Sunderland handed FA Cup third round date against…

Sunderland handed FA Cup third round date against League One opposition

Sunderland will travel to Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup at the beginning of January. Tony Mowbray's Black Cats will visit the New Meadow to face Steve Cotterill's side, who currently sit 16th in the League One table, on the weekend of January 6-9.

The Shrews beat National League York City 2-1 in the first round of the cup, and triumphed 3-1 against fellow League One side Peterborough United in the second round on Saturday. Shrewsbury were at home for both of those ties, and the third round draw continues that run of games on home soil.

This will be the first meeting between Sunderland and Shrewsbury in the FA Cup. The sides have played each other in recent seasons in League One, and last term the sides fought out a 1-1 draw at the New Meadow in November, and in the return game on Wearside in April Nathan Broadhead scored a 92nd minute goal to give the Black Cats a 3-2 victory.

Aside from manager Cotterill, who was assistant manager to Howard Wilkinson at Sunderland in 2002-03, there are a number of familiar faces within the Shrews' squad. Defender Tom Flanagan left Sunderland in January to join the club, while ex-Black Cats striker Aiden O'Brien joined them from Portsmouth over the summer. Midfielder Carl Winchester is currently on a season-long loan at Shrewsbury from Sunderland, but he will not be allowed to line up against his parent club.

Sunderland have had a miserable record in the FA Cup in recent years, winning just one tie in the last seven seasons. That solitary win came in their first season in League One when they beat Port Vale in the first round in 2018-19, before going on to lose a second round replay against Walsall.

Prior to that they entered at the third round stage while in the Premier League and Championship, and were immediately knocked out by Arsenal in 2015-16, Burnley following a replay in 2016-17, and Middlesbrough in 2017-18. In the last three seasons, all in League One, they have fallen at the first hurdle against Gillingham following a replay in 2019-20, and then Mansfield Town in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Last time Sunderland went beyond the third round was in 2014-15, when they reached the fifth round before being knocked out by Bradford City.