Port Vale, Southampton stun Premier League opponents in the FA Cup to book places in quarterfinals

Port Vale, Southampton stun Premier League opponents in the FA Cup to book places in quarterfinals

Third-tier Port Vale pulled off a massive FA Cup upset by beating Premier League Sunderland to advance to the quarterfinals of the historic competition.

Associated Press Port Vale's Ben Waine celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the game during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP) Port Vale's Ben Waine celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's first goal of the game, during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP) Port Vale's Ben Waine scores his side's first goal of the game, during the FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Sunderland and Port Vale, in Stoke on Trent, England, Sunday March 8, 2026. (Nick Potts/PA via AP) Southampton's Ross Stewart, left, celebrates scoring during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Fulham and Southampton in London, Sunday March 8, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP) Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz attempts an overhead kick during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Fulham and Southampton in London, Sunday March 8, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)

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Ben Waine's first-half header sealed a 1-0 win at Vale Park on Sunday to book his team's place alongside Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal in the last eight.

Port Vale is bottom of League One and 57 places below Sunderland. But it frustrated its top-flight opponent, which had no response to Waine's looping header from inside the box in the 28th minute.

Earlier, Southampton produced another upset to knock out Fulham.

Ross Stewart's 91st-minute penalty sealed a 1-0 win for the Championship side at Craven Cottage and booked its place in the quarterfinals.

The game was heading to extra time when Joachim Andersen brought down Finn Azaz in the box late on. Stewart stepped up and blasted past Fulham goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte.

Fulham coach Marco Silva paid the price for making nine changes to his starting lineup and leaving out star players like Raul Jimenez, Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi.

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Victory continues Southampton's impressive surge under coach Tonda Eckert, who has transformed the club's fortunes since taking charge in November.

The team, which was relegated from the Premier League last season, was battling for survival in the Championship when former coach Will Still was fired. Under Eckert it has risen up the standings and is competing for a place in the playoffs.

"Overall, in the 90 minutes it's deserved that we go to the next round," he told the BBC. "(We) just need to use this game as fuel for the games coming up."

James Robson is athttps://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

 

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