Granit Xhaka makes shock admission to Port Vale manager Jon Brady after FA Cup upset - 'He had a little laugh at me'

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Granit Xhaka made a surprise admission to Port Vale manager Jon Brady after the pitch played a role in a huge Emirates FA Cup upset. League One strugglers Port Vale beat high-flying Premier League side Sunderland 1-0 at Vale Park, but the pitch was an equaliser because of the large amount of mud and uneven surface. However, Brady said Xhaka told him he would refuse to use it as an excuse.

Triumphant Port Vale boss Brady 'in shock' after FA Cup win over Sunderland

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The magic of the Emirates FA Cup was on full display at Vale Park as League One strugglers Port Vale booked their place in the quarter-finals with a remarkable 1-0 win over Premier League Sunderland.

Port Vale are currently bottom of the third tier but Ben Waine scored the only goal of the game to give his side a morale-boosting victory over The Black Cats.

Sunderland not only had to overcome their defiant League One opponents but also an extremely muddy and uneven pitch.

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However, Port Vale manager Jon Brady revealed that Sunderland star Granit Xhaka refused to use the conditions as an excuse, with the Switzerland international admitting that he had played on worse pitches during his career.

"I asked Granit [Xhaka], ‘Have you ever played on a pitch like this before?’," he said.

"He had a little laugh at me. He went, ‘Yes, I have played on worse’. We had a good laugh and it was brilliant."

Highlights: Port Vale seal famous triumph over Sunderland to reach quarter-finals

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Port Vale will find out who they will face in the quarter-finals on Monday, before West Ham’s fifth-round clash with Brentford.

They will join Premier League giants Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea in the draw after they all came out on top on Saturday.

Southampton booked their place in the quarter-finals with an upset win over Fulham.

Leeds took on Norwich City in the late kick-off on Sunday and The Hammers will face The Bees in the final two fifth-round fixtures.

Brady insists that the scale of Port Vale’s achievement has not him yet.

"It hasn’t sunk in really," he said. "I am in a little bit of shock at that result today. Not that I didn’t believe we could do it, but you need a lot of things going your way.

Hero Waine reacts to 'unbelievable' atmosphere as Port Vale down Sunderland

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"Things went our way today and I am just pleased for everyone at the football club."

Sunderland are 11th in the Premier League table after an impressive first season back in the top flight.

They will go head-to-head with Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend, while Port Vale will face Bradford City on Wednesday.

Brady said that his side knew they would have to suffer at points to get a result against their Premier League opponents.

"I’m a little bit shocked, to be honest," he said. "We came up with a game plan, worked very hard, and we knew we would have to suffer.

"We knew we were going to be without the ball today and, look, we knew the pitch may help us as well. We work on distances between units.

"There were one or two times they got the ball through the lines in the second half, but because of how compact our shape is, they had to go over us, and when they went over us our keeper swept it up or the ball went out of play.

"I felt that was really important and key to us."

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