BURNLEY, ENGLAND—On a dramatic day of late goals and upsets in the FA Cup, Lincoln became the first nonleague team to reach the quarter-finals in more than a century and beleaguered English champion Leicester was eliminated by third tier opposition on Saturday.
Lincoln, which plays in the fifth tier of English soccer, beat Premier League team Burnley 1-0 away thanks to an 89th minute goal from Sean Raggett. Goal-line technology was needed to confirm his close-range header at the far post.
The last nonleague team to reach the last eight of the FA Cup was Queens Park Rangers in 1914.
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Lincoln was playing in the last 16 for the first time in 130 years with 81 places separating them and Burnley in the English soccer pyramid.
“It’s unheard of in modern-day football,” Raggett said. “It shows just what an achievement this is.”
Hours later, Millwall provided the second shock of the day by beating Leicester 1-0.
Defender Shaun Cummings struck in the 90th minute to defeat Leicester, which is fighting a relegation battle in the Premier League a season after winning it at odds of 5,000-1.
Millwall’s win was even more stunning considering it was reduced to 10 men in the 52nd minute following Jake Cooper’s sending-off.
Millwall has also beaten Bournemouth and Watford on its run to the quarter finals.
Lincoln previously eliminated second tier League Championship teams Ipswich and Brighton.
“This sums up the FA Cup as a whole,” Millwall manager Neil Harris said. “These are special days.”
There have been more shocks than normal in the FA Cup with most Premier League teams — and even sides from the second tier League Championship — fielding weakened lineups to focus on European competition or league play.
The only Premier League teams in the quarter-finals so far are Chelsea and Middlesbrough.
A look at the other last-16 matches:
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0, CHELSEA 2
Second-half goals by Pedro Rodriguez and Diego Costa kept Chelsea on course for the league-and-cup double.
Chelsea leads the Premier League by eight points with 13 games to play.
With his 89th-minute goal, Costa notched 16 goals for the season.
MIDDLESBROUGH 3, OXFORD 2
It looked like there could be another major upset when Oxford recovered from 2-0 down to score two goals within a minute.
The home side squeezed through, though, courtesy of an 86th-minute goal by substitute Cristhian Stuani.
Grant Leadbitter’s penalty and recent signing Rudy Gestede’s first goal for the club gave Boro a commanding lead after 34 minutes. Oxford responded with goals in the 64th and 65th minutes.
HUDDERSFIELD 0, MANCHESTER CITY 0
City was planning a warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi following its Champions League last-16 match against Monaco on Tuesday.
Those plans might have to be revised now that Pep Guardiola’s side have an FA Cup replay to fit into its schedule after this draw against Huddersfield, a team chasing promotion to the Premier League.
Guardiola made eight changes, yet with Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Claudio Bravo among those recalled, the visitors were hardly fielding fringe players.
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