FA_Cup_Final_1988

1988 FA Cup final

1988 FA Cup final

Association football championship match between Wimbledon and Liverpool, held in 1988

For the women's event, see 1988 WFA Cup final.

The 1988 FA Cup final was the 107th final of the FA Cup. It took place on Saturday, 14 May 1988 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Wimbledon and Liverpool, the dominant English club side of the 1980s and newly crowned league champions.[1][2]

Quick Facts Event, Liverpool ...

In one of the biggest shocks in the entire history of the competition, Lawrie Sanchez' solitary goal of the game won Wimbledon their only FA Cup final win in their history; they had just completed their second season in the Football League First Division and had only been in the Football League for a total of 11 years.[3][4] The final also featured the first ever penalty save in an FA Cup final, by Dave Beasant from John Aldridge. Beasant is often mistakenly believed to have been the first goalkeeper to captain a winning side in an FA Cup Final but this honour falls to Major William Merriman of the Royal Engineers who captained his side to victory in 1875.[5] It was the last FA Cup final to be broadcast live simultaneously by both the BBC and ITV until 2022 - this happened at every final since 1958. Wimbledon's victory ended Liverpool's bid to become the first team to win the Double twice,[6][7] a feat that was eventually achieved by rivals Manchester United in 1996. The game was the last that former England international Laurie Cunningham would play in England, before his death in Spain in 1989.[8]

Road to Wembley

Main article: 1987–88 FA Cup

[9]

Liverpool

More information Round, Opposition ...

Wimbledon

More information Round, Opposition ...

Build-up

Liverpool had just been crowned once again as champions of Division One and were the all-conquering giants of English football throughout the 1980s.[10] Wimbledon had just finished seventh in the Division One table that season, only their second year in the top tier, but had surprised everyone[who?] as they were expected to finish much lower than that. Liverpool, with a team full of international star players, were strongly expected and favoured to win the FA Cup by all the experts, as they had secured their 17th league title by playing in an exciting and flamboyant style, whereas Wimbledon, who had been playing in the semi-professional Southern Football League just eleven years earlier, were derided by many pundits as being technically limited and dismissed as relying only on their strength, and were expected to have almost no chance of beating their illustrious opponents.

Match summary

Wimbledon took the lead shortly before half-time, when Lawrie Sanchez's looping header, from a Dennis Wise free kick on the left, went across goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net.[11] Liverpool created a host of chances, including a chipped goal over the goalkeeper by Peter Beardsley which was disallowed as the referee had already awarded a free kick to Liverpool, but were unable to find a way past Wimbledon goalkeeper Dave Beasant. The Merseysiders were awarded a penalty on the hour mark following a foul by Clive Goodyear on John Aldridge.[12] However, Aldridge's penalty was saved by Beasant's diving save to his left, thus Beasant became the first keeper to save a penalty in a Wembley FA Cup final.[13] The Londoners survived more pressure from Liverpool to secure their first major trophy and a notable upset in FA Cup Final history. Captain Dave Beasant became the second goalkeeper to lift the FA Cup as a result (Royal Engineers goalkeeper and captain Major William Merriman lifted the Cup in 1875).[14] After the final whistle John Motson who was commentating for the BBC delivered his famous line: "The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club."[15]

Europe

Although they had won the Cup, Wimbledon were prevented from competing in the 1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup the following season due to the ongoing ban on all English teams from European competitions, following the actions of a group of Liverpool supporters in the 1985 European Cup Final Heysel disaster. At the time of the final, it was hoped that the ban would be rescinded, but after a number of violent incidents involving English fans during the 1988 European Championships, the FA withdrew their application for readmission.[citation needed]

Match details

More information Liverpool, 0–1 ...
Attendance: 98,203
Referee: Brian Hill
Liverpool
Wimbledon
GK1Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar
RB4Scotland Steve Nicol
CB2Scotland Gary Gillespie
CB6Scotland Alan Hansen (c)
LB3England Gary Ablett
RM9Republic of Ireland Ray Houghton
CM5England Nigel Spackmandownward-facing red arrow 74'
CM11England Steve McMahon
LM10England John Barnes
CF7England Peter Beardsley
CF8Republic of Ireland John Aldridgedownward-facing red arrow 64'
Substitutes:
MF12England Craig Johnstonupward-facing green arrow 64'
MF14Denmark Jan Mølbyupward-facing green arrow 74'
Manager:
Scotland Kenny Dalglish
GK1England Dave Beasant (c)
RB2England Clive Goodyear
CB5Wales Eric Young
CB6England Andy Thorn
LB3Republic of Ireland Terry Phelan
CM10Northern Ireland Lawrie Sanchez
CM4Wales Vinnie Jones
CM11England Dennis Wise
RF8England Alan Corkdownward-facing red arrow 56'
CF9England John Fashanu
LF7England Terry Gibsondownward-facing red arrow 63'
Substitutes:
DF12England John Scalesupward-facing green arrow 63'
MF14England Laurie Cunninghamupward-facing green arrow 56'
Manager:
England Bobby Gould

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Replay if scores still level
  • Two named substitutes
  • Maximum of two substitutions

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Phillips-Knight, Rob (12 May 2010). "Beasant and the 'Crazy Gang' stun Liverpool". ESPN.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  2. [2]
    "English Division One 1987–1988 Final Table". statto.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. [3]
    Beasant, Dave (15 May 2010). "14 May 1988: The first FA Cup final penalty save". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  4. [4]
    "English FA Cup Finalists 1980 – 1989". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  5. [5]
    "Quirky Facts". Goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  6. [6]
    Hosking, Patrick; Wighton, David (14 March 2004). "Caught in Time: Wimbledon's Crazy Gang chase FA Cup glory in 1988". The Times. London. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  7. [7]
    Reddy, Luke (4 January 2015). "Wimbledon v Liverpool: How the Crazy Gang made FA Cup history". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  8. [8]
    "Laurie Cunningham Player Statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  9. [9]
    "FA Cup 1987–1988 : Results". statto.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. [10]
    "The girl in the Gang - being Wimbledon's physio". BBC Sport.
  11. [11]
    "Bobby Gould recalls Wimbledon's FA Cup win". Reuters. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  12. [12]
    Johnston, Clay (2 May 2020). "My favourite game: Liverpool v Wimbledon, 1988 FA Cup final". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  13. [13]
    "Dave and his wombles may have done us a favor". Glasgow Herald. 16 May 1988. p. 12. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  14. [14]
    "Quirky Facts". Goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  15. [15]
    "When the Crazy Gang beat the Culture Club: Wimbledon v Liverpool FA Cup flashback". Liverpool Echo. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
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