Man United and Arsenals SHOCK defeats: when teams outside the top flight reach cup finals tal

Cardiff host Palace in the second leg of the 2012 League Cup semi-final on Tuesday evening, meaning a Football League side will face either Premier League leaders Man City or Liverpool in the final. Whichever team gets through will be bidding to become the first team outside the top flight to win a major English cup since Sheffield Wednesday won the League Cup in 1991. talkSPORT looks back at how clubs outside the top tier have fared against the big boys in past League and FA Cup finals...

FIVE DISAPPOINTING DEFEATS

BIRMINGHAM PAY THE PENALTY AGAINST LIVERPOOL IN 2001
In the first major English cup final to be played outside of England, Robbie Fowler put Liverpool ahead in spectacular style after half an hour of the 2001 Worthington (League) Cup final against second tier Birmingham. Darren Purse's penalty in stoppage time was enough to force extra-time, during which referee David Elleray denied Blues what seemed like a clearcut second spot-kick. Unfortunately for Birmingham, they were no match for the Reds in the ensuing penalty shoot-out, with Andrew Johnson missing the decisive kick.

KANU SLAYS THE WELSH DRAGON IN 2008
Championship side Cardiff were attempting to become the first team outside the top flight to win the FA Cup in 28 years, not to mention repeating their own feat of being the only club to take the trophy out of England, having won it way back in 1927. Unfortunately for the Bluebirds, Kanu's first half goal in the 2008 final meant Premier League Portsmouth would be the team lifting the trophy – their first success since 1939. The match also featured a young Aaron Ramsey, who came on for Cardiff midway through the second half.

LIONS TAMED BY MAN UNITED IN 2004
Thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo and a Ruud van Nistelrooy brace, Man United overcame their Championship opponents Millwall with relative ease at the Millennium Stadium, to win a record 11th FA Cup. The Lions did fantastically to reach their first ever FA Cup final, but were no match for a young Cristiano Ronaldo...

ROVER AND OUT FOR TRANMERE IN 2000
In 2000, both Premier League side Leicester and First Division team Tranmere were on their way to mid-table finishes in their respective divisions when they met in the Worthington Cup final at Wembley. The latter, managed by former Liverpool ace John Aldridge came close to causing an upset, but the Foxes, led by Martin O'Neill, clinched a 2-1 victory thanks to a brace from captain Elliot.

BORO LEFT FEELING BLUE AT WEMBLEY AGAIN IN 1998
A year after losing 2-0 to the Blues in the 1997 FA Cup final, Middlesbrough suffered defeat at the hands of the same opposition by the same scoreline in the 1998 League Cup final. The only difference was that in 1998 Boro faced Chelsea as a second tier team, having been relegated from the Premier League a week before the 1997 FA Cup showpiece. Their 1998 defeat made it three cup final losses in just two seasons under the management of Bryan Robson, having also contested the 1997 League Cup final, which they lost in a replay to Leicester City. On a brighter note, Robson guided Boro to Premier League promotion in 1998 and, under the management of Steve McClaren, the club finally lifted a major trophy by winning the 2004 League Cup in Cardiff. 

FIVE FANTASTIC VICTORIES

Sunderland HAVE A PORTERFIELD DAY AGAINST MIGHTY LEEDS IN 1973
Leeds were a formidable force in 1973 under the management of the great Don Revie. Captained by Billy Bremner and boasting a host of top class players like Norman Hunter, Peter Lorimer and Johnny Giles, the club had won the First Division in 1969, were the current FA Cup holders and would go on to win the title again in 1974. All of which made Second Division Sunderland huge underdogs when they attemped to become the first team from outside the top flight to win the FA Cup final since West Brom in 1931. Reputations counted for nothing on this famous afternoon in north west London, however, when the late Ian Porterfield scored the game's only goal for Sunderland after half an hour and goalkeeper Jim Montgomery made some astonishing saves to clinch glory for the Mackems.

ARSENAL ARE HAMMERED AT WEMBLEY IN 1980
Not only is the 1980 FA Cup final remembered for Second Division West Ham beating Arsenal – the last club from outside the country's top division to win the Cup – but it also sparked a major rule rule change regarding the professional foul. Arsenal defender Willie Young deliberately brought down 17-year-old Paul Allen when the youngster was clean through on goal, with the Gunners stopper sparking outrage when he was punished with a mere yellow card. Fortunately for the Irons, it didn't spoil their day as Trevor Brooking clinched the Cup for the third time in West Ham's history. Meanwhile, cynical fouls like Young's were soon to be punishable with an instant red card.

THIRD DIVISION ROBINS ON SONG AGAINST ARSENAL IN 1969
The 1969 League Cup final was Swindon's first Wembley appearance and few, bar the most ardent Robins fan, would have expected them to beat Arsenal. The Gunners were on the up under the astute guidance of Bertie Mee and would go on to win their first European trophy a year later, followed by their first League and Cup double in 1971, but they fell dramatically short against Third Division Swindon. After going behind to a Roger Smart goal, talkSPORT's very own Bobby Gould equalised for the Gunners to take the match into extra-time. It was Swindon's Don Rodgers who became the hero, with his brace clinching an incredible victory on a Wembley pitch torn up the previous week by the Horse of the Year Show.

SAINTS MARCH ALL OVER MAN UNITED IN 1976
Both sides had been relegated from the First Division in 1974, but by the time they met in the 1976 FA Cup final, Man United had bounced back to the top flight and were expected to comfortably see off the Saints. United finished just four points off champions Liverpool that season, while Southampton could only muster sixth spot in the division below. However, as Britain sweltered in a summer heatwave, Bobby Stokes popped up late on to score the only goal of the game for the south coast outfit.

WEDNESDAY'S DATE WITH DESTINY AGAINST MAN UNITED IN 1991
The last team outside of the top flight to win a major English trophy is still Sheffield Wednesday, who dispatched Man United at Wembley in 1991 thanks to a John Sheridan thunderbolt. Having lifted the FA Cup the previous year to give Alex Ferguson his first success after four years at Old Trafford, Man United were on the up and big favourites to lift what was then known as the Rumbelows Cup, but former Red Devils boss Ron Atkinson gained sweet revenge on his former employers by guiding Wednesday to glory. The match is also infamous with Wednesday fans for the local TV coverage on Yorkshire Television - based in Leeds and, so the conspiracy theory goes, allegedly biased against Sheffield - which cut short their Wembley coverage shortly after full-time, choosing to broadcast a programme on modified pickup trucks, rather than the post-match celebrations of the Owls' first major trophy in over 50 years. Thus, a club fanzine was born with the unusual title, 'War of the Monster Trucks'.

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