As the third round of the FA Cupapproaches, there are several fixtures which provide the potential for a shockFA Cup exit, one of which is Reading’s trip to Old Trafford to take onManchester United.
Despite the gulf in class between the RedDevils and the Royals, United need to be careful not to underestimate theiropponents. We’ve taken a look at three occasions where the Red Devils weredefeated by the underdogs as a lesson prior to their clash with Reading.
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Manchester United 0-1 Leeds United
A fierce rivalry that is believed tooriginate from the Wars of the Roses, which saw Lancashire and Yorkshire battlefor the throne of England. The football rivalry have been intense from the getgo and when the two clubs met in the FA Cup third round, it was as if nothinghad changed.
Despite Leeds being top of League One, and43 league places lower than their Lancashire rivals, it was Leeds who were ableto come out on top in this exchange. A goal fromJermaine Beckford in the 19th minute was enough to securevictory for the Whites in the feisty encounter.
United have remained as the more successfulclub of the two, having won 20 top division titles, 13 of which have beenPremier League titles. They’ve also won 12 FA Cups and three European Cups, thelatter being a trophy their Yorkshire rivals have never won. With Leedsmounting a strong bid to return to the Premier League, this rivalry couldreturn on a more regular basis starting next season.
Manchester United 0-1 Southampton
When Tommy Docherty’s Manchester Unitedtravelled to Wembley to take on second division Southampton in the FA Cup finalin 1976, few people gave the Saints a chance of achieving victory.
United had finished third in the FirstDivision while their opponents only managed a sixth place finish in the SecondDivision. With a team containing Alex Stepney, Steve Coppell and Lou Macari,the Red Devils were the favourites and it’s no surprise that they started thematch as the stronger side.
However, as United failed to take theirchances, Southampton’s Bobby Stokes scored the winner for the Saints in the 83rdminute after receiving a pass from Jim McCalliog, he helped Soton win theirfirst major trophy.
United fans have the right to feelaggrieved over the result as the referee in charge of the final, Clive Thomas,has admitted since that Stokesmay have been offside for the goal he scored.
Manchester United 0-1 Portsmouth
This is arguably the least surprisingresult of the three, but Portsmouth did produce a shocking victory nonetheless.Premier League Portsmouth travelled to Old Trafford in March 2008 to contest anFA Cupquarter final fixture with the Red Devils.
Although the Blues had been flying high inthe Premier League, they would be up against some of the best players in theworld. Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez all linedup for United that day in 2008 but they couldn’t break down the Portsmouthdefence.
Portsmouth’s manager Harry Redknapp hadpreviously beaten Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side in the FA Cup withboth Bournemouth and West Ham and he continued his form as Pompey manager.
After half time, legendary goalkeeper Edwinvan der Sar had been replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak, which would ultimately proveto be United’s downfall. It all fell apart for United in the 76thminute as Kuszczak brought down Milan Baros in the area and was sent off.Sulley Muntari emphatically scored the 78th minute penalty aftercentre back Rio Ferdinand went in goal.
United won the Premier League and ChampionsLeague this season, meaning Portsmouth’s shock win prevented United fromwinning a second historic treble, which they achieved in the 1998/99 seaso
Portsmouth meanwhile went on to win the FACup and played in the UEFA Cup the following season. They’ve since fallen fromgrace, suffering relegations all the way down to League Two, but are nowbouncing back, winning the 2016/17 League Two title and they currently sit atthe top of the League One table.
With these shock defeats in mind, Unitedwill have to be aware that their superior team won’t automatically win against Reading.
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