Lincoln boss Danny Cowley savours 'incredible' FA Cup triumph over Burnley

18 February 2017 05:39

Lincoln boss Danny Cowley savoured an "incredible feeling" after the National League outfit pulled off a shock 1-0 win at top-flight Burnley.

Sean Raggett's late winner ensured Cowley's men became the first non-league club to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals since 1914.

Raggett climbed at the far post from an 89th-minute corner to power in a header which Clarets goalkeeper Tom Heaton could only push away once it had crossed the line.

And Cowley said after the match: "It was an incredible feeling really to win the game like we did.

"We thought it was going to be a one in a hundred chance and we wanted to break the game down into small parts, six 15-minute periods.

"We grew in confidence I thought and to score with a set-piece, which we work really hard on, was pretty apt.

"It just shows, if you're willing to work hard, what you can achieve.

"Our supporters are Premier League. They deserve this moment. I'm so pleased for them.

"And our players I thought were outstanding - they played for each other, for their families, and are rightly feeling proud as punch, because they deserve all the back-slapping they are no doubt going to get."

Lincoln are into the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

Their remarkable run in the competition this season had already seen them beat Championship sides Ipswich and Brighton prior to taking on Premier League opposition in Burnley.

And when asked what he felt Lincoln had done for the FA Cup this term, Cowley replied: "I think maybe we've brought some of the magic back.

"It is a brilliant cup competition. Whoever says the FA Cup is dead hasn't lived in Lincoln for the last six to eight weeks.

"And it has galvanised our football club.

"This club has had some really tough times and this run has brought Lincoln back to the forefront of people's minds in the city and brought it to people's hearts as well.

"It has been massive for us and we've loved every minute.

"It has been life-changing for us, this period, there's no doubt about that."

Regarding the last-eight draw, Cowley added: "We want a home draw or to go to a big ground, where all of our fans could come.

"Because it was so frustrating - we could only have 3,000 here and we could have brought 15,000."

Source: PA