Five FA Cup fairytale upsets and giant-killings you've never heard of

It's only a matter of time before you see Ronnie Radford's net-busting strike for Hereford against Newcastle, you are never more than 30 seconds away from seeing Sunderland stopper Jimmy Montgomery's 1973 FA Cup final double save against Leeds. We must have reached the FA Cup first round.

The list of mega shocks is well known, from non-league Sutton United's famed triumph over first division side Coventry, who won the trophy 18 months prior, to Wigan Athletic lifting the trophy in 2013, to Bradford beating Chelsea, Shrewsbury beating Everton, post-relegation Leeds beating prime-Ferguson Man Utd thanks to Jermaine Beckford's strike.

But they're all surprises we've heard of, drummed into us each year via montages, dredged up every time another plucky underdog humbles one of the big dogs. What about the FA Cup fairytale upsets we've never heard about?

The first round proper begins this weekend, but the FA Cup competition itself has been rumbling on since 446 teams got down to work in the extra preliminary round on Saturday 2nd August 2025. And it has already witnessed some major results you don't know about.

Due to the sheer number of matches played in preliminary rounds over the years, we can't list every major upset below, but we can shine a light on a curated selection of the biggest in recent years – plus one upset that sparked one of the most remarkable FA Cup runs in generations.

This is not the final word on the matter of early-round shocks, but a flavour of what you can find if you delve into the early stages of the competition.

RadioTimes.com highlights some of the biggest upsets in recent FA Cup history from the early rounds of the competition.

Whitstable (9) 2-0 Hungerford (7) – Third qualifying round, 2025/26

We start our journey with one of the most recent wave-making runs through the early rounds of the FA Cup, featuring a team who almost qualified for this weekend's first round proper.

Whitstable Town, of the Southern Counties League, the ninth tier of the English football pyramid, hammered Lingfield 7-2 and Edgware & Kingsbury 9-0 – both away from home – to reach the first qualifying round.

The Kent-based seaside outfit faced hipsters' choice, Dulwich Hamlet, who sit two steps above in the pyramid. Town struck back from 2-0 down to equalise at 2-2 after Hamlet had a man sent off. The hosts were reduced to nine men for the final 15 minutes following a second red card, and Town star Javaun Splatt netted a 96th-minute winner.

Whitstable also toppled seventh-tier Chichester with a single goal during a replay to keep the run flowing, and were rewarded with a home tie against Hungerford Town. The Oystermen, in front of 971 fans at The Belmont Ground, ran out 2-0 winners to qualify for the fourth and final qualifying round.

Unfortunately, the journey was finally put to an end against fifth-tier Wealdstone. They weren't the only minnows dreaming of glory.

Tadley Calleva FC (9) 4-2 Weymouth (7) – First qualifying round, 2025/26

You'd be forgiven for not being able to pick out Tadley – or Calleva – on a map. Firstly, because Tadley is a 11,000-population town 10 miles outside of Reading. Secondly, because all that is left of Calleva Atrebatum are the ruins of an Iron Age tribal settlement developed by the Romans in 43AD.

The Romans – the ninth-tier football team known by their nickname as opposed to citizens of a globe-spanning ancient empire – marched through he preliminary rounds in 2025/26 with conquests of Millbrook and Christchurch in front of a combined total of 209 fans across both matches to set up a duel against seventh-tier Weymouth.

Tadley Calleva found themselves playing in front of the BBC cameras against a Weymouth side who had just appointed former EFL star Steve Claridge as boss.

Striker Kieran Rodgers slotted home a penalty in the sixth minute to get the ball rolling. Weymouth pulled it back to 2-2 after 76 minutes, before Alex Miller and Scott Costello netted late on to send 525 fans wild.

Unfortunately, much like the Romans, Tadley overreached and fell. Unlike the Romans, Tadley's glory days were ended by Bracknell Town.

Leek Town (8) 2-0 South Shields (6) – Third qualifying round, 2023/24

Early-round FA Cup giant-slayings are not exclusive to this season's competition, as proven by eighth-tier Leek Town in 2023.

The Blues dug deep to uproot Belper Town, Grimsby Borough and Worcester City, where they triumphed 2-0 on away soil, to set up a scrap with sixth-tier South Shields, who had reached the first round proper in two of the three years prior to this meeting.

At the time, Shields were flying high in the National League South under the stewardship of former Sunderland and Middlesbrough icon Julio Arca. Leek would go on to win the Northern Premier League Division One West title in the months to follow.

When the teams met on Leek's patch, there was only ever going to be one winner. Marc Grocott and Rob Stevenson struck in the early minutes of each half to secure a comfortable victory against a team two steps higher up the ladder.

Worksop Town (8) 1-2 Melton Town (10) – Extra preliminary round, 2019/20

Melton Mowbray is synonymous with all the hallmarks of a cracking picnic, though not high on the list of places you'd expect to witness jubilations at a magnificent FA Cup giant-killing.

Melton Town, whose fans refer to themselves bluntly as the Pork Pie Army, played in the United Counties League in the 10th tier of English football, the lowest tier able to qualify for the FA Cup.

For context, Melton FC resided two tiers below Metropolitan Police FC and Loughborough Students, one tier below British Airways FC in the wacky world of the lower divisions. How would Worksop Town fare when the Army marched up the A1 via Grantham? Not well.

Craig Mitchell opened the scoring for the hosts inside the second minute to set the tone for what should have been a stroll in the park. But Melton didn't crumble. They held firm, they held firm, they held firm, before Jordan Levet and Kadeem Price each netted after the 90 minutes had been played to secure a magnificent victory.

Unfortunately for Melton couldn't repeat their recipe for success and were duly dispatched in the next round by Cleethorpes Town.

Chasetown (8) 2-1 Cambridge City (6) – Second qualifying round, 2007/08

Our round-up wouldn't be complete without a mention of Chasetown's legendary dash through the rounds in 2007. The eighth-tier unit progressed to the third round proper, becoming the lowest-ranked team to ever go that far into the competition.

The Scholars, based in Burntwood, famous for the largest ever hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure, struck gold in 2007/08 as their blitz through the rounds earned the club a reported windfall of around £250,000.

Their journey started in the preliminary round. They defeated Oadby Town and Rocester to set up a clash against Cambridge City, ranked two tiers higher in the pyramid.

A total of 444 fans arrived at Church Road to watch their heroes in a replay following a spirited draw away from home. They were rewarded with an extra-time victory as defender Joe Williams stabbed home the winner with just five minutes to play before a penalty shootout.

Chasetown defeated 10th-tier Rainworth Miners Welfare – who themselves were fresh from humbling superior opposition in the form of eighth-tier Kidsgrove Athletic – before a crowd of more than 1,400 fans watched the Scholars teach sixth-tier Nuneaton Borough a lesson to reach the first round proper where they upset seventh-tier Team Bath.

Plucky Chasetown were fully into their stride by now. They held on for a remarkable 1-1 draw with Port Vale in the second round proper to trigger a replay which they won 1-0 in front of 1,900 fans.

Their reward was a home tie against second-tier Championship opposition Cardiff City. Chasetown even opened the scoring thanks to a Kevin McNaughton own goal, but strikes from Peter Whittingham, FA Cup debutant Aaron Ramsey and Paul Parry drew a line under one of the most jaw-dropping 10-match runs through the FA Cup we're ever likely to witness.

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