Leeds United - on this day: Whites handed red-letter day at Histon in FA Cup embarrassment
It's a day most Leeds United fans have tried to forget...
The day...
November 30, 2008
The event...
Leeds United travelled to Histon in the second round of the FA Cup
What happened?
It had all the hallmarks of an FA Cup upset, and unfortunately for Leeds United the nightmare unfolded before their very eyes.
Gary McAllister's League One side travelled to non-league and part-time outfit Histon in the second round of the FA Cup.
Just two division's separated the teams, and Histon entered the clash on a seven-game winning streak in the Blue Square Premier which saw them sit second in the table.
As kick-off came and went the weather in Cambridgeshire was fit more for swimming than football, with television cameras needing a constant wipe down due to the driving rain.
United twice went close through Lubo Michalik but were out of sorts and failed to handle the hosts direct style of play.
Postman Matthew Langston bagged the decisive goal just before the half-time whistle as he bundled home a cross and Leeds never recovered.
Histon recorded a famous victory as the Whites reached arguably their lowest point since relegation from the Premier League in 2004.
For the first time in the club's steeped and long history Leeds had been beaten by non-league opposition.
"We're a third-division side and we looked like a third-division team," said McAllister post-match. "No one can say we were out-fought, but we lacked quality."
Pressure mounted on the United boss, and he was sacked less than a month later following a poor run of results.
Histon: Naisbitt, Oyebanjo, Langston, Ada, Gwillim, Barker, Mitchell-King, Simpson, Knight-Percival, Wright, Midson. Subs: Welch, Pope, Okay, Kennedy, Andrews, Reeves, Murray.
Leeds: Lucas, Richardson, Marques, Michalik, Sheehan, Delph, Douglas, Snodgrass, Robinson, Becchio, Hughes. Subs: Ankergren, Prutton, Kilkenny, Howson, Parker, Showunmi, Telfer.