Port Vale made a huge impact in the FA Cup when the League One underground outfit beat Premier League side Sunderland 1-0 to book their place in the quarter-finals.
The draw looked like a formality on paper for the Black Cats – bottom of the third tier versus the top flight – but the FA Cup magic once again came as Ben Wayne’s first-half header proved to be enough for Vale.
Wayne, a Newcastle fan, pounced on Bale as he saved a corner and looped his header home, sending Bale Park into a frenzy. Five days after scoring the goal that beat Bristol City, New Zealand international Wayne, whose mother’s side of the country is from the North East, tried again to give Bale their first win against a top-flight side since their fourth-round victory over Everton 30 years ago.
This is the first time in more than 70 years that the team has advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, having reached the last eight in 1954.
From the moment they took the lead, Sunderland found themselves 11 points behind in League One, but Sunderland could not do enough as Vale’s defensive tenacity laid the foundation for a memorable occasion.
Sunderland made just two changes from the team that moved to 11th in the Premier League after defeating Leeds in midweek, but the team, which boasts more than £150m of talent, missed out on a chance to win silver.
The visitors could have taken the lead in the fourth minute when Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci mistakenly sent a corner kick past his own goal, but Eliezer Mayenda’s header bounced off the post and was curled in behind by Kyle John.
Sunderland’s nerves were exposed when Wayne forced Luke O’Nien into a long-range backpass. Goalkeeper Melker Elborg panicked but made an unconventional but excellent save by heading the ball over his own crossbar. This mistake allowed Vale to take the lead from a corner via Wayne.
Wayne takes Port Vale to shock lead
Sunderland continued to press in, with Nilsson Angulo’s header blocked by Gauci and Dan Ballard’s effort tipped over, but there was no doubt Bale would have a day to enjoy.
They may be bottom of League One, but Port Vale still reminded everyone why the FA Cup remains the greatest stage in football history for unlikely people.
The FA Cup quarter-final draw will take place on Monday, ahead of the last-16 final between West Ham and Brentford.
Brady: I’m in shock.
Port Vale manager John Brady told TNT Sports:
“To be honest, it was a bit of a shock. We game-planned and worked hard, but we knew we were going to struggle without the ball and the pitch was going to help us.”
“We have a hell of a schedule, more than a quarter of the season with eight weeks left. We lost our top goalscorer to Luton and were sold, another went to Plymouth and 55 per cent of our goals and assists are gone from us. We have had injuries in the backline and I have the smallest player in the middle. But we have performed well in the last six games and we are unbeaten.”
“I asked Granit Xhaka: Have you ever played on a worse pitch? He said yes, I have played on worse pitches!”
“I don’t really feel it. I’m a little shocked by the result. It’s not because I didn’t think we could do it, but we need a lot of things to go our way. When we first came out, the team was sometimes booed, but then we turned things around. At half-time the referee started getting booed and the fans started supporting us. The connection with the fans, that’s the most important thing.”
Wayne celebrates goal
“We’ve won six games in 14 games since we’ve been here. It’s important to improve the mindset of the players. We’ve done a lot off the pitch to get the players to believe in themselves. Some of their journeys have been really raw and it’s brought the players together.”
“The fans have been through a lot. Our owner, Carol (Shanahan), is one of the nicest women I’ve ever met in the business. She said it’s a game of snakes and ladders. You go down, it’s the snake, you go up, it’s the ladder. That was a great analogy for her today.”
Le Bris: We weren’t at that level.
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris told TNT Sport:
“First of all, I want to give all the credit to our opponents. They played with hunger, perseverance and intensity. And we weren’t at this level. It was a second ball game, a lot of duels. We didn’t perform as well as we put on ourselves today.
“That’s the reality. You have to accept it. It’s not easy. It’s sad for the fans. They traveled to support us and we weren’t given this energy to make a difference. This competition is relentless. One game, 90 minutes, anything can happen.”
“The players wanted to do it, but they couldn’t do it.
“We had to cope with Granit Xhaka’s load. The Premier League is the most difficult target. We worked hard and prepared hard. If we don’t show our level we will be punished.”
