1970 FA Cup final
Event | 1969–70 FA Cup | ||||||
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Chelsea won after a replay | |||||||
Final | |||||||
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After extra time | |||||||
Date | 11 April 1970 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Referee | Eric Jennings (Stourbridge) | ||||||
Attendance | 100,000 | ||||||
Replay | |||||||
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After extra time | |||||||
Date | 29 April 1970 | ||||||
Venue | Old Trafford, Manchester | ||||||
Referee | Eric Jennings (Stourbridge) | ||||||
Attendance | 62,078 | ||||||
The 1970 FA Cup final was contested by Chelsea and Leeds United. The match took place on 11 April 1970 at Wembley Stadium and ended 2–2, making it the first FA Cup final to require a replay since 1912. The replay was staged at Old Trafford and played on 29 April; after four hours of fiercely contested football, Chelsea eventually won 2–1. To date, this is the last time both the final and replay were scheduled to be played in April; all subsequent FA Cup final ties have been scheduled to be played in May, with only the 2020 FA Cup final delayed and played later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leeds and Chelsea were two of England's top teams that season, having finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the
It was the only time between 1923 and 2000 that an FA Cup Final was played at a stadium other than
The match was the first FA Cup final to be reported on by a woman, as Mary Raine provided a match report for Radio 4’s 6 o'clock news.[6]
Road to Wembley
Home teams listed first.
ChelseaRound 3: Chelsea 3–0 Birmingham City Round 4: Chelsea 2–2 Burnley
Round 5: Crystal Palace 1–4 Chelsea Round 6: Queens Park Rangers 2–4 Chelsea Semi-final: Watford 1–5 Chelsea (at White Hart Lane, London) |
Leeds UnitedRound 3: Leeds United 2–1 Swansea City Round 4: Sutton United 0–6 Leeds United Round 5: Leeds United 2–0 Mansfield Town Round 6: Swindon Town 0–2 Leeds United Semi-final: Manchester United 0–0 Leeds United (at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)
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Match review
Before the game
The final at Wembley was scheduled for 11 April, around a month earlier than was typical for FA Cup finals, due to the FA's wish for the England national team, who were world champions and were defending their trophy in Mexico, to have time to acquaint themselves to the Mexican climate.[7] The poor state of the pitch is sometimes erroneously explained by the Horse of the Year Show being held there a week before. The Horse of the Year Show was held at Wembley Arena. The International Horse Show was held at the stadium the previous July, but the pitch was relaid later in the year.[8][9]
Wembley final
In a game where Leeds were generally seen to have had the best of the play – with
The Wembley pitch, after the game, was in such appalling condition, as it was for much of the game itself, that the Football Association decided to stage the replay at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium.[citation needed]
Replay at Old Trafford
The replay at
Only one change was made in either line-up, with Leeds United replacing goalkeeper Gary Sprake with David Harvey.
Modern-day
Chelsea equalised twelve minutes before the end, after a flowing move, from which Osgood scored with a diving header from a
Beyond the final
The two teams, at the time, were praised for their determination and for providing fans and audiences with two "splendid games", but there was also criticism among football professionals and media for the very physical play.[13] In the modern era, however, the two games are often denoted as "epic" and "iconic".[14]
In the following season, neither team would reach the quarter-final stage of the Cup. Chelsea were eliminated from the competition in the 4th round, after losing 0–3 to Manchester City at home, while, in the 5th round, Leeds United were upset in a 2–3 away defeat by Fourth Division outsiders Colchester United.
Chelsea, however, went on to reach the
The Yorkshire side also succeeded in Europe, beating Juventus of Italy in the final Inter Cities Fairs Cup final. The score was 3–3 after completion of the two legs, Leeds winning on the away goals rule after a 2–2 draw in Turin.
Match details
Wembley
Chelsea | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Leeds United |
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Houseman 41' Hutchinson 86' |
(Report) | Charlton 20' Jones 84' |
Chelsea
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Leeds United
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Match rules
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Old Trafford
Chelsea
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Leeds United
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Match rules
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References
- ^ "I grew up a Chelsea fan" Blackburn Citizen, 13 April 2007
- ^ "Chelsea’s where are they now?" FootballFanCast.com, 23 July 2010
- ^ "Dave Sexton obituary". The Guardian. 26 November 2012.
- ^ THE 20 GREATEST FA CUP FINALS OF ALL TIME
- ^ "1970 FA Cup final: The most brutal game in English football history". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Female Football Pioneers: Mary Raine and Patricia Gregory". BBC. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Caught in time: Chelsea win the FA Cup, 1970" The Times, 16 March 2008
- ^ Newsum, Gillian. Horse of the Year Show - Under the Spotlight.
- ^ Williams, Dorian. Horse of the Year Show, The Story of a unique Horse Show.
- ^ Bill Wilson (9 December 2016). "Why watching sport on TV is not a black and white issue". BBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ "1970 FA Cup final: The most brutal game in English football history".
- ^ "Chelsea 2-1 Leeds United (aet): 1970 FA Cup final replay – as it happened". The Guardian. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Revie's Leeds were thugs" Archived 5 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine, When Saturday Comes, October 1999
- ^ "Defenders" Archived 26 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine, When Saturday Comes, May 2004
External links
- Match report at fa-cupfinals.co.uk
- Game facts at soccerbase.com
- Replay facts at soccerbase.com
- Game program for the Wembley final
- Game program for the Old Trafford replay