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Non-league Chorley pulled off the first upset of the FA Cup third round by dumping Championship side Derby out of the competition with a 2-0 win at Victory Park.
The sixth-tier club, who compete in the National League North, overcame a Rams side which was significantly weakened due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the club.
Nonetheless, even though it was mostly their academy, Derby are still the highest-ranked team Chorley have played since they were beaten 6-0 by Notts County in the first round of this competition during the 1899/1900 campaign, more than 120 years ago.
Connor Hall’s tenth-minute header, which came following chaos from a corner, opened the scoring before Mike Calveley secured Chorley’s place in the fourth round with his 84th-minute strike.
Victory Park wasn’t able to host its usual 4,300 capacity, but some fans did get to see the historic occasion thanks to a cherry picker they had lying about…
We shouldn’t be surprised, given the pitch staff had to camp out of the turf before the match to ensure it went ahead!
Despite Derby’s difficult preparation, Chorley’s win showed the magic of the FA Cup is alive and well before eyes turn to more David vs Goliath tales tomorrow.
Chelsea welcome Morecambe to Stamford Bridge before Tottenham travel to eighth-tier Marine – both of which you can hear live on talkSPORT.
Chorley will be no doubt be hoping they land a Premier League big gun themselves when the fourth round draw takes place on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti’s gamble on resting key players almost backfired as a team registering eight changes laboured to a 2-1 extra-time FA Cup win over Championship strugglers Rotherham.
The Italian left out top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, but their replacements were second-best for much of the 120 minutes at Goodison Park.
Rotherham, with just one win in their previous nine games, made six changes of their own but looked far more cohesive and they deserved more than just Matt Olosunde’s maiden senior goal for their efforts.
Cenk Tosun’s first strike for Everton since November 2019 was cancelled out just after half-time by the former Manchester United academy graduate, who won a solitary cap for the United States in 2018.
Substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the eventual winner three minutes into the additional period but it was far from comfortable for Ancelotti’s side, who progressed to the third round for only the second time in five seasons.
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