FA Cup Giantkilling

The FA Cup • Our giantkilling story

Modest club.Giant history.

Big names. Bigger belief. From toppling Birmingham at St Andrew’s to taking on the country’s most famous clubs, these are the cup days that made our name.

17FA Cup wins against
Football League opposition
1986A top-flight scalp
at St Andrew’s
1921–2015The first and latest wins
in our 17-match roll of honour
01 / A night that belongs to Alty

St Andrew’s. Stunned.

14 January 1986. A First Division side on their own ground. A night our supporters will never forget.

Archive match action from Birmingham City against Altrincham in the 1986 FA Cup
From the club archive: Birmingham City v Altrincham, 1986.
FA Cup / Third round / Full time

The night we beat the top flight.

Birmingham City1
Altrincham2

John King’s Robins went behind at St Andrew’s. Ron Ellis brought us level, before a Robert Hopkins own goal put Alty ahead. We held on to knock out First Division opposition on their own patch.

Relive the Birmingham victory ↗
Reputations don’t
win cup ties.

The draw gives you an opponent. The whistle gives you a chance. Our history is full of players and supporters who believed that was enough.

02 / The roll of honour

Seventeen times.
Same fearless spirit.

Every FA Cup victory over Football League opposition, from Tranmere to Barnsley.

Winning match scores shown with Altrincham’s goals first. Seasons include replay victories.
Season Opposition Alty win
1921/22 Tranmere Rovers 4–2
1965/66 Rochdale 3–1
1973/74 Hartlepool 2–1
1974/75 Scunthorpe United 3–1
1979/80 Crewe Alexandra 3–0
1979/80 Rotherham United 2–0
1980/81 Scunthorpe United 1–0
1981/82 Sheffield United 3–0
1981/82 York City 4–3
1982/83 Rochdale 2–1
1984/85 Blackpool 1–0
1985/86 Blackpool 2–1
1985/86 Birmingham City 2–1
1988/89 Lincoln City 3–2
1992/93 Chester City 2–0
1994/95 Wigan Athletic 1–0
2015/16 Barnsley 1–0
03 / From the archive

You had to be there.
Or watch it here.

The matches, the memories and the occasions that live on long after the final whistle.

The cup story

Alty in the FA Cup

Look back at the competition that helped make our name.

Watch on YouTube ↗
Third round / 1995

A trip to White Hart Lane

Revisit our FA Cup meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.

Watch on YouTube ↗
GQ
In the press
Andy Mitten / British GQ

A reputation that travels.

Andy Mitten explores Alty’s place in FA Cup folklore, the supporters behind the stories, and why our cup pedigree commands attention far beyond Moss Lane.

Read the full GQ feature ↗