Port Vale cause FA Cup shock to reach quarters
0
BURSLEM: Third-tier strugglers Port Vale pulled off the shock of the FA Cup fifth round to beat Premier League Sunderland 1-0 and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1954 on Sunday.
Ben Waine’s 28th-minute goal proved enough to clinch a famous victory for the Vale Park club who are in danger of being relegated from League One this season.
There was another surprise, albeit a milder one, earlier on Sunday as Premier League Fulham were beaten 1-0 at home by second-tier Southampton.
Leeds United avoided a Sunday wipe-out for Premier League clubs, though, as they dispatched Championship side Norwich City 3-0 with goals by Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Joel Piroe at Elland Road.
Southampton became the first non-Premier League club to reach the quarters. They were later joined by Port Vale who stunned Sunderland with a gritty display on a threadbare pitch.
Sunderland, mid-table in the Premier League and 57 places higher than League One bottom club Port Vale, were pedestrian against their fired-up hosts and paid the penalty.
Waine headed in after Sunderland failed to clear a corner and the hosts deservedly held on despite some late pressure.
The 24-year-old New Zealand international, who also scored the winner against second-tier Bristol City in midweek in a delayed fourth-round tie, celebrated in the fashion of former Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer, one arm aloft.
“We are on a bit of a roll at the moment,” Waine said. “I know it wasn’t pretty to watch but we dug in so hard and I think we deserved it.”
Vale manager Jon Brady, while proud of his team, said the result was a “pain in the bum” as it will add to the club’s fixture congestion in their fight to avoid the fourth tier.
“I’m in a bit of shock really,” Brady, who took charge in January, said. “Things went our way today.”
Sunderland reached the 40-point mark in their return season in the Premier League and are almost certainly safe, but Sunday’s result put a dampener on their campaign.
“The Premier League is our first objective, 100%. We tried to go strong with the players we had. We trained properly before. If you don’t show enough you get punished and that’s what happened today,” manager Regis Le Bris, said.
Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026
