.jpg) The twin towers at Wembley Stadium | |||||||
| Event | 1973–74 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 4 May 1974 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Referee | Gordon Kew (Bucks) | ||||||
| Attendance | 100,000 | ||||||
| Weather | dry, overcast, cool with very little wind | ||||||
←1973 1975 → | |||||||
The1974 FA Cup final was anassociation football match betweenLiverpool andNewcastle United on Saturday, 4 May 1974 atWembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the1973–74 FA Cup, the 93rd season of England's primarycup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, better known as theFA 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, in1965, and Newcastle six times, most recently in1955.
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 againstNottingham 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 tothe 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 defeatedBurnley 2–0 atHillsborough and Liverpool defeatedLeicester City 3–1 in a replay atVilla Park, following a 0–0 draw atOld Trafford.
The final, televised live, was watched by a crowd of 100,000 and Liverpool won a one-sided match 3–0 with goals byKevin Keegan (2) andSteve Heighway. After the third goal,BBC TV's match commentatorDavid Coleman said that Newcastle's defence had been "stripped naked" by Liverpool.[1] When the score was 0–0, Liverpool left backAlec Lindsay had a goal disallowed for Keegan beingoffside, but replays later showed that the final rebound 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 managersBill Shankly (Liverpool) andJoe 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 coachBob Paisley – though Shankly led the team out for theCharity Shield match in August. Harvey retired at the end of the 1974–75 season. Two Newcastle players,Terry McDermott andAlan Kennedy, became Liverpool players in later years and both scored goals for Liverpool inEuropean Cup finals. Kevin Keegan joined Newcastle as a player in 1982 and was their manager in the 1990s.
The FA Cup, known officially as The Football Association Challenge Cup, is an annualknockoutassociation football competition in men's domesticEnglish football. Organised by and named afterThe Football Association (The FA), the tournament was first played during the1871–72 season and is the world'soldest association football competition. The 1974 match at Wembley was the 93rd FA Cup Final.[2]
The match was Liverpool's fifth appearance in the final. They had won the competition once, defeatingLeeds United 2–1 after extra time in the1965 final. Liverpool had been runners-up in1914, when they lost 1–0 toBurnley; in1950, beaten 2–0 byArsenal; and in1971, beaten 2–1 after extra time by Arsenal.[3]
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 the1905 final atCrystal Palace which they lost 2–0 toAston Villa. They reached the1906 final too but were again beaten, this time 1–0 byEverton. Newcastle's third final was in1908, again at Crystal Palace. They had finished fourth in theFirst Division that season, after winning the league in1906–07 and, in the semi-final, they had beatenFulham 6–0. Their 1908 final opponents wereWolverhampton Wanderers ("Wolves") who had just finished ninth in theSecond Division. Newcastle were therefore strong favourites to win their first FA Cup but, in a major shock, Wolves won the final 3–1. Newcastle's first win was in the1910 final when they defeatedBarnsley 2–0 in a replay atGoodison Park after the first match at Crystal Palace had ended 1–1. Newcastle reached the final again in1911 and another replay was necessary, following a goalless draw at Crystal Palace againstBradford City, but they lost the replay atOld Trafford, Bradford winning 1–0. Newcastle appeared in two inter-war finals, winning both. They defeated Aston Villa 2–0 in thesecond Wembley final, nicknamed the "Rainy Day Final"; andin 1932 they defeated Arsenal 2–1 in the "Over The Line Final". Newcastle enjoyed tremendous success in the early 1950s when the greatJackie Milburn was theircentre forward. They won the FA Cup three times from 1951 to 1955: defeatingBlackpool 2–0 in1951, Arsenal 1–0 in1952 andManchester City 3–1 in1955.[2]
| 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 againstDoncaster Rovers, who were struggling in the bottom half of theFourth Division, eventually finishing 22nd and therefore 90th of the 92Football League clubs. AtAnfield, Doncaster were close to achieving a major shock but Liverpool managed to secure a 2–2 draw and then won the replay 2–0 atBelle Vue. Liverpool struggled again in the fourth round, unable to score at Anfield againstSecond DivisionCarlisle United, who were promoted to theFirst Division at the end of the season. As in the previous tie, Liverpool won the replay 2–0, played atBrunton Park.[4]
In the fifth round, Liverpool were drawn at home again and were in a "tie of the round" situation against one of their main rivalsIpswich Town, who had won atOld Trafford in the fourth round to knock outManchester United. This time, despite facing strong opposition, Liverpool achieved victory at the first attempt and qualified for the quarter-final stage with a 2–0 win. In the sixth round, they were drawn away for the first time in the tournament against Second DivisionBristol City and won 1–0 atAshton Gate. In the previous round, Bristol City had beaten the First Division leadersLeeds United atElland Road.[5]
Liverpool now faced their sometime "bogey team"Leicester City in the semi-final atOld Trafford.[6] After a goalless draw, the replay took place atVilla Park and Liverpool won 3–1.[7]
| 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 againstnon-leagueHendon, who werethe reigning champions of the regionalIsthmian League. Hendon came close to a major upset and held Newcastle 1–1 atSt James' Park. Newcastle recovered to win the replay 4–0 atVicarage Road,Watford. A similar situation arose in the fourth round when Newcastle were drawn at home against struggling Fourth Division sideScunthorpe United, who also achieved a 1–1 draw at St James' Park. In the replay at theOld Showground, Newcastle won 3–0.
In the fifth round, Newcastle won 3–0 away to Second DivisionWest Bromwich Albion.[8] This set up a sixth round home tie againstNottingham Forest who, like West Brom, were a mid-table Second Division team. Newcastlewon the match 4–3 after trailing 3–1, butThe 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 atGoodison Park.
In the semi-final atHillsborough, Newcastle facedBurnley who were above them in the First Division table. Newcastle nevertheless won the match 2–0 with two second half goals byMacdonald.[9]
Liverpool had more of the play in the first half but, with few clear chances, the match was goalless at half-time.[10]
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, so the goal should have stood.[10] Kevin Keegan opened the scoring with a volley after Tommy Smith had passed the ball into the penalty area from the right.[10] With half an hour to go, Ray Clemence became a virtual spectator.[10] 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.[10] 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.[10]
| Liverpool | 3–0 | Newcastle United |
|---|---|---|
Keegan 57, 88'Heighway 74' | Report |
        Liverpool |     Newcastle United |
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Match rules
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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".[11]
The quarter-finals required a replay after Liverpool's bogey side, Leicester City, secured a 0-0 draw, before Shanks' men clinched a 1-0 victory in the return at Anfield.
