Burnley vs Mansfield Town; The FA Cup Fourth Round
Burnley vs Mansfield Town. The FA Cup Fourth Round.
Turf Moor.
Burnley 1-2 Mansfield: Louis Reed's free-kick completes stunning comeback as League One side shock Scott Parker's team
Report as League One Mansfield beat Premier League Burnley 2-1 in the FA Cup; Louis Reed's stunning free-kick completed a remarkable comeback at Turf Moor; Burnley had led and wasted good chances to extend their advantage
Saturday 14 February 2026 18:39, UK
Mansfield stunned Premier League Burnley to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in more than half a century.
The Stags, who sit in mid-table in League One, arrived at Turf Moor on a five-game winless run but they fought back from a goal down in impressive fashion to claim a 2-1 victory.
Burnley paid for not taking their chances in the first half, with Josh Laurent's 21st-minute goal all they had to show for their efforts at the break.
Rhys Oates headed in the equaliser in the 53rd minute and captain Louis Reed capped a fine individual performance with a spectacular winner from a free-kick 10 minutes from time.
It is the furthest Mansfield, who beat Sheffield United in the third round, have made it in the competition since 1975.
Burnley went into the game on a high after their first Premier League win since October over Crystal Palace in midweek, but boss Scott Parker made nine changes and this was a chastening afternoon.
Burnley should have taken the lead in only the third minute but Ashley Barnes contrived to put the ball wide from just four yards when left unmarked in the middle of the penalty area.
Chants of 'that's why you're going down' rang out from the away end as the striker sat on the turf with his head in his hands.
The early moments of quality that there were came from Burnley, and a fine move saw them take a 21st-minute lead, with Lyle Foster playing a one-two and finding Laurent on the right of the box, who kept his composure to cut inside both defender and goalkeeper and slot into an empty net.
Jacob Bruun Larsen looked set to add a second when he ran on to a long ball and dinked a shot over Liam Roberts but Kyle Knoyle showed great commitment to slide in and clear.
Mansfield fans were celebrating in the 34th minute when Oates found the far corner but play had already been pulled back for a foul on Hjalmar Ekdal.
While Mansfield were well in the game, Burnley looked the more likely scorers, and another golden chance arrived soon after when Barnes and Laurent teed up Loum Tchaouna 12 yards out but he sent his shot well wide.
Oates might have thought his chance had come and gone when, four minutes after the break, Ekdal's slip allowed him to go clean through, only for the forward to send his shot over the bar.
But he showed much better accuracy with his head four minutes later, directing Knoyle's excellent deep cross into the bottom corner.
There was a real intensity about the visitors now and Parker, who had handed James Ward-Prowse a first start since his loan move from West Ham, responded by sending on Hannibal Mejbri and Marcus Edwards.
Still it was Mansfield with the momentum and Max Weiss had to get down sharply to keep out a long-range effort from Stephen McLaughlin, while Lucas Akins saw his follow-up blocked.
Roberts denied the lively Edwards at the other end but, when Florentino gave away a free-kick 25 yards out, up stepped Reed to send the ball flying into the top corner.
Burnley pushed for an equaliser but substitute Zian Flemming's close-range shot over the bar summed up their afternoon.
Parker: Changes not to blame - Burnley should've been out of sight
Burnley boss Scott Parker:
"I don't think the changes were the issue.
"The game should be practically out of sight first half, we missed glorious opportunities. Second half, really poor. We started poor, gave them something to hold on to and from that point never really affected anything. Just a really poor result.
"When you come off the back of a result that we had in midweek, you probably dampen the noise around the place a little bit.
"You come into this game wanting to get a result and keep that momentum and we've just applied that noise even more now, 10 fold, and rightly so."
Reed: 'I knew it was in from the moment it left my foot'
Mansfield match-winner Louis Reed speaking with BBC Sport:
"As soon as it left my boot I felt it going in.
"I have been working on them throughout the week. The lads said, 'this is your moment, go and take it'. Thankfully, I did."
'Mansfield played with no fear after the break'
Mansfield first-team coach Andy Garner:
"We had a few words at half-time and we needed to be a little bit better than we were in the first half.
"Maybe because we were coming to a Premier League club but we gave the ball away far too much. Nothing to fear, we said, 'go and enjoy the second half and get back into the game', and that's exactly what they did. Fantastic result for us.
"It's another record that we've broken. This is a fantastic competition, it's always been a fantastic competition, and for Mansfield Town to get into this position is an incredible achievement."
