Sutton more than most non league clubs have a long, wonderful history wuth the FA Cup. In 1970, Don Revie's Leeds United beat Sutton 6-0 in the fourth round in front of a record 14,000 attendance. In 1988, Sutton forced Middlesbrough to a third round replay at Ayresome Park, which Boro albeit won 1-0 but their fans gave the Sutton players a standing ovation. It is their 1989 win over Coventry City that is one of the greatest FA Cup ties ever.
8,000 gathered at Gander Green Lane to watch the First Division side, who were 5th at the time, take on the non league outfit. Two goals from corners, captain Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan, were enough to beat Coventry 2-1. They'd lifted the competition in 1987 so to be embarrassed like this was amazing. Ronald Atkin in The Observer noted that Sutton played "frequently superior" football, with the prize of Norwich City waiting in the fourth round.
An 8-0 loss followed but that was not important. Sutton United of non league football had beaten First Division Coventry City. It was a giant killing like no other.
For the next 30 years or so, Sutton languished around the fifth and sixth tiers doing little to amount to the their FA Cup exploits of 1989, apart from a run to the 3rd round in 1994 was ended by Notts County. In the 2007-08 season, Sutton won just five of their 42 games and would play in the seventh tier.
Former Eastleigh manager Paul Doswell was appointed and Sutton's fortunes changed. They were promoted as champions in 2011, having lost in the play-offs in the two previous seasons. The National League South was won in 2015-16, due to a 26 match unbeaten run and Ebbsfleet bottling a 21 point lead they had over Sutton at one stage.
Under Doswell's tenure, Sutton had never put together an FA Cup run. The best was reaching the second round in 2011-12 were Notts County, just like in 1994, defeated them. It was coming up 28 years since the Coventry win, it was about time Sutton graced the FA Cup again.
On the 15th October, Sutton overcame fellow National League side Forest Green 2-1 in the fourth qualifying round - a late Roarie Deacon goal the difference. Their name was in the hat for the televised first round draw which pitted them away to sixth tier Dartford. A crazy game with five goals in the opening 25 minutes, Sutton were pegged back three times before three second half goals pulled them clear and they won 6-3, braces for Maxime Biamou, Ross Stearn and Deacon. A crowd of 2,224 at Gander Green Lane watched Sutton have the chance to reach the third round for the first time in 23 years with League Two Cheltenham Town the opposition. The visitors took the lead but in the second half, debutant Matt Tubbs and another injury time strike from Deacon sent to Sutton fans crazy.
The third round is when the Premier League clubs enter the fray and the memories of Coventry were flowing through their minds. A home tie to AFC Wimbledon, another south London club, was a cracking draw.
This was the first Sutton match I went to, and it's fair to say it changed my football life. A capacity crowd of 5,013 watched Sutton edge the League One side but a 0-0 draw was the final result, although it looked as though Wimbledon could've had a penalty late on as it appeared Bradley Hudson-Odoi tripped Barry Fuller. Sutton were now in the hat for the fourth round for the first time since the Coventry win in 1989, and if they could overcome Wimbledon, a home tie to Leeds United would be the reward.
Many didn't fancy Sutton in the first fixture so you'd be forgiven for thinking that when Wimbledon took the lead through Tom Elliott that the tie was done and dusted. The match, though, completely switched when Wimbledon were reduced to ten men with Paul Robinson dismissed for a professional foul on former Wimbledon striker Tubbs. Sutton capitalised on their numerical advantage with second half goals from Deacon (a wonderful strike from the edge of the box), Biamou and Dan Fitchett knocking the favourites out.
Sutton had beaten a team from third, fourth, fifth and sixth tier on their way to the fourth round. Leeds were in the second tier, so it was a great opportunity to continue this achievement. It was also live on BT Sport but Sutton had already experienced the added pressure of the television cameras earlier in the season, beating Tranmere 1-0 on the same channel thanks to a solitary Fitchett goal. All the pressure was on Leeds. They were the professionals. They were the bigger club. Sutton had a chance to get revenge for the 6-0 loss in 1970. You have to embrace the moment.
Leeds had history with being on the wrong end of a cup upset as they lost to non league side Histon 1-0 in 2008 but with Garry Monks' eyes firmly on promotion to the Premier League, his decision to make 10 changes from their previous 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest certainly increased the chances of another "David vs Goliath" victory.
The shock seemed to be on when Sutton took an early lead. A long ball was touched by Biamou into the path of Deacon, playing in a more advanced role, and he shot high into the net but was adjudged to have been offside. It's a very tight call and one that should've given Deacon the benefit of the doubt. He was causing all sorts of problems for the Leeds defenders, forcing Marco Silvestri into an acrobatic save and his mazy run led to Bedsente Gomis fluffing his lines when well positioned to score.
As was expected, Leeds had more possession but found it difficult to break through the rigid Sutton defence. One time Stuart Dallas did make a dart forward and he broke the defensive line but his effort was saved by Ross Worner, who narrowed the angle expertly. Silvestri was definitely the busier of the two goalkeeper and he had to be on his toes again to stop a powerful strike from Deacon. Half time came and Sutton were the better team. They had to take their chances otherwise they may be left to rue them.
It didn't take long into the second half for Sutton to make their dominance count. A long ball from Nicky Bailey in search of Biamou caused miscommunication at the back for Leeds. The Frenchman appeared to be fouled by Silvestri, who had run out of his goal to claim the ball, but Deacon picked up the loose ball and was tripped by Lewis Coyle. The referee pointed to the spot.
The challenge was presented to Jamie Collins, who, in 2008, was part of the Havant & Waterlooville side that led twice at Anfield before losing 5-2. He was is a penalty expert and made no mistake, sending Silvestri the wrong was his shot went straight into the bottom right corner.
Sutton held on and as the final whistle was sounded, pandemonium ensued on the terraces. I was lucky enough to be at the match, and it truly is my favourite match of all time, largely because it's when I became a Sutton United supporter.
I've lived in Sutton for all my life but supported Liverpool for a rather stupid reason. The whole reason you support your country is because you are from there, so why should your club be any different? After beating Leeds, there was a crack in the roof of the clubhouse and it was not known whether Sutton had the finance to fix it. When you look at your local club struggling in such a massive way and I support a team in the north of the country, it didn't sit right with me.
It's also why I didn't go to the Arsenal match. Fans who had supported the club forever missed the Leeds match because daytrippers had managed to get their hands on tickets. I didn't the deserve to witness the spectacle of the fifth round when I wasn't an actual fan yet. Others did. I was happy being one of the 6.2 million who watched on BBC.
The 2016-17 FA Cup season was also special because of another non league club, Lincoln City, reaching the same stage as Sutton. They beat Brighton in the fourth round and faced Burnley, winning 1-0. Sutton faced Arsenal on the Monday night having seen Lincoln pull off another giant killing, but the Gunners represented a greater challenge than Brighton or Burnley.
It was a culture shock for Arsenal, coming to a ground like Gander Green Lane and playing on a 3G surface, which was paid for by Paul Doswell. They were expected to win and they did, but didn't outclass Sutton. They had chances through Adam May, Gomis, Collins and Deacon smashed the bar but by the end, the difference in energy levels shined through and the semi pros were flat out on their feet.
The fairytale was over but it was arguably tainted by 23 stone sub goalie Wayne Shaw. Sun Bets offered odds of 8-1 for Shaw to eat a pie during the Arsenal match, which he did although apparently it was a pasty. He was put under investigation for "irregularity in the betting market" and he offered his resignation. It's a shame because Shaw did so much for the club but his actions led to the club, and non league football, looking like an embarrassment.
Sutton sold out twice during the FA Cup run. Most were fairweather fans jumping on the FA Cup rollercoaster. I didn't want to be one of them, so I brought a season ticket for the 2017-18 season where Sutton finished 3rd - their highest ever league finish. If the FA Cup 4th round was good enough for me, then a home fixture against Gateshead was also good enough.
It feels good to be supporting my local club, helping my town. I'll never forget when Jamie Collins scored that penalty. It's my favourite game.
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