Dons revive Crazy Gang heroics in FA Cup
Wimbledon knock out West Ham, Everton upset by Millwall
AFC Wimbledon resurrected memories of their legendary "Crazy Gang" predecessors as they dumped West Ham United out of the FA Cup in the fourth round with a 4-2 win at Kingsmeadow yesterday morning (Singapore time).
Despite being bottom of the third tier of the English football pyramid, Wimbledon went 3-0 up after 46 minutes via goals from Kwesi Appiah and a Scott Wagstaff double.
English Premier League side West Ham hit back with goals from substitutes Lucas Perez and Felipe Anderson but Toby Sibbick's header sealed the tie two minutes from time.
It was a result Wimbledon's Crazy Gang team of the 1980s and 1990s would have been proud of. In 1988, the then-second tier Dons caused one of the great upsets in FA Cup final history, beating Liverpool 1-0.
AFC Wimbledon were formed by fans of Wimbledon who controversially uprooted from London to Milton Keynes in 2002 and became MK Dons.
There is a link to the club's history in manager Wally Downes, who as a player helped Wimbledon climb from English football's fourth tier all the way to the old First Division.
He said after the match: "I don't know if it was a plan, winning was the plan, not the 4-2...
"Football is random.
"There is a load of analysis we do, me included, but on any given day, any team can beat any other team and we have done it tonight."
Sibbick, 19, wasn't born when Wimbledon won their only FA Cup but he remembers losing to the Hammers in the League Cup last August.
He said: "We thought we were unlucky in the League Cup (West Ham scored two late goals to beat Wimbledon 3-1 last August) and got our revenge tonight."
Two-goal hero Wagstaff added: "I thought the boys were excellent. It's a great win - look at the fans. This is what it is all about."
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini, predictably, wasn't in such a good mood.
He said: "Was I angry at half-time? Yes of course.
"I was ashamed of them.
"I didn't expect it, the attitude, playing against a team that sits two divisions below us, but in football, you can lose in two or three balls...
"I changed three players because I could only make three changes. I could have changed all the players."
The Hammers weren't the only top-flight side to be dumped out of the FA Cup by lower-league opposition with Everton suffering a 3-2 loss at the hands of second-tier Millwall after an injury-time winner by Murray Wallace.
That result enhanced Millwall's giant-killing pedigree as they became the first team outside the top division to win five straight FA Cup home games against top-flight sides since West Ham between 1958 and 1991, according to Opta.
SELECTED RESULTS
- Shrewsbury 2 Wolves 2
- Newcastle 0 Watford 2
- Brighton 0 West Brom 0
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