Of the over 125 FA Cup Finals, none were better than the 1987 Final in my opinion. It was David versus Goliath. The underdog, Coventry City, had never reached a Final despite playing in the tournament over 100 times. The favorite, Tottenham, had reached the Final seven times before and they had never lost a single one.
Tottenham also had perhaps the most prolific scorer in the world at that point, Clive Allen, who had led the team in a complete dismantling of Watford in the Semi-final. Coventry City had no “big names”, but they did have unbridled tenacity, which they had exhibited in their Semi-final victory over Leeds United in extra time.
After fans packed Wembley Stadium for the Final, things began to go exactly how most experts had opined they would. Less than two minutes into the game, Allen put a perfect cross into the net with his head, and many people started to fear the game would become a rout. But, only seven minutes later Coventry equalized the match.
Just before half, Spurs defender Gary Mabbutt gave Tottenham back the lead, and fifteen minutes into the second half it looked like they would hoist their 8th Cup. But, in the 64th minute Coventry’s Dave Bennett (who had scored the first goal) threw a beautiful cross into the box and Keith Houchen put it in the net with a miraculous header.
After regular time ended with the teams locked in a tie, extra time began and players began to look physically and emotionally fatigued due to the frenzied play and great significance of the match. Six minutes in, Coventry’s Lloyd McGrath centered a ball into the box, and it hit off Mabbutt’s knee and went past the keeper to give the underdog the lead and, ultimately, the victory.
While the final goal was not pretty, it did result in Coventry’s historic win over the previously perfect Spurs, so I highly doubt they or their fans cared how the game winning goal found the net. After over 100 years of playing the role of “also-rans”, Coventry had an FA Cup to hoist. It was perhaps the biggest upset in FA Cup Final history and it was definitely one of the most intense matches in English football history. That’s why I have it here as #1 on this list.
So, I have now completed my tour of the seven greatest Finals in FA Cup history, and I hope you all enjoyed learning about the matches I selected. I am sure I left several memorable Finals off this list, so please feel free to let me hear about them in the comments below. It’s tough to narrow over 125 Finals down into a list of the seven finest, so please do not be offended if I left your favorite out. Who knows, maybe this list will need to be revised when May 30, 2009 comes around and we witness another Final battle for the FA Cup, England’s most historic trophy.
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Did you know that I am a long time Coventry City fan Randall?
After reading this I need to go grab a beer and go watch my DVD of this game. Play Up Sky Blues!
I did, and I would be lying if I didn’t take that into consideration just a teensy-tiny bit. But, I still don’t think you can beat this Final’s drama. Coventry City was a perpetual minnow and Tottenham was the Cup’s most successful side when it came to Finals, so in my opinion it was the biggest upset ever.
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