Tamworth stun Huddersfield Town to reach FA Cup second round
Non-league part-timers Tamworth caused an almighty FA Cup upset to dump League One promotion hopefuls Huddersfield Town out in the first round.
National League Tamworth, who are 57 places below the Terriers in the English football pyramid, played with predictable passion and commitment and earned a famous cup win when a trademark long throw-in from Tom Tonks sailed into the net via the gloves of under-pressure keeper Chris Maxwell on 44 minutes.
Huddersfield never looked comfortable dealing with the direct ball hurled into the box, but Tamworth also mixed up their approach, showing some impressive quality and more than matching their opponents in both spirit and work-rate.
Tamworth keeper Jas Singh had to make a couple of fine stops, notably a breathtaking close-range block with his legs from Tom Iorpenda.
But the Town threat was minimal and sporadic - particularly in the second half - and the hosts, 16th in the National League, had surprisingly little trouble in seeing out the win on their first appearance in the first round proper since 2014.
Tamworth, thanks to a sixth win in their past eight home games, are now one step away from reaching the third round for the fourth time in their history.
A packed crowd at The Lamb Ground joined in joyous celebrations after eight minutes of added time that almost led to a leveller, Singh making a brave stop to deny Matty Pearson and Ben Wiles shooting narrowly wide.
Long-serving Singh’s contribution on a incredible night in front of a live BBC TV audience was just one of countless standout performers for Tamworth, with Tonks impressing with his defensive work as well as his wicked throw-in.
Dan Creaney also led the line superbly while the midfield pressed as a unit when the Terriers crossed the halfway line.
Terriers tamed by Lambs
Tom Tonks (clenched fist) was the centre of attention after his mammoth long throw led to Tamworth's first-half goal
Huddersfield’s best spell came after a strong opening by Tamworth, but Ollie Turton fired an effort wastefully over the bar and £1.2m striker Bojan Radulovic could not get on the end of a low strike across goal from Wiles.
Other than that, the visitors rarely played with the authority of a side who had won four of their past five games and conceded just one goal.
An increasingly confident Tamworth side, who are one step away from the EFL after back-to-back promotions, managed the game brilliantly after the interval to get over the line.
The Lambs could also have added to their lead when another Tonks throw-in led to Thomas McGlinchey almost scoring, while a powerful Creaney header went over.
And despite an inevitable nervy period of stoppage time, boss Andy Peaks ensured his side kept their nerve against a club, who had spent the past 13 years in the Premier League or Championship until this season, to progress.
Tamworth manager Andy Peaks told BBC2:
"I am chilled now. During stoppage time you know something can happen so you're never content until it's finished.
"We managed the game really well. Brilliant. We felt that when we got the ball we had to keep it and not give it back straight away because they are good on the ball.
"It was more important to keep a good shape and be difficult to break down.
"We knew we would be a threat on set-pieces and we were. The key was having a good shape and not rushing things. We didn't have to win it in the first 20 minutes and we didn't want to be out of it in the first 20 minutes.
"Most games are decided in the penalty box and we try to be good in those areas with the first and second balls - and we were.
"We mixed it up well. We had to be strong down the spine and the spine was strong.
"I just wanted to be competitive and not be embarrassed on national television.
"But I'm so proud of all of them - we have such a strong spine to the team - I never want a team of individuals, I want a team."
Huddersfield Town boss Michael Duff told BBC2:
"We weren't good enough. We deserved to get beaten. They out-scrapped us and the goal came from a threat we knew about.
"I picked a strong team, prepared properly and warned the players.
"If we had started the first minute like we played from the 80th minute onwards we might have been OK. But we waited too long to have any sort of response and we are deservedly out of the Cup.
"We started the game on the back foot, invited them on, invited the crowd into it, and it's hard to get it back.
"We gave away a poor goal. It's a long throw but we were nowhere near good enough."
Huddersfield manager Michael Duff speaks after Town's shock defeat in the FA Cup.
