What a cup tie! One of the greatest shocks - one of the greatest matches - in the entire history of the oldest major competition in world football! Lincoln City have become the first non-league side to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup since Queens Park Rangers managed it in 1914. (That was the year Burnley lifted the trophy, a lovely additional historical quirk.) Their victory was hugely deserved; the Imps were magnificent from front to back. Burnley weren’t at their best, but they simply weren’t allowed to be, as the comical rolling spat between an irate Joey Barton and the uncowed Matt Rhead illustrated. So Lincoln’s hero, the goalscorer Sean Raggett, has become an instant FA Cup legend, not least because of that post-match interview. “No time for celebrations, it’s North Ferriby on Tuesday.” The unique glamour of the FA Cup right there. What a goal! What a quote! What a cup tie!
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And now here’s Danny Cowley, the Lincoln manager. “We said it would be a one-in-a-hundred chance. And it was. Last eight of the FA Cup sounds pretty good. Not often I’m lost for words, but this is one of those occasions. It was a fantastic feeling! I’m mightily proud. About five or six of our players were saying ‘Tuesday night, Tuesday night now!’ We’ve got North Ferriby in the league, and that says everything about our group.”
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♫Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, we’re going to Wem-ber-lee, que sera sera!♫ The Lincoln fans having had their say, here’s the goalscoring hero, History’s Sean Raggett! “I’m lost for words, it’s mad right now, I can’t believe it, but we’re a special group. I really didn’t know what to do with my celebration. They’re a top-quality side, they drew with Chelsea last week! It’s amazing! We didn’t come here for the occasion, we came here to win! It’s crazy! A non-league side in the quarter-finals?! It’s unheard of. No time for celebrations, though, it’s North Ferriby away on Tuesday.” What a delicious quote that last line is. The beauty of FA Cup football, right there. What a hero!
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FULL TIME: Burnley 0-1 Lincoln City
Arfield has a shot from 30 yards. It whistles through a thicket of players, and back out! And that’s that! Lincoln have become the first non-league side to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup since 1914! This is one of the most incredible stories in the modern history of this grand old tournament!
90 min +4: Arfield swings it in, but Waterfall clears! The ball’s blootered upfield. Lincoln are so close!
90 min +3: But this isn’t over. Gray bursts into the Lincoln box down the left, and shoots from a tight angle. Farman smothers. Corner! Which leads to another corner. And another! From which...
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90 min +2: Turf Moor is bouncing. The Lincoln fans can be heard in Yorkshire. They’ve already seen their way through the first two of the five added minutes.
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GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! Burnley 0-1 Lincoln City (Raggett 89)
Habergham hits the corner long. Waterfall, in acres of space to the left of the area, heads the ball back across the face of goal. Raggett rises, and heads into the top right! Heaton tries to scoop out, but can’t do it! The ball’s over the line, and the non-league side are five added minutes away from the quarter finals! This is astonishing!
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89 min: The corner’s looped long. At the far post, Waterfall rises and his presence earns another corner, this time from the right. And from that...
88 min: Rhead and Arnold combine down the left to earn a corner. They couldn’t, could they? They load the box, that much we know.
86 min: Boyd lifts the ball forward, straight down the middle. Gray is on it like a flash. But upon reaching the edge of the area, he shanks an awful shot high and wide left. Down the other end, Darikwa heads a long ball back to his keeper Heaton. There’s just enough power on it, though Arnold very nearly nipped in to make history. Wow. Burnley fans will have had their hearts in their mouths for a couple of nanoseconds there.
85 min: Barnes dispossesses Power in the centre circle. Gray is given the ball, and he eats up a few yards before laying off to Arfield on his right. Arfield lumps a dismal effort over the bar from the right-hand corner of the D.
83 min: Arfield arcs the corner deep. At the far post, Tarkowski looks for the top right with a close-range header, but somehow flashes his effort over. Lincoln are so close to a famous result, but they’re finally giving up chances.
82 min: Westwood squeezes a clever ball down the inside-left channel for Boyd, who would have been clear had Waterfall not stuck out a leg to deflect the pass out for a corner.
80 min: For the first time this afternoon, Lincoln look a little bit ragged. Darikwa sashays into the box from the right, and rolls a low pass inside for Gray, who takes a fresh-air swipe. No matter, the ball trundles on for Boyd, who must score, as he’s free, ten yards out. But he hesitates, put off by the nearby Barnes, and the Burnley pair allow Farman to rush out and break up the move. This is breathless!
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79 min: Westwood wins a header on the edge of the Lincoln box. The ball’s guided down to Barnes, who can’t quite get a shot away. But after being on the ropes awhile, the Premier League side are fighting back.
78 min: Nope. At least not yet. Barton scoops the free kick to the far post, where Barnes heads harmlessly into the arms of Farman.
77 min: Raggett drags Gray down, on the right-hand edge of the Lincoln box. Barton fancies this free kick. After spending most of the afternoon in the middle of a cartoon cloud with fists and boots coming out of it, he couldn’t land the killer blow creatively, could he?
74 min: Lincoln have Burnley pressed back here. A cross into the right, Rhead nearly getting on the edge of it. A corner, and a scramble in the area. Burnley clear, but only after making a nine-course tasting menu of it. The ball brushes Keane’s arm, but that would have been a very harsh penalty. Doesn’t stop Lincoln asking the question, of course.
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72 min: Vokes is replaced by Barnes.
70 min: Wahey! This has kicked off! Woodyard stumbles into the Burnley area from the right. He falls over, onto the ball, and that’s going to be a free kick to Burnley, a chance to clear their lines. But Flanagan and Barton try to kick the ball clear. Hawkridge rushes in. He cops one in the face from Barton, then is shoved by Flanagan. Then he falls, clutching his face. Barton is booked, as is Wood for getting involved in the resulting melee. Barton should probably have walked there, for clawing Hawkridge’s beak. But the Lincoln man’s cynical delayed reaction has probably saved the Burnley man.
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67 min: Southwell, out on the right, curls a cross to the far post, where Rhead rises highest. But the big striker can’t connect properly, and eyebrows harmlessly wide left. Burnley are beginning to look nervous, and with good reason: Lincoln are the better side right now, and are creating half-chances.
65 min: Southwell comes on for Muldoon. He’s immediately in the thick of it, not quite able to convert a ball sent into the Burnley box from the right. The away side are up for this and no mistake.
63 min: Now what’s happened here? Barton is rolling around on the floor, holding his head. Ah right. While waiting for a free kick to be delivered into the Burnley box, Barton’s stamped on Rhead’s foot, then went down, deliberately running into Rhead’s extended arm from behind and claiming a deliberate elbow. What sauce! What nonsense! The referee lectures the pair without sanction. Rhead is understandably aghast, though the two players share a joke and a smile afterwards.
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61 min: Westwood really should flick Vokes clear down the inside-left channel, but his pass on the turn is misplaced.
59 min: Burnley earn themselves a corner on the left. The box is loaded. Arfield fizzes the ball towards the near post, but nobody in claret can connect. Keane is penalised for hand ball, though Raggett was climbing all over him, in spite of all the danger. This is a proper FA Cup scrap.
57 min: This is getting a little lively. Tarkowski smacks into Rhead, a late challenge which should result in a yellow card, but doesn’t. Then Barton and Power compete for a high ball, the former winning the duel and clattering the latter in heading upfield. On the touchline, Lincoln boss Danny Cowley and Burnley coach Ian Woan enjoy a full and frank exchange of views over the merit of Barton’s challenge. This is marvellous fun.
54 min: Wood curls a high ball down the right wing. Arnold spins Flanagan and shapes to make off towards the box, but the flag goes for a free kick. That’s a little bit generous to Burnley, Arnold was entitled to challenge for that.
52 min: A free kick for Burnley out on the left. Barton swings a fine ball in towards the near post, where it drops over Gray’s shoulder. Gray should really poke home from six yards, but his stab goes wide left. Admittedly that’s not the easiest skill, but Gray was unchallenged, so that goes down as a fine chance spurned.
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50 min: Arnold makes good down the right and curls a low cross into the Burnley area. There’s no green shirts in there, and Darikwa can chest back to Heaton, though he makes a meal of it, and Rhead isn’t miles away from turning up late and stealing the ball. Heaton gathers.
49 min: Muldoon looks to spin round Tarkowski on the right wing. He’d have been able to launch a quick attack, had he not been cynically hauled back. For some reason, the referee keeps his card in his pocket, but the Burnley defender should be punished for that. It’s just a free kick, which is worth absolutely nothing in the midfield.
47 min: Burnley have come out with a new sense of purpose, though. Gray brings down the ball in the middle of the park and caresses a pass down the inside-left channel for Arfield to chase. Arfield enters the box; Farman comes out to smother. The pair collide, the poor keeper taking a knee in the mush. Completely accidental. Arfield apologises, Farman is mopped down with the magic sponge, and we continue.
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And we’re off again! Lincoln get the ball rolling for the second half. It’s lumped down the right; they’ve loaded that wing. Not totally unlike a restart in the Six Nations. And it’s effective, the ball nearly breaking towards Arnold on the edge of the Burnley box. Tarkowski heads clear.
Half-time raffle: Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win! Win!
HALF TIME: Burnley 0-0 Lincoln City
Nearly! A bit of head tennis on the edge of the Lincoln box ends with Arfield having a dig from the edge of the area. He really should get that on target, but the ball’s witlessly blootered over the crossbar. And that’s your lot for the first half. Burnley have been disjointed; Lincoln have been resolute and occasionally inspired in attack. They’ve been marvellous in this first half. Could a huge shock be on the cards? We’ll know in an hour or so. Don’t go anywhere, the second half promises to be a cracker!
45 min: Rhead goes up for a high ball with Tarkowski, who leans on his shoulders and concedes a free kick. The set piece is hoicked into the mixer, Waterfall winning the first header. But three green shirts have jumped offside, and the flag goes up. There will be two added minutes. Can anyone break the deadlock before half-time?
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44 min: For a side with such a good home record, Burnley aren’t playing with much confidence right now. Arfield, on the left, sends a throw-in straight out for a goal kick.
42 min: A long throw by Habergham from the left. Bother in the Burnley box! Arnold very nearly gets a shot away from 12 yards, level with the left-hand post, but he’s denied the chance at the very last by Keane. Lincoln continue to ask questions up front.
40 min: This hasn’t been a classic by any stretch, not yet. But it’s a very enjoyable game nonetheless. Lincoln have been superb.
38 min: Darikwa Garrinchas his way down the right, twisting Habergham this way and that. He reaches the by-line and whips in a decent cross, which is powerfully headed clear by Waterfall. But Barton’s rushing in, and he connects sweetly with the dropping ball, sending a pearler of a volley goalwards from 20 yards. It’s straight at Farman, though, and gathered with confidence by the Lincoln keeper. Fine play all round, that.
36 min: Rhead is a handful. Once again he wrestles with Barton, and once again the Premier League player comes off second best. Having earlier taken one in his startled boat, Barton now rubs his shoulder with a grimace. This battle is from the old school, and much entertainment it’s providing too. Again, to be scrupulously fair to Barton, he’s not moaning about this. You suspect he’s rather enjoying the test, in fact.
35 min: A long ball lofted into the Burnley box from the left. Rhead rises gloriously above Tarkowski to head down for Muldoon, who looks to spin on the penalty spot and get a snapshot away. Keane grapples, and Flanagan comes in to block and clear. But for a second, Burnley looked undone, and not for the first time this lunchtime. Lincoln have been excellent.
33 min: Darikwa misjudges a high ball down the left, allowing Muldoon to scamper into space. But the Burnley defender makes up for his mistake by chasing Muldoon down and robbing the ball back off him.
31 min: Arfield wins another corner off Wood down the left. It’s played short, and it’s a total waste of time. Boyd tries to salvage something by chasing down a loose ball on the other wing, but he eventually trips Hawkridge and the territorial pressure on Lincoln is lifted.
29 min: Darikwa, deep on the right, hoicks a ball into the Lincoln box that can best be described as hopeful. But if you don’t buy a ticket ... and Farman hesitates in coming off his line. Instead of the keeper collecting, as he should, he allows Vokes to win a header. The ball loops over the crossbar, with the net unguarded. Burnley are beginning to make some inroads, though. The Lincoln fans respond by pointing out that they are top of the league.
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27 min: Burnley’s first real shot in anger. The first on target, at least. Gray works a little space down the inside-left channel, and wallops a low drive goalwards. It’s straight at Farman, whose handling is up to the task. Boyd was lurking.
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26 min: Muldoon flicks a ball over Flanagan’s head and zips down the right wing. He’s got the legs to beat the full back, but Tarkowski comes across to clear. From the resulting throw, Wood loops in a cross from the right. Muldoon nearly gets a boot to the dropping ball, but Keane hoicks it away from danger.
24 min: Burnley have enjoyed 67% of the possession so far. They’ve not really done very much with it. On the touchline, Sean Dyche looks a trifle irritated. It’s not quite concern. Not yet.
22 min: Arfield turns on the jets as he makes his way down the left. Wood just about keeps up, and concedes a corner. Arfield takes the set piece himself, whipping it towards the near post. From the corner of the six-yard box, Keane stoops and attempts to steer a header into the left-hand side of the net. His effort is well wide left. Farman in the Lincoln goal has had nothing to do yet.
20 min: Gudmundsson can’t continue, having taken a rare old clatter there. He shakes his head sadly as he departs, a rare chance to impress gone. Boyd takes his place.
18 min: Power is booked for a late slide on Gudmundsson. It was clumsy more than malicious, the Lincoln man sold a subtle dummy and mistiming his tackle. He can’t really complain. From the resulting set piece, lumped into the box, Vokes lashes high over the bar from the edge of the area.
16 min: “We are top of the league,” chorus the travelling faithful. The Lincoln fans are enjoying this.
14 min: The extremely busy Arnold makes his way down the right and earns a corner off a dawdling Flanagan. The set piece comes to nothing, Rhead getting a bit over-physical in the middle of the mixer. Lincoln aren’t exactly on top, but they’re creating the lion’s share of the bother.
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12 min: Habergham and Muldoon combine down the left, and slide the ball inside for Arnold, who sends a weak pea-roller towards the Burnley goal from 30 yards. It nearly turns into half a chance for the lurking Rhead, as Heaton and Tarkowski confuse each other in their attempts to gather/clear. The defender eventually zips the ball away from danger.
11 min: Gudmundsson finds a little space in the Lincoln box to the right of the goal, but can’t find anyone with his hook-back. Lincoln will be delighted with their start: the Premier League side have yet to manufacture a shot on goal.
9 min: Keane, from a deep position on the right, plays a gorgeous crossfield ball towards Arfield, who very nearly breaks into the Lincoln box. Waterfall is on hand to smother. Burnley come again, through Barton down the middle. Rhead, who is a big and uncompromising unit, crumps his arm in the midfielder’s coupon. Here I am! That’s a good old-fashioned challenge, and Barton, to his credit, doesn’t make a huge song and dance over it. The resulting free kick comes to nothing.
7 min: The 3,000 travelling Lincoln fans are giving it plenty. Who says the cup doesn’t matter any more? People who don’t do very much thinking, that’s who.
5 min: Oh they don’t look overawed! Arnold makes good down the right wing, chasing a long ball. He brings it down brilliantly, and turns Tarkowski with ease, before slipping a ball into the box for Muldoon. He’s clear on the penalty spot! But he has to take his shot first time, and in looking to sidefoot a curler into the top right, leans back and blooters it high and wide. But what a move! Burnley were undone there. Lincoln should be leading!
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3 min: Otherwise, Lincoln have started in a very orderly fashion. They don’t look overawed.
And we’re off! It’s not long before Burnley are on the front foot, Gray causing a bit of concern for Lincoln down the inside-left channel. But with Vokes also lurking, the ball’s shepherded back to Farman by Waterfall, and the early danger is over.
A fine FA Cup atmosphere at grand old Turf Moor. The teams take to the pitch, Burnley in their famous claret and blue, Lincoln in second-choice green. And you’ll be wiping away a tear or two of salty emotion, as Burnley’s players come out hand in hand with senior mascots instead of the usual kiddies, a special thank-you for a lifetime of support. We’ll be off in a minute!
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Six changes for Burnley, from the XI sent out against Chelsea last weekend, with Robbie Brady cup-tied, Steven Defour injured and Jeff Hendrick suspended. Lincoln meanwhile make two swaps from the line-up named for their win over Woking last weekend. Jack Muldoon and Alan Power come in for Billy Knott and Dayle Southwell.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche speaks! “I don’t really do rotation. We always look to put out a team to win a game, and get the outcome we want. Lincoln are doing a great job, they’re organised, they get the ball forward to Rhead, who is their main pivot of attack. But you can’t underestimate the rest of their team. They’re very competitive, we have to match that, we have to go beyond that. Performance is key. We take everyone seriously, they’ve been good enough to get through, so we have to deliver a good performance.”
Danny Cowley, the Lincoln manager, speaks! “The over-riding emotion is one of excitement. We try to take the emotion out of these games, we’ve got to make sure we focus and be the best version of ourselves. If it’s a one in a hundred chance, we have to believe it’s our moment. It’s a challenge, but we deserve to be here, and deserve the opportunity to play a Premier League team in the fifth round of the FA Cup. We’ve been inspired by the magnitude of the games, and it’s allowed us to connect with our supporters and the local community of Lincoln. I’ve got real respect for Burnley, they set a benchmark, and we’re looking to pit our wits against them.”
And now the team news ...
Burnley: Heaton, Darikwa, Keane, Tarkowski, Flanagan, Arfield, Barton, Westwood, Gudmundsson, Gray, Vokes.
Subs: Lowton, Mee, Barnes, Robinson, Boyd, Ward, Agyei.
Lincoln City: Farman, Wood, Waterfall, Raggett, Habergham, Hawkridge, Power, Woodyard, Muldoon, Arnold, Rhead.
Subs: Southwell, Marriott, Long, Walton, McMenemy, McCombe, Ward.
Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire).
Before we bother with fripperies such as team news, let’s get to the heart of the matter. “Still no crest for Lincoln!” splutters Mark Taylor at our MBM layout. “Tell me if Lincoln get to the final that someone at the Graun is going to cut and paste the Lincoln crest. Granted, it’s weird, but it’s no uglier than Burnley’s.” We hear you, Mark, it is a most egregious omission. The flipside of being a non-league success story, I guess, but that’s no consolation. At short notice, this (below) is the best I can do to rectify the situation. It’s not ideal, but the lovable/deranged Imp is there for the world to see, and if nothing else the mise-en-scène has an old-school charm.
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Good morning!
They keep telling us the magic of the FA Cup is long gone. Well, maybe, but try convincing Lincoln City. The Imps have made it past Guiseley, Altrincham, three-time semi-finalists Oldham Athletic, 1983 finalists Brighton and Hove Albion and 1978 winners Ipswich Town to make it to the last 16 for the first time in 130 years. (They lost 3-0 in Glasgow against Rangers in 1887, for the record. Different times all right.) If they beat Burnley this lunchtime, they’ll become the first non-league side to reach the quarter-finals since Queens Park Rangers in 1914. The magic of the cup gone? Right you are.
Beating Burnley this lunchtime is a hell of an ask, mind. Sean Dyche might be tempted into making a couple of changes, but his comfortable Premier League team have lost just three of their last 29 matches at Turf Moor. Liverpool, Everton and reigning champions Leicester City have been seen off this season; champions-elect Chelsea were contained just the other week. And Burnley fancy recreating events of 1914 themselves; it was the year they won their only FA Cup. The magic of the old pot gone? Oh I don’t think so.
Kick off: 12.30pm.
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