Fleetwood beat Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. The match was played at a windy Highbury, with the hosts triumphing over a side ranked 83 places above them in the league system.
Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave the home side the lead in the 21st minute. Viktor Gyokeres equalised after the break.
The key figure was goalkeeper Jay Lynch, who saved penalties from Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bruno Guimaraes to turn the shootout in Fleetwood’s favour. Conor Haughey scored the decisive penalty, after which fans ran onto the pitch.
Fleetwood is a club from a small coastal town in Lancashire that reached the English Football League in 2012, achieving six promotions from lower, non-league divisions in 12 years. Currently 18th in League Two, they have won only one of their last eight league matches. Before this encounter, they had conceded six goals in two games — losing 4-2 away to Cheltenham and 2-1 at home to Exeter on Saturday.
Manager Matt Lawlor spoke to Sky Sports after the win, while left-back Jake Batty and fan Ben spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live. Ben said he has followed the club for the last 15 years and had been at the match at Exeter on Saturday and at Cheltenham last Tuesday evening. Lynch compared the victory to Grimsby’s triumph over Manchester United in this competition last season.
Fleetwood face Bristol Rovers on Saturday. Arsenal beat Wolves 2-0 at Molineux on 20 April 2024 to top the Premier League, finishing that season in second place. They won the title two years later.
