49 games, 7 FA Cup wins... and one goal

AS A record seven-time winner Ashley Cole thought he’d done pretty much everything in the FA Cup until yesterday when he finally scored his first goal in the competition after 18 years of trying.

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Cole’s appearance for Derby at Brighton yesterday was his first in the FA Cup in 1,847 days, since playing alongside current boss Frank Lampard for Chelsea against Stoke in January 2014.

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Yesterday’s defeat means Ashley Cole has now played 49 FA Cup ties and probably kissed goodbye to the chance of chalking up the half-century. He’ll be 39 when next season’s third round takes place.

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And finally, an FA Cup goal. It was Cole’s first ever in the FA Cup and his first in English football since September 2012 (for Chelsea against Stoke).