Lowly Rochdale scored deep into stoppage time to deny Tottenham Hotspur victory as their FA Cup fifth-round tie ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday.
It seemed Spurs had done enough to book their place in the quarterfinals when in-form England striker Harry Kane, on as a substitute, scored from the penalty spot with two minutes of normal time remaining to make it 2-1 to the visitors.
But Rochdale, who had opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time through Ian Henderson, equalised when substitute Steve Davies scored from 12 yards in the third minute of stoppage time.
This result means Rochdale, bottom of third-tier League One, can now look forward to a lucrative replay at Wembley – London club Tottenham’s temporary home while their successor ground to White Hart Lane is completed.
“They say it’s every kid’s dream [to play at Wembley] and we have done enough to go there,” Davies told the BBC, before saying of his equaliser: “I’ve done my job, it’s dropped to me and I’ve finished it.”
Rochdale went ahead when Henderson crowned a slick move that made a mockery of the club’s league position with a composed finish after an excellent angled through-ball from Andrew Cannon split Spurs’ defence.
Lucas Moura, however, drew Spurs level, exchanging passes with Moussa Sissoko and beating Rochdale keeper John Lillis just shy of the hour-mark.
‘Magic’ of FA Cup
It seemed Spurs’ recovery was complete when Rochdale defender Harrison McGahey brought down Dele Alli and Kane beat Lillis, who dived the right way, with a well-struck penalty.
But there was still time for one more twist which means Spurs are facing a Wembley replay for the second round in a row, having needed two games to end fourth-tier strugglers Newport County’s FA Cup run.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Henderson. “We played some incredible football against Spurs. We cannot wait to go to Wembley to play them. I knew that we would always have an opportunity [to equalise].”
Rochdale manager Keith Hill added: “We had to do it our way and we did. The players will be looking forward to [a replay at Wembley] as well as the supporters.”
His Spurs counterpart Mauricio Pochettino said: “The FA Cup is magic,” giving voice to one of English football’s best-loved, and in this case apt, cliches.
“We have another opportunity at Wembley, the same situation like before,” the Argentinian added.
