(Football news) Tottenham Hotspurs 15 year wait for a trophy continues as they suffered a embarrassing 1-0 loss at the hands of Championship side Sheffield United after their young Ghaninia star Iliman Ndiaye scored 11 minutes from time to stun the visitors. Tottenham were without Harry Kane who was on the bench while Antonio Conte still out of the country as he recovers from a gallbladder surgery The manager is now under immense pressure for this defeat but, with his future still up in the air as the pressure is mounting on him ahead of a crunch Champions League fixture against AC Milan next week.
“The performance from all the players was first class and the experienced boys at the back were class too,” Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom told the BBC.
Grimsby is better-known for its fishing industry as the fourth-tier minnows caused a major upset by knocking out Premier League side Southampton to reach the quarterfinals for the first time in 84 years. With around 4,000 fans making the long journey from the Humber Estuary to Southampton. Penalties netted by Gavan Holohan either side of half-time helped seal a 2-1 victory on one of the biggest nights in Grimsby’s history.
Their reward now is a trip to Brighton and Hove Albion in the last eight of the FA Cup, a clash between two port towns as they are destined to be billed as the Seagulls versus Haddocks. Manager Paul Hurst described it as a ‘miracle’ for his side to become only the sixth team from the fourth tier to reach the last eight of the FA Cup Cup since the introduction of the football division in 1958-59.
Duje Caleta-Car gave Southampton a lifeline and then Theo Walcott looked like he equalised with 10 minutes to go but his effort was deemed offside by VAR . Grimsby’s historic win means that they are the first team in the competition to eliminate five different teams from a higher division in one season.For Southampton, it was another low point in what is turning out to be a miserable season. For Grimsby fans it is all about cherishing this moment irrespective of the result in the next round, in doing so they become the first team from the 4th division in 84 years to qualify for the last eight in the FA Cup.
“I’m in shock a little bit. Just delighted for the players. What an effort. We kept disciplined. Look at what that means to the support,” Hurst said as the visiting fans celebrated loudly. “We turned up, hoping for a miracle and to be in the quarterfinal is incredible. It is just a fantastic day, we have gone down in the history books. It is a very special day.”
“I know that there were a few who thought we could get a result going into it, but maybe I thought they were crazy,” Hurst told the club’s Twitter feed. “But when we went two up a few more started to believe.”
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