European champions, World Club Cup champions, and current runaway Premier League leaders against the team presently sits 16th in League One. Forgone conclusion, right? Ah, but see this is the FA Cup, where anything can, and invariably does, happen. And luckily we were in place to watch the action at the New Meadow unfold as part of our ‘Framed’ series.
Along with everything we mentioned above in terms of the odds being stacked, add in the fact that League One side Shrewsbury Town found themselves 2-0 down to the mighty Liverpool after 46 minutes. Surely the result was as inevitable as night following day; you’d bet your house on it from that position. Well if you did, you’d now be sans a roof over your head, because Shrewsbury Town defied the odds to turn the tie on its head, much to the elation of the home faithful.
The turning point came with the introduction of the joker in the pack. Quite literally in fact, with Jason Cummings’ nickname being ‘joker’, thanks to his antics in the changing room and an infatuation with the Batman villain. But it was his antics on the pitch that marked him out here, the Scottish international turning the game on its head in the space of 10 second-half minutes. And bizarrely, the Shrews will feel like they should’ve won the game.
Despite that, the full-time whistle saw delighted fans from the sell-out crowd at Shrewsbury's Montgomery Waters Meadow pouring onto the pitch to congratulate their heroes; proper FA Cup scenes, and all in good spirits. This is what football's all about and no mistake.
Photography by Ross Cooke for SoccerBible.
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