Betting Stories: Agonising evening for ballsy punter who is let down by Crawley for £13k

What would you have done?

One punter came agonisingly close to winning the bet of a lifetime last night, but Crawley's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth in the final match of the FA Cup fourth round meant that this stunning 14-fold was merely a case of "so close, but yet so far".

The un-named Sky Bet customer placed £1 on this ginormous accumulator which included Barnsley beating Norwich at 21/10, Bristol City beating Millwall at 14/5 and Burnley beating Fulham at 9/4, alongside 11 other selections which all won across the weekend. 

The biggest-priced selection, Crawley - who knocked out Premier League opposition in Leeds United in the third round - were priced at 13/2 to beat Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, but their game wasn't played until Tuesday evening due to Covid restrictions. 

Prior to the game, the plucky bettor was offered a cash-out of £1,315.70, but they decided against taking it in the hope that the League Two outfit could do the business again on the south coast and in turn win them a cool £13k off a quid. 

Things couldn't have started much worse, though, as new Cherries signing Jack Wilshere found the net inside the first 25 minutes.

Crawley did draw the game level in the second half courtesy of a goal from Tom Nichols, before Josh King put the hosts in front once again just six minutes later and the fiery encounter - which featured 60 booking points - ended 2-1. 

Incredibly unlucky, but what a bet! Roll on the fifth round..