League One strugglers Port Vale stun Sunderland to reach FA Cup quarter-finals

Sun, 08 Mar, 2026 - 15:40

By Ian Parker, Press Association

League One strugglers Port Vale are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in more than 70 years after boyhood Newcastle fan Ben Waine scored to stun Premier League Sunderland 1-0.

Five days after getting the goal that knocked out Bristol City, Waine – a New Zealand international whose mum’s family hails from the north east – was at it again as his 28th-minute header gave Vale their first win over top-flight opposition since a fourth-round win over Everton 30 years ago.

Jon Brady’s side sit rock bottom of the third tier, 11 points from safety in a 150th anniversary season that has offered little to celebrate so far, but this will go down as a famous day as they reached the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since advancing to the semi-finals in 1954.

Ben Waine, a boyhood @NUFC fan, hit the Alan Shearer celebration after scoring against Sunderland 🙋‍♂️#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/Bb2yvGZlMl

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 8, 2026

Waine’s header was their only attempt on target in the 90 minutes but few inside Vale Park cared as the final whistle was greeted with huge celebrations.

Sunderland had made only two changes from the side that beat Leeds in midweek to move up to 11th in the Premier League, but a side featuring more than £150million worth of talent blew the opportunity for the two-time FA Cup winners to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1974.