Fleetwood Town goalkeeper Jay Lynch said his side drew belief from Grimsby Town’s victory over Manchester United before producing one of the biggest upsets in EFL Cup history by eliminating Arsenal.
The League Two club reached the quarter-finals after beating the reigning English champions 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Highbury Stadium on Tuesday.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute, but Viktor Gyokeres equalised for Arsenal in the second half.
Mikel Arteta’s side were then reduced to 10 players in the 85th minute when Max Dowman kicked out at Harrison Neal after the Fleetwood player had made a strong challenge on the teenager.
Both teams converted their opening penalties, but Lynch saved Bruno Guimaraes’ effort before Conor Haughey scored the decisive spot-kick to trigger jubilant celebrations among the home supporters.
The result made Fleetwood the first fourth-tier club to knock out the reigning English champions in a domestic cup since Wrexham defeated Arsenal in the 1992 FA Cup.
It was also Fleetwood’s fourth consecutive penalty shoot-out victory in all competitions. They have scored all 16 of their penalties across those four shoot-outs.
Lynch said the players had looked to Grimsby’s win over Manchester United in the second round of last season’s EFL Cup for encouragement. Grimsby drew 2-2 before winning 12-11 on penalties.
“The whole team throughout the game were magnificent. To beat the English champions…” Lynch said.
“We took heart from Grimsby beating United last year. We kind of compared it. We thought if we give it a good go late on, let’s see what happens.
“It’s a typical night in Fleetwood! We were expecting a storm, we knew the conditions would be horrible, and it might work in our favour.
“It’s amazing for the club and the town, it means everything for everyone.”
Arsenal’s defeat was only the second occasion in EFL Cup history when the reigning top-flight champions had been eliminated by a fourth-tier opponent. Leeds United suffered the other loss, going down 3-0 to Chester City in 1974-75.
There are 84 places between the two clubs in the English football pyramid, with Matt Lawlor’s Fleetwood at the bottom end of League Two.
Fleetwood had failed to win any of their previous five matches against Premier League opposition and were heavily outplayed statistically, managing three shots to Arsenal’s 26. Arsenal’s expected goals total was 2.21, compared with Fleetwood’s 0.26.
But Haughey’s penalty completed a display built on resilience and determination.
“Don’t know. Just pick my spot and put it in it. Top corner and run like f!” Haughey said when asked about his penalty.
“I don’t even know what’s going on. I’m so proud of the boys, it just shows – we’ve just beaten the champions of England – it just shows how good the team were.
“We’ll think about [the quarter-final] after partying.”
