Post by GasMacc1 on Nov 30, 2016 7:02:11 GMT
“Bristol Rovers: FA Cup Giant-killers” is a Headline Rarely Seen
When the Derby fans taunted us before the 3rd round tie with the chant “what division are you in?”, we could have replied “three below you!”. Ninety minutes later, Rovers made history as the first club from the fourth tier to beat one from the Premier League. Apart from that game in 2002, our only other “fourth tier v top tier” FA Cup tie was the 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa, shortly after Mr Buckle had left us.
We have to face it, though. Bristol Rovers are just not normally one of football’s “giant-killers” in the FA Cup - at least, we haven’t been, since 1969-70, the period we’re reviewing.
In that time, we’ve played eight games against clubs two levels higher than us, and nineteen in which the opponent was just one division up.
We’ve won just 5 out of 27.
Against the highest ranked opponents, Rovers beat Leicester at the first attempt, at Eastville in 1986; then, 22 years later, defeated Fulham in a replay at the Memorial Stadium.
But Leeds, Ipswich (1985), Luton (1986), Gillingham, Derby (2007) and Birmingham were all two divisions above us when going through to the next round against Rovers.
Yet that record (25%, two wins out of eight) is positively impressive if compared with our performance when we’ve underlain our opponents by just one division.
OK, we’ve beaten Bournemouth (2007), Crawley (2014) and Southampton (2008). But there’s a list of sixteen opponents who made sure of knocking us out whilst one division above us: Forest, Derby (1975), Ipswich (1978), Ipswich again (1979), Villa (1980), Southampton (1981), Shrewsbury, Liverpool, Villa again (1993), Luton (1995), Ipswich yet again (1998), Barnsley, Port Vale, West Brom, Sheffield United and Tranmere Rovers showed us no mercy.
Three wins from the 19 ties represents a miserable 15.8% ratio.
But if you think that’s depressing, wait until you see the post covering the minnows!
When the Derby fans taunted us before the 3rd round tie with the chant “what division are you in?”, we could have replied “three below you!”. Ninety minutes later, Rovers made history as the first club from the fourth tier to beat one from the Premier League. Apart from that game in 2002, our only other “fourth tier v top tier” FA Cup tie was the 3-2 defeat against Aston Villa, shortly after Mr Buckle had left us.
We have to face it, though. Bristol Rovers are just not normally one of football’s “giant-killers” in the FA Cup - at least, we haven’t been, since 1969-70, the period we’re reviewing.
In that time, we’ve played eight games against clubs two levels higher than us, and nineteen in which the opponent was just one division up.
We’ve won just 5 out of 27.
Against the highest ranked opponents, Rovers beat Leicester at the first attempt, at Eastville in 1986; then, 22 years later, defeated Fulham in a replay at the Memorial Stadium.
But Leeds, Ipswich (1985), Luton (1986), Gillingham, Derby (2007) and Birmingham were all two divisions above us when going through to the next round against Rovers.
Yet that record (25%, two wins out of eight) is positively impressive if compared with our performance when we’ve underlain our opponents by just one division.
OK, we’ve beaten Bournemouth (2007), Crawley (2014) and Southampton (2008). But there’s a list of sixteen opponents who made sure of knocking us out whilst one division above us: Forest, Derby (1975), Ipswich (1978), Ipswich again (1979), Villa (1980), Southampton (1981), Shrewsbury, Liverpool, Villa again (1993), Luton (1995), Ipswich yet again (1998), Barnsley, Port Vale, West Brom, Sheffield United and Tranmere Rovers showed us no mercy.
Three wins from the 19 ties represents a miserable 15.8% ratio.
But if you think that’s depressing, wait until you see the post covering the minnows!