Manchester City beat Leicester City in the FA Cup Final on this day in 1969 with Neil Young scoring the winner in the 24th minute. The Manchester club were reigning First Division champions and had a very strong team including Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee. Leicester had Peter Shilton in goal, who was only 19 at the time. Manchester City beat Luton Town, Newcastle United (after a replay), Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and the previous year’s finalists Everton to reach Wembley. After beating Leicester in the final, they qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup the followin ..read more

This week’s ‘Greatest Goal’ won the BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Season in 1973/74. It came in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup between Fulham and Leicester City and was scored by Alan Mullery. Mullery was playing for Second Division Fulham at the time. He was 32 and back in his second spell at Craven Cottage after spending eight years at fellow London side Tottenham Hotspur. Whilst at Tottenham, Mullery won the FA Cup, League Cup and the UEFA Cup and captained the side for several years. He also won 35 England caps and played in the 1970 World Cup, scoring in the Quarter Final defeat to We ..read more

It was on this day in 1984 that Third Division Plymouth Argyle played in their first (and so far only) FA Cup Semi Final. The Pilgrims were up against Watford of the First Division and Villa Park was chosen as the venue for the match. Around 20,000 Argyle fans made their way up from Plymouth, making up just under half of the 43,858 crowd. The match was settled in the 13th minute when George Reilly headed in a low cross from John Barnes to send Watford through to their first FA Cup Final. The furthest that Plymouth have gone in the FA Cup since 1984 was in 2007 when they reached the Quarter Fi ..read more

The inaugural FA Cup Third Place Play-Off took place on this day in 1970 between losing semi-finalists Watford and Manchester United. The match was played at Highbury as a neutral venue. Manchester United were the match 2-0 in front of a crowd of only 15,105. United had lost to Leeds in their semi final and Watford were beaten 5-1 by Chelsea. The Third Place Play-Off idea would only last for another four seasons before the FA decided that it was a waste of time and ditched the idea! The post On This Day – 10th April appeared first on Far Post Header ..read more

One of the most famous FA Cup Finals, known as ‘The Five Minute Final’ happened on this day in 1979. Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2, with three of the goals in the final five minutes, hence the name ‘The Five Minute Final’. Arsenal scored twice in the first half to give them a two-goal lead. The first came from Brian Talbot before Frank Stapleton added a second two minutes before half time. United never looked like getting back into the game as the clock ticked on. However, Gordon McQueen scored after Arsenal failed to clear a free-kick in the 86th minute and suddenly Arsenal were on the ..read more

It was on this day in 1966 that Manchester City’s German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann wrote his name in football folklore. Trautmann broke several vertebrae in his neck during the 1956 FA Cup Final against Birmingham City. After being treated by the club physio for several minutes, the former prisoner of war decided that he would carry on playing! He struggled on throughout the rest of the game, occasionally holding on to his neck and grimacing at the pain. Substitutes were first introduced nine years later and if Trautmann had left the field of play, City would have had to put an outfield playe ..read more

It was on this day in 1953 that Stanley Matthews was finally able to get his hands on the FA Cup. The 38 year old had been playing since 1932 and played for various clubs during the Second World War between 2939 and 1945. He started his career at Stoke City before moving to Blackpool in 1947 and reached the FA Cup Final in 1948 and 1951, only to lose on both occasions. Bolton went ahead inside two minutes, thanks to a goal from Nat Lofthouse. Stan Mortenson equalised for Blackpool after 35 minutes before Bolton scored twice to go 3-1 up. Blackpool came back into the game with Mortenson scorin ..read more

Manchester City beat Leicester City in the FA Cup Final on this day in 1969 with Neil Young scoring the winner in the 24th minute. The Manchester club were reigning First Division champions and had a very strong team including Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee. Leicester had Peter Shilton in goal, who was only 19 at the time. Manchester City beat Luton Town, Newcastle United (after a replay), Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur and the previous year’s finalists Everton to reach Wembley. After beating Leicester in the final, they qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup the followin ..read more

This week’s ‘Greatest Goal’ won the BBC Match of the Day Goal of the Season in 1973/74. It came in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup between Fulham and Leicester City and was scored by Alan Mullery. Mullery was playing for Second Division Fulham at the time. He was 32 and back in his second spell at Craven Cottage after spending eight years at fellow London side Tottenham Hotspur. Whilst at Tottenham, Mullery won the FA Cup, League Cup and the UEFA Cup and captained the side for several years. He also won 35 England caps and played in the 1970 World Cup, scoring in the Quarter Final defeat to We ..read more

It was on this day in 1984 that Third Division Plymouth Argyle played in their first (and so far only) FA Cup Semi Final. The Pilgrims were up against Watford of the First Division and Villa Park was chosen as the venue for the match. Around 20,000 Argyle fans made their way up from Plymouth, making up just under half of the 43,858 crowd. The match was settled in the 13th minute when George Reilly headed in a low cross from John Barnes to send Watford through to their first FA Cup Final. The furthest that Plymouth have gone in the FA Cup since 1984 was in 2007 when they reached the Quarter Fi ..read more