Lincoln boss hails ‘incredible’ upset
Leicester suffer fifth round loss at Millwall
BURNLEY: The manager of non-league Lincoln City said his club had been on a “life-changing” run in the FA Cup after they knocked Premier League Burnley out of the competition in one of the all-time great upsets.
Sean Raggett’s 89th-minute header secured a famous 1-0 win for Lincoln at Turf Moor as the Imps, who play in the fifth-tier National League, became the first non-league club since 1914 to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
“It was an incredible feeling really to win the game like we did,” said Lincoln manager Danny Cowley.
“We grew in confidence I thought and to score with a set-piece, which we work really hard on, was pretty apt,” he added.
Saturday’s stunning success saw Lincoln into the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
They had already knocked out Ipswich and Brighton, from English football’s second-tier Championship, during their Cup run before seeing off Burnley.
For several seasons now, with Premier League and even Championship clubs fielding understrength sides in the FA Cup, because of commitments in other competitions, there have been fears that the status of the world’s oldest senior football knockout tournament was slowly being downgraded.
But Cowley believes East Midlands club Lincoln’s success has highlighted the enduring appeal of the FA Cup.
“I think maybe we’ve brought some of the magic back,” he said. “It is a brilliant cup competition. Whoever says the FA Cup is dead hasn’t lived in Lincoln for the last six to eight weeks.
“And it has galvanised our football club.”
As for his preferred opposition in the quarter-finals, Cowley added: “We want a home draw or to go to a big ground, where all of our fans could come.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who as a player featured in Chesterfield’s surprise run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 1997, was aware of the scale of Lincoln’s achievement.
“We’ve unfortunately played a part in
Lincoln’s fairytale and obviously we didn’t want to do that,” said Dyche.
Meanwhile, Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri criticised his players for lacking “desire and heart” in a 1-0 loss at third-tier Millwall, the latest setback for the stuttering English champions.
Leicester, who are one point above the relegation zone in a woeful defence of their
Premier League title, are without a victory in their last eight matches.
Millwall played most of the second half with 10 men and won thanks to a 90thminute goal.
“I want to speak again with the players and say we have to fight every match,” an animated Ranieri said. “Who wants to fight? Tell me. I need the soldiers, I need the gladiators.
“It is strange because last season we won for this, to be more determined than the opponent and play with more heart than the opponent. We could also lose but we would fight every match. I want to see this, the fight until the end.”
Chelsea, chasing a league and FA Cup double, restored some order with goals from Pedro and Diego Costa earning them a 2-0 win at Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw at Huddersfield Town.
Middlesbrough quelled a stirring comeback by third-tier Oxford United to win 3-2 at the Riverside Stadium.
Chris Maguire and Toni Martinez scored within a minute of each other to haul Oxford level at Middlesbrough but their hopes of emulating Lincoln and Millwall were ended four minutes from time when Cristhian Stuani tapped in Boro’s winner.