FA Cup: Crawley Town deliver 'game of their lives' to shock Leeds United

After masterminding one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup third-round history, Crawley Town manager John Yems could be forgiven for losing his bearings.

Having watched his League Two side thrash Premier League Leeds United 3-0 - making light of a gap of 62 league places between the teams - he ordered his jubilant players to head out to celebrate.

"I've been telling the lads to go out and enjoy tonight, but you can't go out anywhere so that shows how up to date I am!" laughed Yems, whose side became only the second fourth-tier team to beat a top-flight club by three or more goals in 34 years.

The coronavirus restrictions might have robbed his players of a celebratory night out but Sunday's FA Cup shock was special nonetheless for the Sussex side.

Celebrations at the final whistle were fairly muted, but that was as much down to the lack of tension in the closing stages as it was to the absence of fans, with Crawley's triumph never looking in doubt once they took the lead in the 50th minute.

Yems, 61, is in his second spell in charge of Crawley, having managed them in the National League and returned in 2019 after spending several years as football operations manager at Bournemouth.

It is a long way away from the fabled footballing journey of Leeds' former Argentina and Athletic Bilbao boss Marcelo Bielsa, whose team had no answer to the second-half salvo of a side sitting sixth in English football's fourth tier.

"You've got to enjoy these days," Yems told BBC Sport. "These players have got a lot to prove to the clubs who have released them and we showed what we can do against a really good side in Leeds.

"It wasn't me versus Bielsa. He does what he does and I do what I do. He was very complimentary afterwards but I suppose if you lose 3-0 you can't do anything but."

Whites midfielder Ezgjan Alioski congratulated Crawley on producing "the game of their lives" while BBC Radio 5 Live pundit and ex-Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford said "they played out of their skins".

When injuries suffered in a car crash were followed by his release as a Tottenham trainee in 2018, Nick Tsaroulla could have been forgiven for wondering if a moment like his opening goal against Leeds would ever come.

After completing his physical rehabilitation, Tsaroulla's football rehabilitation followed when he ed Brentford's reserve team in 2019. He left in the summer but signed for Crawley in October.

He had only made six professional starts but ensured he will never forget his seventh by turning Leeds pair Pablo Hernandez and Jamie Shackleton inside out before drilling in Crawley's opener - his first professional goal.

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