FA Cup memories - Sutton's 90 minutes of fame

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The FA Cup, the world’s greatest football competition returns this weekend with the first round proper and in a new series for the website from round one until the final at Wembley next May, I will share my memories of what has made the competition so special to me and many football fans up and down the land.

These stories can be one of personal achievement, a huge surprise against the odds, even something like a game played in freezing temperatures or a weekend where the underdog ripped up the formbook.

First up is a lookback at Sutton United’s greatest day in their football history, when the mighty Coventry City visited Gander Green Lane for an FA Cup third round match in January 1989.

The 1988-89 FA Cup season is sadly remembered more for a story of human tragedy rather than the football that took place but on 7 January 1989, Sutton United from the GM Vauxhall Conference were about to write the biggest story on the pitch in that season’s edition of the trophy.

A mid-table side in the non-league were given the tie of the third round when they were paired up with Coventry from the first division. The Sky Blues might have fallen from the big league for a while now but were seasoned campaigners in the top flight at this stage. In 1989, the Midlands side were sitting pretty in the top five in Division One and had players such as Steve Ogrizovic, Cyrille Regis, Brian Kilcline and Steve Sedgley to call upon. They had only won the trophy themselves 18 months earlier when they stunned Tottenham to win 3-2 in the 1987 final.

No-one gave Sutton a chance but this was the FA Cup and manager Barrie Williams had got his side working hard on their set pieces. Three minutes before the interval, Mark Golley flicked a header on at the near post and the skipper Tony Rains had an unguarded goal to head into as Ogrizovic has made a meal of dealing with the danger. Rains wrote himself into Sutton’s folklore and gave the underdogs a surprise lead going into the break.

Coventry were playing the better football on the ground which was expected and they did draw themselves level early in the second half. Welshman David Phillips was played in by Sedgley and he confidently finished past goalkeeper Trevor Roffey to bring the favourites back on level terms. Surely the scare was over and John Sillett’s side would start to turn on the style and advance into round four?

Wrong! Sutton continued to play their game and their strengths were shown again in the 59^th minute. A short corner this time caught the visiting defenders napping and Matthew Hanlan (pictured) struck from close range to give his side the lead back. 8,000 supporters were packed into the tiny ground and couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

Coventry started to pile on the pressure. Sedgley hit the crossbar, Regis had an effort brilliantly saved by Roffey and Kilcline had a header cleared off the line with some hurried defending.

When the final whistle blew, manager Williams took the acclaim as the fans invaded the pitch. The pipe-smoking boss had achieved a huge scalp as the semi-professional club had just put out one of the main powers of the English game at the time. It was the last time that a non-league side had eliminated top flight opponents until Luton Town’s victory away at Norwich on that crazy fourth round weekend in January 2013. For the record, it was the Canaries who ended Sutton’s run in 1989, thumping them 8-0 in the last 32 but that couldn’t deny this historic achievement.

This Saturday, Sutton United have a more meagre tie against fellow non-league opponents in Kidderminster Harriers. The fans though who remember that overcast day in January 1989 will still be dreaming though that another top team might be heading to the intimidating Gander Green Lane again in the future.

What happened to some of the key figures on that day?

Barrie Williams, Sutton’s manager went on to manage the England Ladies team in 1991 and is now living in Spain. Captain Tony Rains went into a coaching role with the club before leaving in 2008 and now drives taxis for a living in south London. Matthew Hanlan, who scored the winner that day played for several non-league clubs before retiring from playing in 2004. He is now a director of a property company in Bromley.

Coventry’s manager John Sillett was sacked by the club in 1990 despite four consecutive finishes in the top 12 of the first division. He has worked since as a television pundit on regional programmes and was occasionally used as a scout during the early days of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England reign. Sky Blues goalscorer David Phillips went on to win 62 caps for Wales and finished third in the inaugural Premier League season with Norwich City in 1993.