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| Event | 1987–88 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 14 May 1988 (1988-05-14) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Dave Beasant(Wimbledon) | ||||||
| Referee | Brian Hill (Northamptonshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 98,203 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny 23 °C (73 °F)[1] | ||||||
←1987 1989 → | |||||||
The1988 FA Cup final was the 107th final of theFA Cup. It took place on Saturday 14 May 1988 atWembley Stadium and was contested betweenWimbledon andLiverpool, the dominant English club side of the 1980s and newly crownedleague champions.[2][3]
In one of the biggest shocks in the entirehistory of the competition,Lawrie Sanchez' solitary goal of the game ensured Wimbledon's 1–0 victory over Liverpool, and won them their only FA Cup in their history; they had just completed their second season in theFirst Division and had only been in theFootball League for 11 years.[4][5] The final also featured the first ever penalty save in an FA Cup final, byDave Beasant fromJohn Aldridge.[6]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 MajorWilliam Merriman of the Royal Engineers who captained his side to victory in1875.[7]
It was the last FA Cup final to be broadcast live simultaneously by both theBBC andITV until2022 - this happened at every final since1958. Wimbledon's victory ended Liverpool's bid to become the first team to win theDouble twice,[8][9] a feat that was eventually achieved by rivalsManchester United in1996. The game was the last that former England internationalLaurie Cunningham would play in England, before his death in Spain in 1989.[10]
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd Replay | Stoke City (A) Stoke City (H) | 0–0 1–0 |
| 4th | Aston Villa (A) | 0–2 |
| 5th | Everton (A) | 0–1 |
| QF | Manchester City (A) | 0–4 |
| SF | Nottingham Forest (N) | 2–1 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) =Neutral venue. | ||
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | West Bromwich Albion (H) | 4–1 |
| 4th | Mansfield Town (A) | 1–2 |
| 5th | Newcastle United (A) | 1–3 |
| QF | Watford (H) | 2–1 |
| SF | Luton Town (N) | 2–1 |
| Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue; (N) =Neutral venue. | ||
Liverpool had just been crowned once again aschampions of the First Division and were the all-conquering giants of English football throughout the 1980s.[12] Wimbledon had just finished seventh in the First Division that season, only their second year in the top tier. 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-professionalSouthern 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.
Wimbledon took the lead in the 37th minute, whenLawrie Sanchez's looping header from six yards out, from aDennis Wise free kick on the left, went acrossgoalkeeperBruce Grobbelaar and into the right of the net.[13]Liverpool created a host of chances, including a chipped goal over the goalkeeper byPeter Beardsley in the first half which was disallowed as the referee had already awarded a free kick to Liverpool, but were unable to find a way past Wimbledon goalkeeperDave Beasant. TheMerseysiders were awarded apenalty on the hour mark following a foul byClive Goodyear onJohn Aldridge.[14] 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.[15] The Londoners survived more pressure from Liverpool to secure their only major trophy and a notable upset in FA Cup Final history. Captain 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).[16] After the final whistleJohn Motson, who was commentating for theBBC, delivered his famous line: "TheCrazy Gang have beaten theCulture Club."[17]
Although they had won the Cup, Wimbledon were prevented from competing in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup the following season due to the ongoing ban on all English teams from European competitions following theHeysel disaster in 1985. 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 the1988 European Championships, the FA withdrew their application for readmission.[citation needed]
          Liverpool |   Wimbledon |
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Match rules
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