American-owned Huddersfield Town lose to non-League side Tamworth in FA Cup first round upset

National League side Tamworth FC have knocked out League One side Huddersfield Town from the FA Cup in a first-round upset.

There are 57 places between the two sides with Huddersfield playing in the third tier of English football, and Tamworth in the fifth.

The home side took the lead in the FA Cup first-round tie after Huddersfield goalkeeper Chris Maxwell scored an own goal just before half-time.

Huddersfield, who were taken over by American businessman Kevin Nagle in June 2023, enjoyed 68 per cent of the possession and managed 19 shots, but were unable to salvage the result and were eliminated from the competition by lower-league opposition.

FULL TIME | #TAMHUD 🔴 1-0 🔵

WEVE DONE ITTTTT🪄✨#bristolstreetmotors | #COYL 🐑⚽️ pic.twitter.com/BK84ppimFR

— Tamworth Football Club (@tamworthfc) November 1, 2024

Tamworth compete in the National League South, the fifth level of England’s football system. The semi-professional side play at the Lamb Ground which has a capacity of 4,963, 19,537 less than Huddersfield’s Kirklees Stadium.

“We’re part-time, it’s very difficult but we have so much character and will to win in the dressing room,” said Tamworth’s midfielder, Tom Tonks, in the aftermath of his team’s win. “We never say die. They are a very big club, but we got there.”

Huddersfield manager Michael Duff has had strong words about his side’s performance when speaking on BBC Two: “We deserved to get beaten. I picked a strong team, prepared properly, warned the players.

“We started the game on the back foot, invited them on, invited the crowd into it and it’s hard to wrest it back. We gave away a poor goal, it’s a long throw but we were nowhere near good enough.”

Huddersfield were promoted to the Premier League in 2017. They spent two seasons in the top flight before being relegated in 2019, and dropped into League One after being relegated again at the end of last season.