1974 FA Cup final
This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2016) |
Event | 1973–74 FA Cup | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Date | 4 May 1974 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Referee | Gordon Kew (Bucks) | ||||||
Attendance | 100,000 | ||||||
Weather | dry, overcast, cool with very little wind | ||||||
The 1974 FA Cup final was an association football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United on Saturday, 4 May 1974 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1973–74 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as the FA Cup. Liverpool were appearing in their fifth final and Newcastle in their eleventh, which was a record at the time. Liverpool had won the FA Cup once, in 1965, and Newcastle six times, most recently in 1955.
Both teams entered the competition in the third round. Liverpool and Newcastle had scares in the third and fourth rounds, in all cases drawing home ties against much smaller clubs and then winning the replays. Both had good wins in the fifth round and Liverpool won away in the sixth (quarter-final) round. Newcastle's sixth round home tie against Nottingham Forest was declared void after a riot on the field by Newcastle fans when their team was losing 1–3. The game was delayed until order was restored and Newcastle won it 4–3. Forest made a written protest to the Football Association (the FA) and Newcastle were very close to being disqualified from the competition. The FA relented and ordered that the match must be replayed at a neutral venue. Two replays were needed before Newcastle won through. In the semi-finals, Newcastle defeated Burnley 2–0 at Hillsborough and Liverpool defeated Leicester City 3–1 in a replay at Villa Park, following a 0–0 draw at Old Trafford.
The final, televised live, was watched by a crowd of 100,000 and Liverpool won a one-sided match 3–0 with goals by Kevin Keegan (2) and Steve Heighway. After the third goal, BBC TV's match commentator David Coleman said that Newcastle's defence had been "stripped naked" by Liverpool.[1] When the score was 0–0, Liverpool left back Alec Lindsay had a goal disallowed for offside, but replays later showed that the final pass to Lindsay came from a Newcastle defender and therefore the goal should have stood. Liverpool won the FA Cup for the second time.
The team managers Bill Shankly (Liverpool) and Joe Harvey (Newcastle) sat next to each other all through the match. It was Shankly's last game in charge of Liverpool as he retired in July and was succeeded by coach Bob Paisley – though Shankly led the team out for the Charity Shield match in August. Harvey retired at the end of the 1974–75 season. Two Newcastle players, Terry McDermott and Alan Kennedy, became Liverpool players in later years and both scored goals for Liverpool in European Cup finals. Kevin Keegan joined Newcastle as a player in 1982 and was their manager in the 1990s.
Background
The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annual
The match was Liverpool's fifth appearance in the final. They had won the competition once, defeating Leeds United 2–1 after extra time in the 1965 final. Liverpool had been runners-up in 1914, when they lost 1–0 to Burnley; in 1950, beaten 2–0 by Arsenal; and in 1971, beaten 2–1 after extra time by Arsenal.[citation needed]
Newcastle were appearing in a then record eleventh final. They had won the competition six times and been runners-up four times. Their first appearance was in the
Route to the final
Liverpool
Round | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|
3rd | Doncaster Rovers (h) | 2–2 |
Doncaster Rovers (a) | 2–0 | |
4th | Carlisle United (h) | 0–0 |
Carlisle United (a) | 2–0 | |
5th | Ipswich Town (h) | 2–0 |
6th | Bristol City (a) | 1–0 |
SF | Leicester City (n) | 0–0 |
Leicester City (n) | 3–1 |
Liverpool entered the competition in the third round and were drawn at home against Doncaster Rovers, who were struggling in the bottom half of the Fourth Division, eventually finishing 22nd and therefore 90th of the 92 Football League clubs. At Anfield, Doncaster were close to achieving a major shock but Liverpool managed to secure a 2–2 draw and then won the replay 2–0 at Belle Vue. Liverpool struggled again in the fourth round, unable to score at Anfield against Second Division Carlisle United, who were promoted to the First Division at the end of the season. As in the previous tie, Liverpool won the replay 2–0, played at Brunton Park.[citation needed]
In the fifth round, Liverpool were drawn at home again and were in a "tie of the round" situation against one of their main rivals
Liverpool now faced their sometime "bogey team" Leicester City in the semi-final at Old Trafford. After a goalless draw, the replay took place at Villa Park and Liverpool won 3–1.[citation needed]
Newcastle United
Round | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|
3rd | Hendon (h) | 1–1 |
Hendon (a) | 4–0 | |
4th | Scunthorpe United (h) | 1–1 |
Scunthorpe United (a) | 3–0 | |
5th | West Bromwich Albion (a) | 3–0 |
6th | Nottingham Forest (h) | 4–3 (void) |
Nottingham Forest (n) | 0–0 | |
Nottingham Forest (n) | 1–0 | |
SF | Burnley (n) | 2–0 |
Newcastle United entered the competition in the third round and were drawn at home against
In the fifth round, Newcastle won 3–0 away to Second Division West Bromwich Albion.[citation needed] This set up a sixth round home tie against Nottingham Forest who, like West Brom, were a mid-table Second Division team. Newcastle won the match 4–3 after trailing 3–1, but The Football Association ordered a replay as Newcastle supporters had rioted and invaded the pitch in the second half. This ended in a 0–0 draw after extra time, and Newcastle finally won the tie 1–0 in a second replay at Goodison Park.
In the semi-final at Hillsborough, Newcastle faced Burnley who were above them in the First Division table. Newcastle nevertheless won the match 2–0 with two second half goals by Macdonald.[citation needed]
Match
First half
Liverpool had more of the play in the first half but, with few clear chances, the match was goalless at half-time.[2]
Second half
Liverpool dominated the second half despite having a goal by Alec Lindsay disallowed for offside. Many considered this decision incorrect as Television replays showed that Newcastle's Alan Kennedy inadvertently played the final pass to Lindsay, however, the prior ball was played to Kevin Keegan while he was in an offside position, making the decision a correct one. [2] Kevin Keegan opened the scoring with a volley after Tommy Smith had passed the ball into the penalty area from the right.[2] With half an hour to go, Ray Clemence became a virtual spectator.[2] The second goal was scored by Steve Heighway, who had scored Liverpool's only goal in the 1971 final. He ran onto a header by John Toshack and placed the ball wide of Liam McFaul.[2] Near the end, a passing move by several Liverpool players ended with Smith playing another right field pass, this time across the front of the goalmouth, that was turned into the net by Keegan from close range.[2]
Details
Liverpool | 3–0 | Newcastle United |
---|---|---|
Keegan 57, 88' Heighway 74' |
Report |
Liverpool
|
Newcastle United
|
|
|
Match rules
|
Post-match
After the match ended, some Liverpool supporters ran onto the pitch and bowed down at Shankly's feet. He said afterwards: "These are the people, who came on the field and bowed down, these are the people I'm pleased for, more than anybody else, more than myself".[3]
References
- Specific
- ^ Murray, Scott (2019). "The Joy of Six: great moments in football commentary". Guardian News & Media Ltd. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f "Great matches: Liverpool could have scored six!". Liverpool Football Club. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "Beginning a football revolution". BBC Sport. 30 November 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- General
- ISBN 0-7535-0003-5.
- Rothmans Football Yearbook 1974–75. London: Queen Anne Press Ltd. 1974.
- Shankly, Bill; Roberts, John (1976). Shankly. London: Arthur Barker Ltd. ISBN 0-213-16603-8.
- ISBN 978-0-593-05958-6.
External links
- "LFC History – Match Report". LFC History. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- "No. 39 – The 1974 FA Cup Final". This Is Anfield. Retrieved 23 August 2016.