Tottenham endured the humiliation of being taken to extra time by Tamworth, an opponent nearly 100 places lower in English soccer’s pyramid, before winning 3-0 and avoiding one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history on Sunday.
Defending champion Manchester United also advanced from the third round by beating Arsenal 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. Joshua Zirkzee converted the clinching penalty for United, which played from the 61st minute with 10 men following Diogo Dalot’s sending-off.
Four days after beating Premier League leader Liverpool 1-0 in the English League Cup semifinals, Tottenham’s team of established internationals toiled against a group of part-time soccer players whose main jobs included bricklaying, selling zippers and being a financial advisor.
A massive surprise was on when fifth-tier Tamworth forced extra time with the score 0-0, only for the hosts to concede an own-goal in the 101st minute and then strikes by Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson to disappoint the majority of the 3,700 fans inside the tiny stadium called The Lamb.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou felt compelled to bring on his top players including Son Heung-min, Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke from the substitutes’ bench to eventually overpower Tamworth, which is 16th in the National League and was playing in the third round for first time since 2012.
“It’s very easy on a day like this to lose your head when things aren’t going your way and you realize the consequences,” Postecoglou said, “but for the most part we stayed calm, persistent and got through.”
Ninety-five places were between the teams in the league pyramid.
“Amazing day and a shame we couldn’t get over the line,” Tamworth midfielder Tom McGlinchey said. “Back to work lecturing tomorrow — back to the day job unfortunately.”
In previous years, Tamworth would have earned a money-spinning replay by holding Tottenham to a draw in regulation time. However, replays were scrapped from this season because of the increasingly busy calendar.
There was some hilarity before kickoff, with the game having to be delayed because of an issue with the netting on one of the goals. A Tamworth player got on a teammate’s shoulder to fix the problem.
Premier League teams advance
There were no problems for other Premier League teams playing lower-league opposition, though Newcastle did have to come from behind to beat fourth-tier Bromley 3-1 after conceding an eighth-minute opener.
Lewis Miley, Anthony Gordon and William Osula scored at St. James’ Park for Newcastle, which earned an eighth straight win in all competitions.
Eberechi Eze’s goal secured Crystal Palace a 1-0 win over third-tier Stockport, while Ipswich beat Bristol Rovers — also from the third tier — 3-0 thanks to goals by Kalvin Phillips, Jack Clarke and Jack Taylor.
In another game on Sunday, fourth-tier Doncaster beat Hull 5-4 on penalties after the score was 1-1 at the end of extra time.
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