Bizarre own goal sees Tamworth shock Huddersfield in FA Cup first round after 35-yard long throw causes chaos

Non-league Tamworth pulled off a major FA Cup shock on Friday night by eliminating Huddersfield Town thanks to a bizarre own goal.

Tamworth’s players are part-time and the Staffordshire club are 57 places below Huddersfield in the English football pyramid.

But the League One promotion hopefuls – who only played in the Premier League in 2019 – suffered a humbling 1-0 defeat in front of a thrilled crowd of 3,533.

The only goal of the match came just before half-time when Huddersfield keeper Chris Maxwell accidentally hit the ball into his own net from very close range.

Maxwell’s misfortune occurred when he tried to clear the ball after a remarkable 35-yard throw from Tom Tonks.

Friday evening’s match was decided by an own goal by Huddersfield keeper Chris Maxwell

Huddersfield were undone by a 35-yard long throw taken by Tamworth midfielder Tom Tonks

Goalkeeper Maxwell was under a lot of pressure and made a mess of a clearance attempt

According to the rules of the game, a player is not allowed to score directly from a throw-in.

Friday’s match was shown live on BBC Two and several viewers were quick to point out that if Maxwell had simply let the ball fly past him, rather than trying to intervene, the goal would have been disallowed.

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Another asked: ‘Why didn’t the goalkeeper just leave it???????’

In Maxwell’s defense, his six yard area was very crowded. Therefore, it would have been difficult for him to be sure that the ball would have gone straight in before being touched by another player.

Regardless of the bizarre nature of his side’s winning goal, Tamworth manager Andy Peaks was delighted with the result and his side’s performance.

Tanks is a long throw specialist and has been dubbed the ‘non-league Rory Delap’

Peaks said on TV after the match: ‘We managed the match very well. Brilliant. We felt that when we got the ball we had to keep it and not give it back straight away because they are good on the ball.

‘It was more important to keep a good shape and be difficult to break down.

‘We knew we would be a threat at set pieces, and we were. The key was to be in good shape and not rush things. We didn’t need to win in the first twenty minutes and we didn’t want to be out in the first twenty minutes.

“Most games are decided in the penalty area and in those areas we try to be good with the first and second ball, and we have been.

‘We mixed it well. We had to be strong along the spine and the spine was strong.

“I just wanted to be competitive and not be embarrassed on national television.

“But I’m so proud of them all. We have such a strong backbone for the team. I never want a team of individuals, I want a team.’

Thirty-three-year-old Tanks pictured celebrating on the pitch after the final whistle

Tamworth manager Andy Peaks was visibly excited after the match and said he was ‘so proud’

Huddersfield boss Michael Duff said: ‘We weren’t good enough. We deserved to be defeated. They outsmarted us and the goal came from a threat we knew.

‘I chose a strong team, prepared well and warned the players.

‘If we had started the first minute the way we played from the 80th minute onwards, things might have been fine. But we waited too long for any response and we are rightly out of the cup.

“We started the game on the back foot, invited them in, invited the crowd, and it’s hard to get it back.

‘We gave away a poor goal. It’s a long throw, but we weren’t nearly good enough.”