Yeovil Town v Sunderland (1949)
| Event | 1948–49 FA Cup fourth round | ||||||
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| Date | 29 January 1949 | ||||||
| Venue | Huish Athletic Ground, Yeovil | ||||||
| Attendance | 17,123 | ||||||
Yeovil Town v Sunderland was a football match played on 29 January 1949 at the Huish Athletic Ground, Yeovil. The match was a tie in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. Yeovil Town won the match 2–1, with and Eric Bryant scoring the goals for the winning side. The match is notable for being one of the few occasions in the history of the FA Cup where a non-league club has defeated a team in the top tier of English football.
Yeovil Town was a non-league team competing in the Southern League during the 1948–49 season. The club entered the FA Cup at the Fourth Qualifying Round, and were drawn against Lovells Athletic. Yeovil were losing 2–0 at half time, but following an own goal from a Lovells defender in the second half, Yeovil went on to win the match 3–2. The team won more convincingly in the next two rounds, winning 4–0 against Romford and then beating Weymouth by the same scoreline. Yeovil were then drawn against Bury, who at the time were situated near the top of the Second Division. Yeovil won the match 3–1, progressing to the Fourth Round for the first time in their history.
Sunderland was a First Division side who had become known as the "Bank of England club" due to the large amounts of money the club had spent, including the signing of Len Shackleton for £20,500, a then-British record transfer fee. Sunderland entered the FA Cup in the Third Round, defeating Crewe Alexandra 2–0.
In the build-up to the game, Yeovil player-manager attempted to give his players a psychological edge over their opponents. He exaggerated the steepness of the sloping pitch at Huish, and refused to allow the Sunderland players to train on the pitch. The official attendance for the match was 17,123, although it is believed that many spectators without a ticket also made it into the ground, and it is estimated that somewhere between 18,000 and 19,000 watched the game.
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