| Event | 1994–95 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 20 May 1995 (1995-05-20) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Dave Watson (Everton) | ||||||
| Referee | Gerald Ashby (Worcestershire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 79,592 | ||||||
←1994 1996 → | |||||||
The1995 FA Cup final was afootball match played atWembley Stadium in London on 20 May 1995 to determine the winner of the1994–95 FA Cup. The 50th FA Cup Final to be played at Wembley since theSecond World War, it was contested byEverton andManchester United. Everton won the match 1–0 via a headed goal byPaul Rideout, afterGraham Stuart's shot rebounded off the crossbar. The rest of the game saw Manchester United dominating the attack, only forWelsh international goalkeeperNeville Southall to hold on to aclean sheet.
Manchester United,double-winners the previous season, had lost their league crown the previous Sunday toBlackburn Rovers. Manchester United had to play the final without three of their most important players:Eric Cantona (suspended),Andrei Kanchelskis (injured) andAndy Cole (cup-tied). Between them, those three had scored 41 goals in all competitions for United during the season, plus another 15 Cole scored for Newcastle. The final saw final Manchester United appearances forPaul Ince andMark Hughes (who had contributed greatly to Manchester United's successes under the management ofAlex Ferguson), as they both moved to new clubs within weeks after the final. However, the game saw some promising performances from breakthrough players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, all of whom would go on to win numerous major honours for the club.
Everton, meanwhile, had escaped from a relegation dogfight which had seen them make their worst start to a league campaign (eight points from a possible 42 after 14 games), with a superbly successful cup run which saw them reach Wembley having conceded only one goal (a penalty forJürgen Klinsmann ofTottenham Hotspur in the semi-final, which Everton won 4–1). Everton's only absentee was defenderEarl Barrett who was cup-tied, and had therefore not been part of Everton's FA cup campaign.Duncan Ferguson passed a fitness test on the day of the game, however, Ferguson was only given a place on the substitutes bench, with Everton fielding the same starting XI that defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi-final. There was no place among the substitutes for homegrown boyhood BlueJohn Ebbrell, with Daniel Amokachi being preferred on the bench after he scored twice in the semi-final.Stuart Barlow andVinny Samways were the other players from the original 17-man cup final squad to not make the 14-man matchday squad. Ebbrell, Barlow and Samways all missed the semi-final against Spurs due to injury, allowing Amokachi to take a place on the substitutes bench; he then scored two goals after mistakenly coming on forPaul Rideout. Rideout had been a doubt for the game with a knee ligament injury and appeared to have suffered a recurrence midway through the second half; after receiving treatment from the Everton physio, Rideout indicated he was ready to return to action, but Amokachi misinterpreted his signal and entered the field, with the substitution confirmed by the fourth official.[1]
It was Everton's first major trophy since they won the league championshipeight years earlier, and is their most recent major trophy to date.[2] In contrast, Manchester United were left without a major trophy for the first time since the1988–89 season and were denied the opportunity to become the first club to win the FA Cup nine times.
This was the last time that an English manager won the FA Cup – as well as the last time a club other thanArsenal,Chelsea,Liverpool or Manchester United won the FA Cup – until2008, whenHarry Redknapp managedPortsmouth to victory.[3]
The trophy was presented to the Everton captain and man of the matchDave Watson by the Prince of Wales (nowCharles III), whose sons PrincesWilliam andHarry were attending their first FA Cup Final.[4]
Everton[edit]Home teams listed first.Round 3: Everton 1–0Derby County Round 4:Bristol City 0–1 Everton Round 5: Everton 5–0Norwich City Round 6: Everton 1–0Newcastle United Semi-final: Everton 4–1Tottenham Hotspur (atElland Road,Leeds) | Manchester United[edit]Home teams listed first.Round 3:Sheffield United 0–2 Manchester United Round 4: Manchester United 5–2Wrexham Round 5: Manchester United 3–1Leeds United Round 6: Manchester United 2–0Queens Park Rangers Semi-final Manchester United 2–2Crystal Palace (atVilla Park,Birmingham) (replay) Manchester United 2–0 Crystal Palace (at Villa Park) |
![]() ![]() ![]() Everton | ![]() ![]() ![]() Manchester United |
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Man of the match
Match officials
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