Hereford, Sutton and Wrexham... the 15 biggest FA Cup third-round shocks – in pictures

Ahead of this weekend's action, we take a look back at some the competition's most famous results

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  January 7, 1984 - Bournemouth 2 Manchester United 0: The Cherries were languishing near the bottom of the old Third Division and Harry Redknapp was finding life tough in his first season as a manager. First Division United were the competition holders and were expected to stroll to victory. Cue one of the most famous of all third-round shockers as goals from Milton Graham and Ian Thompson sealed a famous win at Dene Court. "It's got to be the greatest day of my life, and I'm sure it's the greatest day of all the players' lives," said Redknapp after the match. Getty

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  January 8, 2011 - Stevenage 3 Newcastle 1: A result that summed up Newcastle under Mike Ashley. The Newcastle owner had made it clear that staying in the lucrative Premier League was priority and the cups were merely fixtures that had to be fulfilled. The home side, 13th in the fourth tier League Two, made sure a severely weakened Newcastle line-up would pay dearly. Goals from Stacy Long and Michael Bostwick put Stevenage in the driving seat and Peter Winn completed the scoring after Joey Barton had pulled one back for Newcastle, who had Cheik Tiote sent-off for a wild tackle. Magpies manager Alan Pardew said: "I can say that we’re sorry about the result and the performance ... we’re Newcastle, we expect to win here." Reuters

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  January 4, 2010 - Manchester United 0 Leeds 1: Due to the Yorkshire club's catastrophic fall from grace after years of reckless spending, there were 42 places separating these two fierce rivals at kick-off. United had never before lost in the third round of the competition - or been knocked out of it by a lower-division side - during Alex Ferguson's 23-year reign as manager. But a single goal from Jermaine Beckford was enough to earn the League One leaders a famous win. Getty

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  January 18, 1995 - Arsenal 0 Millwall 2: George Graham's side were humbled by second-tier Millwall in this replay at Highbury. The Gunners fell behind to Mark Beard's early strike in the replay, after the first game finished goalless at The Den, and a miserable night was completed in injury-time when 18-year-old Mark Kennedy smashed home Millwall's second. "Everything went against us," complained Graham afterwards. Reuters

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  January 4, 2003 - Shrewsbury 2 Everton 1: Shrewsbury manager Kevin Ratcliffe masterminded the humiliation of the club where he made his name as a player. Two goals from veteran captain Nigel Jemson secured the Third Division side victory over a team 80 places above of them in the English system. Substitute Niclas Alexandersson looked to have saved Everton's embarrassment only for Jemson to head home a winner two minutes from time. "It just shows the quality we had on the pitch," Jemson said. Getty

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  January 18, 2005 - Burnley 1 Liverpool 0: Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, in his first season in charge, was punished for playing a weakened team. An own-goal from Djimi Traore early in the second half earned the Championship side a fourth-round spot against a club that would go on to win the Champions league that season. Shrews manager Steve Cotterill said: "My heart was beating like a drum and my voice had gone ... but we deserved it." Getty

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  January 5, 1991 - West Bromwich Albion 2-4 Woking: The match that earned Tim Buzaglo a place on FA Cup folklore when the non-League side defeated second-tier West Brom at the Hawthorns. Colin West put the hosts ahead only for Buzaglo netted his treble in the space of 15 second-half minutes before Terry Worsfold added a fourth. In a 2019 interview, Woking manager Geoff Chapple was asked how he felt after the match: “I’m sitting there thinking: ‘I don’t know if I’m alive or dead. Am I dreaming? This can’t be happening. We’re from little Surrey, nobodies, what’s going on here?’” Getty

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  January 6, 2019 - Newport County 2 Leicester 1: Less than three years earlier, Leicester had been crowned Premier League champions. Jamille Matt's perfectly placed header gave the fourth-tier hosts an early lead. That would last until eight minutes from time when Rachid Ghezzai smashed home an equaliser for Claude Puel's side, only for Marc Albrighton to handle in the box and Padraig Amond to fire home from the spot. Newport manager Michael Flynn said: "It’s huge for me, the football club, the community, all the fans and the players." Getty

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  February 5, 1972 - Hereford 2 Newcastle 1: Arguably, the most famous upset of the lot when fifth-tier part-timers Hereford knocked out First Division Newcastle. The Magpies went ahead through star striker Malcolm MacDonald, only for Ronnie Radford to level minutes later with a blistering 30-yard strike that sparked a pitch invasion by delirious fans. Ricky George scored the injury-time winner. Radford said of his goal: "It could have finished in the car park, but as soon as it left my foot I knew it was going for the top corner." Getty

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  January 4, 1992 - Wrexham 2 Arsenal 1: The champions of England were left shell-shocked on a night in Wales Gunners manager George Graham would call his "lowest moment in football" against a side that had finished bottom of the Football League the previous season. Alan Smith put Arsenal ahead then, with eight minutes to go, 37-year-old Mickey Thomas arrowed home a stunning free-kick. Two minutes later, the turnaround was complete when Stephen Watkin poked home the winner. Wrexham midfielder Gordon Davies said: "They treated it as a training match." Getty

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  January 5, 2008 - Everton 0 Oldham 1: League One Oldham stunned the Premier League high-fliers when Gary McDonald's 25-yard strike sealed a spot in the next round. "I would have expected the team I put out to have been good enough to win," insisted Everton manager David Moyes. Oldham boss John Sheridan said of his team: "I can't praise them enough. The togetherness was outstanding." Getty

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  January 8, 2005 - Manchester United 0 Exeter 0: Alex Ferguson's decision to play a vastly weakened side backfired as they were held to a draw by non-league Exeter - 93 places below them in the English football ladder. In the second half, Ferguson even brought on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Scholes to try and break the deadlock - but to no avail. Exeter manager Alex Inglethorpe, a lifelong United fan, said: "My main emotion is one of pride." United won the replay 2-0. Getty

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  6 Jan 2002 - Cardiff 2 Leeds 1: Premiership leaders Leeds were knocked-out by third-tier Cardiff in an incident packed game in Wales. Mark Viduka gave the visitors a lead that was quickly cancelled out by Graham Kavanagh's free-kick. Ninian Park was sent into raptures three minutes from time when Scott Young scored the winner. The result was marred when Cardiff fans spilled onto the pitch at the final whistle and objects were hurled by both sets of fans. Allsport

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  January 16, 2008 - Havant & Waterlooville 4 Swansea 2: Non-league Havant & Waterlooville secured a dream FA Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool after beating Swansea in a thrilling replay. The home side, 83 places below the League One leaders, hurtled into a 3-0 lead thanks to a Garry Monk own-goal, Jamie Collins and Rocky Baptiste. Guillem Bauza and Jason Scotland cut the deficit to one, but Tom Jordan's header sealed victory. Havant and Waterlooville manager Shaun Gale said: "This is the best moment in my footballing life as a player or in the short time I've been a manager." Getty

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  January 8, 1994 - Birmingham City 1 Kidderminster Harriers 2: Kidderminster were top of the fifth-tier Conference while Birmingham were bottom of Division One - a perfect mix for a cup shock. Paul Harding put Barry Fry's second tier side ahead only for Neil Cartwright to level. Jon Purdie's 25-yard strike midway through the second half sealed a famous win. "Without a doubt, that was the worst day I ever had to suffer," Fry said in 2014." Getty

The third round of the FA Cup is renowned over the years for throwing up some of biggest shock results in English football history.

It is the round where the big guns enter the competition's fray and the lesser lights look to make some headlines.

While the glamour of the FA Cup has diminished somewhat in recent years as clubs prioritise league position over knockout glory, it still remains one the most famous trophies in world football.

Looking at this season's fixture list, third-tier Bristol Rovers will be fancying their chances at home to winless Premier League side Sheffield United on Saturday.

Sixth-tier Chorley will be taking on Wayne Rooney's Derby County side that is set to be made up of youth-team players after an outbreak of Covid-19 at the Championship club.

While on Sunday, if eighth-tier Marine manage to defeat Jose Mourinho's Spurs, you can safely say that a new name has been firmly etched into FA Cup history.

The same can be said if fourth-tier Morecambe claim the scalp of Chelsea and Frank Lampard's squad of superstars at Stamford Bridge.

In the above gallery, we have picked out 15 of the biggest FA Cup third-round shocks. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.