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Frozen in time: 7 January 1989

This article is more than 18 years old
Sutton upset Coventry in the FA cup

What's the story?

Non-League Sutton United cause one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history with their 2-1 victory over top-flight Coventry at Gander Green Lane, thanks to goals from Tony Rains (now the club's assistant manager) and Matthew Hanlan. Two years earlier, the Sky Blues had won the trophy. Sutton's Cup run was not destined to last, however: they were beaten 8-0 by Norwich in the next round.

1 Lennie Dennis

A year earlier, the Sutton centre-forward had played for Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier against the United States. In 1989 he was an audio-visual technician and found his services in demand as much off the pitch as on it: 'The video on the team coach was always breaking down and our manager Barrie Williams would call on me to fix it.' He later had spells with Welling and Woking. He is now a PE teacher and, though aged 41 and with injuries having taken their toll, says he 'can still do a job for anyone looking for a decent striker'.

2 Robyn Jones

The defender had his hands full on this day dealing with David Speedie, who was, Tony Rains says today, 'easily their best player'. Jones left Sutton to study for a doctorate in sports science in the US, became a college lecturer in New Zealand and then took up a position at the University of Wales Institute in 2001. He still has a copy of this photo on his wall at home.

3 Nigel Golley

'You could see them thinking, "What have we come to here?" Golley has said of the victory. 'It's very difficult to get out of that state of mind. We were on a high, but you could see on their players' faces that they didn't want to be there.' When not running the Sutton midfield, he worked for Barclays Bank, which he joined after leaving school at 16. After 15 years at Sutton, he moved to another Surrey side, Whyteleafe, where in 2003-04 he enjoyed a benefit season. He is 44.

4 Cyrille Regis

Together with Brendan Batson and Laurie Cunningham, the French Guiana-born Regis was part of the 'Three Degrees' group of black players at Ron Atkinson's talented West Bromwich Albion side in the late Seventies. A muscular striker, 'Smokin' Joe' moved to Coventry in 1984. He scored 62 goals for the club and was part of the 1987 Cup-winning side, and played five times for England. He retired in 1997 after spells with Aston Villa, Wolves and Chester. At 47, he is now a licensed football agent.

5 Brian Kilcline

The long-haired central defender, whose nickname was 'Killer', began his career with Notts County but was transferred to Coventry in 1984. Three years later, he was mounting the steps up to the royal box at Wembley to collect the FA Cup after Coventry's 3-2 victory against Spurs. He left the club in 1991 and would go on to captain Newcastle United, with whom he won the newly renamed Division One in 1993. He is a keen sailor and now lives near Huddersfield, where he works as a coach and also for the local media. He is 43.

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