If you haven’t heard much about Stevenage, the English EFL League Two side, you might be hearing a lot more in the coming months. The club from the English region of Hertfordshire served up one of the biggest shocks in recent memory, and indeed the biggest in this round of FA Cup, when they scored two late goals to beat Aston Villa in Birmingham.It was all going according to plan for the Villans until 85 minutes. They were ahead thanks to a first-half opener by Morgan Sanson, but the game was turned on its head in an astonishing chain of events.
Villa continued to dictate the play in the second period and their patience nearly paid off again in the 65th minute. There were plenty of calls from the fans for Luiz to shoot from two corners, but he refused, opting to pass instead. Coutinho found Chambers at the far post with a dangerous low cross but Daniel Sweeney did enough to force the effort just wide.Many substitutes were made on either side, which slowed the tempo of the match. The visitors adjusted better to the situation – and showed more passion.66′ – Philippe Coutinho comes off.The substitution took longer than usual as they had to dig him out of Luther James-Wildin’s back pocket.#AVFC 1-0 #SFC ⚪️🔵— Stevenage FC 🔴⚪ (@StevenageFC) January 8, 2023 Goalkeeper Robin Olsen passed the ball out to Leander Dendoncker, who was robbed by Dean Campbell as the Stevenage forward was in on goal. Dendoncker dragged him back, and the referee awarded an initial free-kick. After a check, the decision was changed into a penalty – and a red card for Dendoncker.Jamie Reid converted from the spot and seemingly forced a replay of the tie. But no. It was going to end here and now.Dean Campbell scored a sensational winner in the added time to give League Two’s second-placed team a result that will go down in history and will be sung about by Boro’s supporters in years to come. What a shocker!Unai Emery has named a much-changed starting XI for this tie. Only Matty Cash, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey retained their places from the midweek draw with Wolves.
Incredible scenes for @StevenageFC 🙌#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/KjEzxnXdDq— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 8, 2023 Olsen started in goal, and played behind a back four of Cash, Calum Chambers, Jan Bednarek and Ludwig Augustinsson. Sanson made his first start since Wolves away last April. Philippe Coutinho played on the left wing – and did precious little to kickstart his fading career.FA CUP Third round FridayManchester United – Everton 3-1 (1-1)/Antony 4, Coady 52 og, Rashford 90+7 pen – Coady 14/SaturdayCrystal Palace – Southampton 1-2 (1-1)/Edouard 14 – Ward-Prowse 37, Armstrong 68/Gillingham – Leicester 0-1 (0-0)/Iheanacho 56/Preston – Huddersfield 3-1 (0-0)/Lees 60 og, Diaby 73, Browne 85 – Kamberi 57/Reading – Watford 2-0 (1-0)/Abrefa 45+3, Long 90+3/Tottenham – Portsmouth 1-0 (0-0)/Kane 50/Blackpool – Nottingham Forest 4-1 (1-0)/Ekpiteta 17, Poveda 64, Hamilton 71, J Yates 87 – R Yates 90+2/Boreham Wood – Accrington 1-1 (0-1)/Ndlovu 78 – Astley 6/Bournemouth – Burnley 2-4 (1-3)/Christie 12, Solanke 48 – Benson 6, 57, Zaroury 39, 43/Chesterfield – West Brom 3-3 (3-2)/Williams 7, Dobra 36, 41 – Thomas-Asante 2, Grant 17, Asante 90+4/Fleetwood – QPR 2-1 (1-1)/Nsiala 40, Omochere 67 – Field 37/Hull – Fulham 0-2 (0-1)/Kurzawa 37, James 90+4/Ipswich – Rotherham 4-1 (1-0)/Humphreys 43, Chaplin 74 pen, Ladapo 79, Burns 87 pen – Washington 47 pen/Middlesbrough – Brighton 1-5 (1-2)/Akpom 13 – Gross 8, Lallana 29, Mac Allister 58, 80, Undav 88/Millwall – Sheffield United 0-2 (0-2)/Jebbison 23, Bogle 36/Shrewsbury – Sunderland 1-2 (0-0)/Pennington 80 – Stewart 90+1, O’Nien 90+4/Brentford – West Ham 0-1 (0-0)/Benrahma 79/Coventry – Wrexham 3-4 (1-3)/Shaef 36, Gyokeres 69, Palmer 76 – Dalby 12, Lee 18, O’Connor 45+6, Mullin 58 pen/Grimsby – Burton 1-0 (0-0)/Richardson 76/Luton – Wigan 1-1 (1-1)/Cornick 45+1 – Naylor 17/Sheffield Wednesday – Newcastle United 2-1 (0-0)/Windass 52, 65 – Guimaraes 69/Liverpool – Wolverhampton 2-2 (1-1)/Nunez 45, Salah 52 – Guedes 26, Hwang 67/SundayBristol City – Swansea 1-1 (0-1)/Semenyo 75 – Piroe 15/Derby – Barnsley 3-0 (1-0)/Collins 45+1, Barkhuizen 60, Knight 79/Cardiff – Leeds 2-2 (2-0)/Philogene 24, Ojo 31 – Rodrigo 65 pen, Perkins 90+3/Hartlepool – Stoke 0-3 (0-2)/Murray 16 og, Brown 43, Menayese 48 og/Norwich – Blackburn 0-1 (0-1)/Vale 31/Stockport – Wallsall 1-2 (0-0)/Madden 88 – Johnson 63, Williams 90+5 pen/Aston Villa – Stevenage 1-2 (1-0)/Sanson 33 – Reid 88 pen, Campbell 90/Manchester City – Chelsea 4-0 (3-0)/Mahrez 23, 85 pen, Alvarez 30 pen, Foden 38/Monday23:00 Oxford United – Arsenal***odds are subject to change***