The FA Cup has an almost magical, nay mystical auro around it with lower league teams duking it out with the big boys from divisions above. Players tucking away late chances in moments of heralded glory that will become fireside tales told to grandchildren. One such event happened at Shrewsbury’s New Meadow ground today.
League One strugglers Shrewsbury Town, sitting uncomfortably in 20th place in the third tier of English football, were about to experience the magic of a Saturday tie in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup against high-flying Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
Compared to the Shrews, the Owls had an embarrassment of riches player-wise at their disposal. Players such as signings £1.95m Lucas João and £2.2m Marco Matias who both arrived from Portugeuse side Clube Deportivo Nacional as well as Gary Hooper who signed for a reported £3m fee from Premier League Norwich City.
With the beauty of the FA Cup, often the strange becomes the normal and the lower league teams raise their performance beyond the level that you’d expect of them. Most of the time they run their higher league opposition close but, more often than not, fall at the wayside to a defeat from a spirited display. However, for the many Davids felled by the hands of the higher league Goliaths, there is often a few Davids who reverse the trend and slay the giant. This year’s giant killers of the Fourth Round are Shrewsbury, worthy 3-2 winners over Sheffield Wednesday today.
Lewis McGugan scored the first of his brace with a 35-yard free kick that evaded the despairing dive of Leutwiler in the Shrewsbury goal to give Sheffield Wednesday a 19th minute lead. Wednesday turned the half with this 1-0 lead but were pegged back early in the second period with former Toulouse and Grimsby Town player Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro soaring like a leaping dolphin and bringing the home side back on level terms, heading in at the back post after a long ball from the back opened Wednesday up.
McGugan’s second came after Shrewsbury tried to play the ball out of their own box, the defender’s clearance landing at the feet of the Wednesday player who then lashed in his second of the day to give the Championship side a 2-1 lead on 76 minutes and leave Shrewsbury players with heads in hands. Still, undaunted, the Shrews pressed on and Akpa-Akpto took the ball into the edge of the penalty area, only to be tripped by Wednesday defender Vincent Sasso as he cut back inside – the referee instantly pointing at the spot. Akpa-Akpro dusted himself off to take the penalty, only to see it saved by Lewis Price in the Wednesday goal. However, Shaun Whalley, who was following up, knocked the ball beyond the recovering Price to give Shrewsbury an equalising goal on 87 minutes.
Late drama isn’t limited only to the FA Cup, but the magic of the FA Cup makes it shine in an altogether different way. The equalising goal from Whalley wasn’t the drama, that was yet to come and buried deep into time added-on. With the game heading into its 97th minute and Shrewsbury dreaming of a replay and likely some welcome cash, the Shrews broke from the back and a dinked ball into the 6-yard box was met by on-lon Fulham defender Jack Grimmer who forced the header beyond Price to give the League One strugglers a fairytale win.
The crowd erupted, the players were beyond jubliant and Shrewsbury were into tomorrow’s Fifth Round draw.
In nature, Owls are meant to eat Shrews but the FA Cup is no assuager of nature.
Shrewsbury manager Micky Mellon was understandbly ecstatic as Shrewsbury advance a step further in the FA Cup telling BBC Sport, “To have this club involved in games like this and challenging with Sheffield Wednesday to get into the fifth round of the cup is where we should be. We were every bit as good in that second half as we have been poor in other games. We worked very hard on our game plan on the training pitch and all the players stuck to it. People are asking for attacking football. I cannot do any more than my right-back getting on the end of a cross in the 97th minute!”
