MANCHESTER, England (AP) - The FA Cup threw up its latest heartwarming story line on Sunday when Sutton United beat second-tier Leeds 1-0 to ensure there would be two non-league teams in the fifth round for the first time since the 19th century.
Adding a touch more magic on a historic day for the 146-year-old competition was the background of the scorer of the only goal at atmospheric Gander Green Lane.
Jamie Collins works as a builder in his full-time job and here he was getting mobbed by dozens of young Sutton fans in a joyful post-match pitch invasion, having converted a 53rd-minute penalty that saw off one of the grandest names in English soccer. Sutton, a tiny club from the southwest of London, advanced to the last 16 for the first time.
The latest upset came a day after Lincoln, another team from outside England’s four professional leagues, beat second-tier Brighton 3-1 to reach the fifth round for the first time since 1887. It’s the first time since the foundation of the Football League in 1888 that two non-league teams have reached this stage of the FA Cup, according to sports data company Opta.
“We’d like one of the Premier League big boys now - Man United, Arsenal, someone like that, away,” Collins said.
And he could yet get his wish in Monday’s draw.
On a day of cup shocks that saw top-tier clubs Hull and Watford knocked out by lower-league opposition, United powered into the fifth round with a 4-0 win over second-tier Wigan at Old Trafford.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was one of United’s scorers on a rare run-out for the former Germany captain.
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SUTTON 1, LEEDS 0
Twenty-eight years after Sutton dumped top-tier Coventry out of the competition, the team achieved another memorable FA Cup feat by beating an opponent 83 places higher in English soccer’s ladder.
Leeds, which is challenging for promotion to the Premier League as it looks to regain its old status, chose to make 10 changes to its lineup and manager Garry Monk’s decision backfired spectacularly.
“I take responsibility for that, maybe it was one or two too many changes,” Monk said. “There was no cohesiveness to our play so we got what we probably deserved.”
A miserable afternoon for Leeds ended with Liam Cooper getting sent off in the 82nd.
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FULHAM 4, HULL 1
Hull striker Abel Hernandez had two penalties saved in the space of a minute in the closing stages, a final embarrassment for the Premier League team at Craven Cottage, four days after its elimination from the League Cup at the semifinal stage.
Hull was already heading out of the competition when Hernandez’s first spot kick in the 87th minute was saved by Marcus Bettinelli, who then tripped Hernandez as the Uruguay international pounced on the rebound. Bettinelli went the right way to deny Hernandez off the second penalty attempt, too.
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MILLWALL 1, WATFORD 0
Steve Morison scored a close-range volley in the 85th minute for third-tier Millwall, eliminating a Premier League team for the second straight round after earlier beating Bournemouth.
Watford, a semifinalist last season, made seven changes in light of a league game at Arsenal on Tuesday.
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MAN UNITED 4, WIGAN 0
United ensured there would be eight Premier League teams in the draw for the last 16, although one of them - Leicester - faces a replay against Derby.
The titleholders used the aerial route to gain a 2-0 lead, with Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling scoring headers, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan finished off a flowing counterattack for the third.
Schweinsteiger marked his first start for United in 385 days by hooking home an acrobatic finish for a late fourth goal.
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Steve Douglas is at twitter.com/sdouglas80
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