition that he can win then, although he’ll no doubt be aware of the dangers that Tamworth pose on home soil.
The history books unveil a similar story back in 1972, when Newcastle United – knocking on the door of a top-four finish in the old First Division – travelled to Hereford’s storied old ground Edgar Street for a third round tie.
The pitch was, shall we say, ‘heavy’, which clearly favoured a Hereford side scrapping away in the Southern League, as opposed to the top-flight titans.
The Bulls had charged up to St James’s Park and claimed a replay, but it was on their own patch where the non-league side really stole the show. Ronnie Radford’s long-range thunderbolt the stuff of legend; Ricky George’s winner in the 2-1 victory the stuff of FA Cup heritage.
Sutton United 2-1 Coventry City (1989)
As the former FA Cup winners, Coventry City knew what it took to be successful in the competition. But they hadn’t counted upon the incredible performance from Sutton United awaiting them at Gander Green Lane.
Sutton, then of the Conference (Vanarama National League), took full advantage of the challenging conditions, with Coventry’s team of ball-players unable to come to terms with the sandy winter pitch.
The Sky Blues had won their previous First Division against Sheffield Wednesday 5-0, so their form wasn’t an issue, but a feisty Sutton showing – aided by a cauldron-like atmosphere in front of 8,000 fans – took them out of their comfort zone.
Tony Rains scored on the stroke of half time to give The Yellows the lead, before David Phillips equalised for the visitors early in the second period.
But Matthew Hanlon etched his name into FA Cup folklore by notching the winner for Sutton, who sadly went on to get thrashed 0-8 by Norwich in the next round.
Birmingham City 1-2 Altrincham (1986)
Here’s a third win for a non-league side over top-flight opposition by a 2-1 scoreline…
And Altrincham’s job was made harder by the fact that they were drawn as the away side for their third-round clash with the Blues.
But there was nothing that even a young David Seaman, donning the gloves for Birmingham, could do as goals from Kevin Ellis and a Robert Hopkins own goal secured Altrincham’s famous passage to the fourth round.
Could Tamworth pull off the biggest third round upset of them all against Tottenham in January?
