There is something special about the FA Cup, something that sets it apart from the countless national cup competitions that can be found in our great game.
Whether it’s the 151-year history that comes along with it, the thrilling finals it has produced in the past, or the fact that it so often pits footballing giants against non-league minnows – and that the latter can sometimes be the ones to come out the other side.
The magic of the cup is undeniably real, and the proof of that is the countless fairytale runs that non-league sides have been on in the past. With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of the best FA Cup runs by non-league sides.
For this list, we’ve noted some of the deepest runs into the competition by teams outside the Football League, though we’ve also factored in the number of games played (excluding replays) into the rankings.
Tottenham Hotspur
Winner
Southern League
1900/01
Blyth Spartans
Fifth Round
Northern League
1977/78
Maidstone United
Fifth Round
National League South
2023/24
Lincoln City
Quarter Final
National League
2016/17
Southampton
Final
Southern League
1899/00, 1901/02
The Wednesday
Final
Football Alliance
1889/90
Marine
Third Round
Northern Premier League Division One North West
2020/21
Crawley Town
Fifth Round
National League
2010/11
Sutton United
Fourth/Fifth Round
Conference, National League
1988/89, 2016/17
Yeovil Town
Fifth Round
Southern League
1948/49
Hereford United
Fourth Round
Southern League
1971/72
Wrexham
Fourth Round
National League
2022/23
13 Wrexham Fourth Round 2022/23
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Blyth Spartans 1-1 Wrexham
Fourth qualifying round replay
Wrexham 3-2 Blyth Spartans
First round
Wrexham 3-0 Oldham
Second round
Wrexham 4-1 Farnborough
Third round
Coventry 3-4 Wrexham
Fourth round
Wrexham 3-3 Sheffield United
Fourth round replay
Sheffield United 3-1 Wrexham
The first run on the list features Hollywood’s new favourite football team, Wrexham AFC.
As if being taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and winning promotion to the Football League wasn’t enough, the Welsh side also enjoyed a miraculous run in the FA Cup last year.
The Red Dragons entered the competition in the fourth qualifying round and progressed to the first round proper with a 3-2 replay win over Blyth Spartans, which was broadcast in the States on ESPN. Yes, really.
They beat fellow National League side Oldham Athletic before breezing past non-league Farnborough in the second round. In the third round, things finally got interesting for the Disney stars, as they were drawn against Championship high-flyers Coventry City, who they beat 4-3.
The fourth round brought more Championship opposition in the form of Sheffield United, who played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Racecourse before ending the Hollywood story in the replay, winning 3-1.
12 Hereford United Fourth Round 1971/72
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Hereford 3-0 Cheltenham
First round
King’s Lynn 0-0 Hereford
First round replay
Hereford 1-0 King’s Lynn
Second round
Hereford 0-0 Northampton
Second round replay
Northampton 2-2 Hereford
Second round replay
Hereford 2-1 Northampton
Third round
Newcastle 2-2 Hereford
Third round replay
Hereford 2-1 Newcastle
Fourth round
Hereford 0-0 West Ham
Fourth round replay
West Ham 3-1 Hereford
In the 1971/72 season, Hereford United managed to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup as a Southern League club.
They were given a bye to the fourth qualifying round, where they beat Cheltenham Town 3-0 to secure a first-round proper tie against King’s Lynn, who took them to a replay, which Hereford eventually won 1-0.
They played and beat fourth-tier side Northampton Town 2-1 after taking them to two replays before they were given the impossible task of beating First Division side Newcastle United in the third round.
Well, it looked impossible, but Hereford managed to come away from the tie as 2-1 winners after holding the Toon to a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park. Their fourth-round opponents were another First Division side, West Ham United.
Hereford were the home team for the tie, and as they had with every other opponent thus far, they forced their opposition into a replay.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t quite manage another giant-killing, but the Irons only managed three goals at Upton Park, and as a sign of respect, the team and fans clapped Hereford off the pitch due to their Herculean efforts.
11 Yeovil Town Fifth Round 1948/49
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Lovells Athletic 2-3 Yeovil
First round
Yeovil 4-0 Romford
Second round
Weymouth 0-4 Yeovil
Third round
Yeovil 3-1 Bury
Fourth round
Yeovil 2-1 Sunderland
Fifth round
Manchester United 8-0 Yeovil
We’re going back to the 1940s for this one, and down to Somerset’s finest – we think – Yeovil Town.
At the time, the Glovers were playing in the Southern League and had fought their way through qualifying and the early stages to reach the fourth round, where they would come up against their biggest test: First Division outfit Sunderland.
At the time, the Black Cats were one of the best teams in the country and were colloquially known as the ‘Bank of England Club’ for their lavish spending on players. In contrast, Yeovil were a team of part-timers, school teachers and electricians.
It was a total mismatch in every way, and yet, with their home fans behind them, the men in green and white emerged victorious, with a place in the fifth round – just one game away from the quarter-finals.
However, let’s just say their fifth-round game against Manchester United didn’t exactly go to plan, as they ended up losing 8-0.
10 Sutton United Fourth Round 1988/89, Fifth Round 2016/17
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Sutton 2-1 Forest Green
First round
Dartford 3-6 Sutton
Second round
Sutton 2-1 Cheltenham
Third round
Sutton 0-0 AFC Wimbledon
Third round replay
AFC Wimbledon 1-3 Sutton
Fourth round
Sutton 1-0 Leeds
Fifth round
Sutton 0-2 Arsenal
Sutton United have quite the FA Cup pedigree. While now a Football League club themselves after being promoted in 2021, the Us first made serious waves in the late 1980s with one hell of an underdog triumph.
At the time, the south London club were playing in the Conference, the fifth tier of English football, and as such, were given a bye into the fourth qualifying round, where they beat Walton & Hersham 3-0 in a replay to secure their place in the first round proper.
From there, they dispatched both Dagenham and Aylesbury United before being given the intimidating draw of First Division side Coventry City in the third round.
The Sky Blues had won the competition only 18 months prior, so to describe this match as a David vs Goliath affair wouldn’t be far off.
However, with their confidence high from the first two rounds and raucous home support, the men in yellow put Coventry to the sword and emerged 2-1 victors, with a place secured in the fourth round.
Unfortunately, Norwich City blew the plucky part-timers away in the next game and won 8-0.
They were at it again some 18 years later, when an impressive six-game run came an end against the competition’s most successful club, Arsenal. After beating Forest Green Rovers 2-1 in the fourth qualifying round; they were drawn in the first round proper against non-league Dartford – who they beat 6-3.
The second round brought with it a 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town, followed by a 3-1 replay victory over AFC Wimbledon, after which came an impressive 1-0 win over Championship side Leeds United.
Unfortunately, this is where their fairytale would end; despite putting up a good fight at home to the Gunners, they would come away from the game 2-0 losers.
However, the game will always be remembered for the trouble that goalkeeper Wayne Shaw got in for eating a pie in the dugout.
9 Crawley Town Fifth Round 2010/11
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Newport 0-1 Crawley
First round
Guiseley 0-5 Crawley
Second round
Crawley 1-1 Swindon
Second round replay
Swindon 2-3 Crawley (aet)
Third round
Crawley 2-1 Derby
Fourth round
Torquay 0-1 Crawley
Fifth round
Manchester United 1-0 Crawley
This might be an unpopular entry; after all, FourFourTwo named them the 21st most-hated side in British football, but Crawley Town’s 2010/11 FA Cup campaign is still something to be applauded.
The team were playing in the National League at the time, and following their fourth-round qualifying win over Newport County, they prepared to take on non-league Guiseley, who they dispatched 5-0.
Their second-round opponents, Swindon Town, put up more of a fight and a replay was required to progress, whereas Derby County fell to a 2-1 defeat at the first time of asking.
Devonshire side Torquay United greeted Crawley in the fourth round, but the national league side once again swept past their opponents with a 1-0 win.
However, the fifth round brought Manchester United to the party, which proved to be one step too many for the non-league side.
That said, Crawley put up a good fight, only losing 1-0 at Old Trafford, and they even had the chance to level the score in the dying moments of the game, but Richard Brodie’s header thundered off the bar.
8 Marine Third Round 2020/21
Round
Result
Preliminary round
Marine 2-1 Barnoldswick Town
First qualifying round
Frickley Athletic 0-1 Marine
Second qualifying round
Runcorn Linnets 1-1 Marine
(Marine won 4-3 on penalties)
Third qualifying round
Marine 4-1 Nantwich Town
Fourth qualifying round
Chester 0-1 Marine
First round
Colchester 1-1 Marine
(Marine won 5-3 on penalties)
Second round
Marine 1-0 Havant & Waterlooville (aet)
Third round
Marine 0-5 Tottenham
Marine currently play in the Northern Premier League, which is the seventh tier of English football, but when they made it to the third round of the FA Cup in the 2020/21 season, they were a part of the Northern Premier League Division One North West, the eighth tier.
The Merseyside club had to win five games just to make it to the first round proper, but when they did, they were rewarded with a tie against League Two side Colchester United, who they beat 5-3 on penalties.
The journey continued into the second round with a win over sixth-tier Havant & Waterlooville before they were drawn into the biggest game in the club’s history: a third-round clash with Premier League outfit Tottenham.
There were 161 league positions between the two sides – the most in the competition’s history – and while Marine ultimately lost 5-0, they created genuine history thanks to their fairytale eight-game run.
7 The Wednesday Finalists 1889/90
Round
Result
First round
The Wednesday 6-1 Swifts
Second round
The Wednesday 2-1 Accrington
Quarter-final
The Wednesday 2-1 Notts County
Semi-final
The Wednesday 2-1 Bolton
Final
Blackburn 6-1 The Wednesday
The Football League was in just its second year when The Wednesday – now Sheffield Wednesday – upset the applecart by going all the way to the final in the late 19th century.
Beating the likes of top-flight Notts County and Bolton Wanderers along the way, the Owls would be comprehensively beaten 6-1 by Blackburn Rovers, who had finished third in the 12-team Football League.
So despite the early years of football as we know it and Wednesday’s brief path to the final diminishing the achievement somewhat, going to the showpiece event as a non-league team is still a feat only repeated on three other occasions in the history of the English game.
6 Southampton Finalists 1899/00, 1901/02
Round
Result
First round
Tottenham 1-1 Southampton
First round replay
Southampton 2-2 Tottenham
First round replay
Southampton 2-1 Tottenham
Second round
Southampton 4-1 Liverpool
Quarter-final
Bury 2-3 Southampton
Semi-final
Southampton 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Final
Sheffield United 1-1 Southampton
Final replay
Sheffield United 2-1 Southampton
Southampton may be flying high in the second tier these days, but in the fledgling years of the Football League, the Saints were making waves in the cup as a non-league club.
If we go way back to the 1899/00 season, they competed in the Southern League, which encompasses the seventh and eighth tiers of English football today, though was effectively merely outside the top two divisions that made up the Football League.
Now, a team in Tier 8 would have had to go through the six preliminary rounds before reaching the first round proper. Still, as they had been crowned Southern League champions three years on the bounce, the Saints were given a bye to the first round – they did not join the Football League until 1920.
On their way to the final, they beat Everton, Newcastle United, West Bromwich Albion (all top-flight clubs), and Millwall before coming unstuck against First Division Bury in the showpiece event.
The final was watched by 68,945 fans and ended 4-0 to the Lancashire outfit. However, Southampton had still massively overachieved. Despite this, they repeated the feat just two years later, beating then-holders Spurs, Liverpool and Derby County – as well as exacting revenge on Bury – before being beaten in a replay by Sheffield United.
5 4 Lincoln City Quarter-finals 2016/17
Round
Result
Fourth qualifying round
Lincoln 0-0 Guiseley
Fourth qualifying round replay
Guiseley 1-2 Lincoln
First round
Lincoln 2-1 Altrincham
Second round
Lincoln 3-2 Oldham
Third round
Lincoln 1-0 Ipswich
Fourth round
Lincoln 3-1 Brighton
Fifth round
Burnley 0-1 Lincoln
Quarter-final
Arsenal 5-0 Lincoln
Lincoln will now be nervously looking over their shoulders as their FA Cup exploits as a non-league club look to be usurped by Maidstone’s crazy run to the last 16.
Now a League One club, the Imps embarked on one of the most extraordinary non-league FA Cup runs of them all in the 2016/17 campaign.
Lincoln were the surprise package for the FA Cup that year, as despite plying their trade in the National League, they managed to reach the competition’s quarter-finals.
They picked up some big scalps along the way, including Oldham Athletic, Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and even Premier League outfit Burnley.
They eventually lost 5-0 to Arsenal in the last eight, but they became the first non-league side to reach that stage of the FA Cup in 103 years, which is a genuinely remarkable achievement in the current era of professionalism and how far the game has come since the days of early-20th-century Southampton.
