LOWER league clubs are hoping to upset the odds in the FA Cup this weekend.
But for many, Colchester United’s memorable triumph over Leeds United still rates as the greatest-ever cup shock.
Today is the 55th anniversary of Colchester's magnificent 1971 FA Cup triumph over their star-studded opponents.
Dick Graham's team of veterans won 3-2 in front of 16,000 at Layer Road, a result which sent shockwaves around the world of football.
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Ray Crawford scored twice in the fifth-round win to lay the foundation for the fourth-division minnows to humble Don Revie’s all-conquering Leeds side, which featured the likes of Jack Charlton, Johnny Giles and Norman Hunter and had been runners-up in the competition the previous season.
Crawford told the Gazette: “I still remember it vividly.
“It’s certainly one of the highlights of my career.
“I have memorabilia in my room upstairs and every day when I go in there, it reminds me of what we achieved every day.
“It comes up year after year - people remember it as one of the biggest FA Cup upsets of all time.”
Big day - Colchester United score against Leeds United (Image: Newsquest)
Colchester left the mighty Leeds stunned after racing into a 3-0 lead, thanks to Crawford’s brace and another goal from Dave Simmons.
And although the visitors pulled two goals back through Hunter and Giles, Graham’s ‘Dad’s Army’ held out for victory.
“We’d already had a few games that year in the FA Cup and we knew that whoever won our replay with Rochdale on the Monday night would play Leeds United at home,” said Crawford.
“The Leeds manager Don Revie had come down to watch the game to see who his side would be playing in the next round.
“We won that game that night and the build-up after that to the Leeds game was fantastic.
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“From then until the day we played Leeds, the preparation we did was vital.
“Dick went into so much detail.
“He knew that their goalkeeper Gary Sprake didn’t really come for crosses and Dick played up on that.
“Brian Lewis was a tremendous crosser of the ball and was floating balls into the six-yard box - that was how our first goal came about.
“Dick was like that – he went into so much detail.
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“We all did very well for around an hour and ten minutes and then we all got tired at the same time.
“It was a good job we went 3-0 up because they got back to 3-2 and pushed hard.
“Smithy made a great save and these things just happen in the cup.
“You need a bit of luck along the way but overall, I think we deserved it that day.”
It is a victory that is still regarded as Colchester’s biggest-ever result, all these years on.
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The U's progressed to a quarter-final tie against Everton at Goodison Park but were beaten 5-0, in front of a crowd of more than 53,000.