Stockport come back from 2-0 down to beat Cray Wanderers after extra time
Stockport County came back from two goals down to beat Cray Wanderers 3-2 after extra time in the FA Cup first round on Sunday, and they did it with fewer and fewer men on the pitch.
Cray Wanderers play in the Isthmian League, a non-league division several levels below League One, where Stockport play. The tie was drawn in the first-round draw in October and was played at Flamingo Park. Kick-off was at 2.15pm GMT, and the match was shown live on BBC Two and iPlayer, as well as on TNT Sports 3 and HBO Max.
Cray were the better side for long spells and led 2-0. Then the game swung. BBC Sport reported that Stockport's goalkeeper, Luca Ashby-Hammond, was sent off for a dangerous challenge on John Ufuah. By the 31st minute, County were down to ten men.
Wandsworth Guardian covered the match and noted that Stockport needed extra time and a penalty to finish the job. Lewis Fiorini scored that penalty, and the Emirates FA Cup's own clip showed Stockport moving 3-2 ahead from 2-0 down. Stockport still had work to do. The match went to extra time, which is 30 added minutes played when a cup tie is still level after 90.
Stockport's problems did not end there. Jay Mingi could not continue once no substitutions were left, so County finished with nine men. BBC Sport's live coverage recorded the detail, and it meant Stockport saw out the end of the game a man short in the places where they could least afford it.
For Stockport, it is a win that depends on a comeback and a penalty, and on holding on with a depleted side. For Cray, it is a painful way to go out of the Cup, having been two goals up at a ground where their supporters had every reason to believe in a famous night. Non-league sides rarely get this far into the competition, and the shape of this tie shows why the first round is so hard to predict.
The first round is where the Cup's romance tends to live. A small club gets a visit from a professional side, the crowd pushes, and the game stops following the script. This one did exactly that, and the score says Stockport were the team who kept believing longest.
