Peaks hails ´unbelievable´ Tamworth for taking Tottenham to extra time

Tamworth manager Andy Peaks could not hide his pride after the non-league team took Tottenham to extra time in the FA Cup, going close to a monumental upset.

Tamworth, currently 16th in the National League, held out for 101 minutes against the Premier League giants, who started the likes of James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner while also introducing Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min from the bench.

Nathan Tshikuna’s own goal eventually broke their resolve 11 minutes into extra time, before Kulusevski and Johnson scored to take the tie away from the hosts.

Tamworth became just the fourth non-league team to take a Premier League club to extra time in the FA Cup (since 1992-93), after Hereford United (versus Leicester City in 1999-00), Dagenham and Redbridge (against Charlton Athletic in 2000-01) and Kidderminster Harriers (versus West Ham in 2021-22).

They could even have become just the third non-league team to dump a Premier League side out of the cup, with Thomas McGlinchey and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd denied by heroic blocks in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.

“We’re disappointed because we were that close to causing a massive upset, but equally we’re massively proud,” Peaks told ITV Sport.

“Everyone put a shift in and when you look at the team we were up against, it was unbelievable from our boys – I am so proud of them.

“We had chances, the keeper made saves but what was brilliant is we were in the game right until the end.

“We knew it was going to be tough. I wanted people to see what we were about, and I think we have done that.”

Tamworth were denied a lucrative trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the Football Association moved to scrap replays ahead of this season, but Peaks said playing on the artificial pitch at the Lamb Ground had given them the best possible chance of a win.

“I wanted to come here and talk to you guys and be proud of what I have seen – I am immensely proud,” he said.

“To get a home draw was better. The chance we had to level it was them coming here. They have been so respectful and to bring a team like that says a lot. I cannot knock them.”