Port Vale reach FA Cup quarter-finals for first time in 70 years | OneFootball

Port Vale produced one of the FA Cup’s great shocks as a first-half goal from New Zealand forward Ben Waine secured a 1-0 victory over Sunderland and sent the League One side into the quarter-finals.

The result was remarkable given the gulf between the two clubs. Vale currently sit bottom of League One, the third tier of English football, while Sunderland arrived at Vale Park as an established Premier League side sitting comfortably in mid-table.

Jon Brady’s side are enduring a difficult league campaign and remain 11 points from safety, though with games in hand. Goals have also been hard to come by this season, with Port Vale among the lowest scorers across England’s top three divisions.

Yet on Sunday afternoon, none of that mattered.

The decisive moment came in the 27th minute when Waine rose to meet a corner that had been kept alive in the Sunderland penalty area, guiding a looping header beyond the reach of the goalkeeper and sparking jubilant scenes inside Vale Park.

It proved enough to eliminate a top-flight opponent for the first time since Port Vale knocked out Everton during the 1995/96 FA Cup campaign.

The victory also carries historic significance for the club, who have not reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup since the 1953/54 season. That memorable run ended in the semi-finals, where they were eventually beaten by eventual winners West Brom.

Founded in 1876 and based in Stoke-on Trent, Port Vale have long lived in the shadow of local rivals Stoke City in the Potteries derby, but moments like this ensure the club’s place in English football folklore.

Vale Park itself has witnessed some notable figures over the decades. Among the club’s most famous supporters was the legendary Sir Stanley Matthews, who followed Port Vale because his father played for the club and even had a short spell managing the side later in his career.

Now, more than seventy years after their last appearance at this stage of the competition, the Valiants have another chance to write a memorable chapter in their FA Cup history.