Best FA Cup games of all time
By Charlie Bennett
Each year, the FA Cup provides epic moments that go down in football folklore and, as it celebrates its 150th birthday, now is a good time to reflect on some of the best.
From Steven Gerrard’s rocket to Ryan Giggs’ chest hair, here are five matches we can never forget.
Liverpool 3-3 West Ham, 2006
You need to do something pretty special to have a final named after you and this six-goal thriller will forever be known as the Stevie G final.
West Ham were 3-2 up as the game headed into injury time and left-back Paul Konchesky looked set to be the hero, with his fluke appearing decisive.
That’s until Steven Gerrard, who had already bagged one goal, scored one of the greatest FA Cup goals of all time with a rasping shot from 30 yards that flew into the bottom corner.
Liverpool took it extra time and then inevitably won the penalty shoot-out, with Pepe Reina saving three spot-kicks.
Gerrard hoisted the trophy, knowing that goal would forever be played in FA Cup montages.
Coventry 3-2 Tottenham, 1987
Finals are too often cagey, lifeless affairs but in 1987 we were treated to a rare classic as Coventry and Tottenham met at the old Wembley.
It was Coventry’s first appearance in a domestic final and it would be one no-one could forget.
Spurs, the pre-match favourites, led early through Clive Allen’s header, but Coventry replied through Dave Bennett.
Gary Mabbutt restored Spurs lead but the Sky Blues refused to back down, with Keith Houchen forcing extra time.
Both sides had chances in an end-to-end encounter but Coventry won it thanks to an own goal from Mabbutt, sparking legendary commentator John Motson to declare it the best Cup Final he’d ever called.
Tottenham 3-4 Man City, 2004
Spurs have been on the wrong end of a few Cup classics and who can forget their 4-3 defeat to Man City all the way back in 2004?
Little was expected of the fourth-round replay and when Spurs went 3-0 up thanks to goals from Ledley King, Robbie Keane and Christian Ziege, it looked over.
But City, who lost Nicolas Anelka to injury and had Joey Barton sent off, mounted a sensational second-half comeback.
Sylvain Distin, Paul Bosvelt and Shaun Wright-Phillips levelled it up and Jon Macken delivered an unlikely winner to send the away fans wild.
Blackpool 4-3 Bolton, 1953
Much like Steven Gerrard in 2006, the Matthews Final is synonymous with one man.
However, unlike Gerrard, Stanley Matthews didn’t score in the game but instead masterminded one of the greatest comebacks in Cup history.
With Nat Lofthouse in attack, Bolton dominated their Lancashire rivals and led 3-1 until the 68th minute when Stan Mortensen nodded in Matthews’ cross.
Mortensen, who also scored the Tangerines’ first, completed his hat-trick with a fierce free-kick before Matthews again tied the Bolton defence in knots and set up Bill Perry to score a 92nd-minute winner.
Matthews, 38 at the time, finally had his hands on the trophy that has always eluded him and it was said even Lofthouse applauded his sensational display.
Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal, 1999
FA Cup semi-final replays were thankfully consigned to history a long time ago but we will always have 1999 and Ryan Giggs’ chest hair to fondly look back on.
Giggs scored a breath-taking extra-time winner against Arsenal in a clash of English football’s two premier teams at the time, waltzing through five tackles before rifling the ball past David Seaman.
It came at the end of a scintillating game that saw David Beckham score from 30 yards, Roy Keane sent off and Dennis Bergkamp miss a penalty.
Riding the momentum from that day on, they went on to win the treble a month later, winning the Cup, Premier League and Champions League.