XI at 11: Top FA Cup final goals
by Ben Blackmore, 16 May 2008
Portsmouth and Cardiff are nervously watching the clock. FA Cup final weekend is upon us. The chance for somebody to make themselves a hero.
But will any of Saturday’s players be able to force their way into our list of the top 11 FA Cup final goals since 1980?
If you agree or disagree with our choices, let us know by leaving a comment at the foot of the page.
1: Ricky Villa – Tottenham 3-2 Man City – 1981
What qualities do you look for when picking the best FA Cup goal? A subtle change of pace maybe? Mind-boggling dribbling skills and a cheeky swerve of the hips – for sure. A trail of three players left dazed on the floor? Villa’s goal had it all. Picking up the ball outside the box, Spurs’ magical Argentinean meandered through the City defence as if everyone else was walking on ice, before sliding home the most thrilling of winners in a 3-2 triumph for Spurs.
2: Steven Gerrard – Liverpool 3-3 (3-1 on pens) West Ham - 2006
A truly heroic goal. Liverpool were out on their feet. They were out of ideas. They were out of the cup. Worst of all, their miracle man was struck down by cramp. 3-2 down with the clock approaching the 90th minute, the cup was surely West Ham’s. Suddenly the ball drops down from an aerial challenge outside of the box, a tired Gerrard draws back his right foot and releases the most stunning strike an FA Cup final has ever seen. Liverpool went on to win the shoot-out.
3: Norman Whiteside – Manchester United 1-0 (aet) Everton - 1985
United were down to ten men in extra time, but suddenly it was they who launched into a break sparked by Mark Hughes, who feeds Whiteside on the right wing. Whiteside progressed towards goal and lined up his shot to perfection bending it expertly beyond Neville Southall's despairing dive for a truly memorable cup final goal.
4: Eric Cantona – Manchester 1-0 Liverpool – 1996
For sheer importance, there can be few better than King Eric’s 85th-minute winner. A truly shocking cup final was about to torture the nation for an extra 30 minutes as extra time approached, but then Mr Cantona decided stamp his mark on English football’s showpiece event. David James played his part with a timid punch from a corner, but Cantona still had to readjust and guide a spearing volley through a host of non-too-brave Liverpool defenders.
5: Michael Thomas – Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland – 1992
Often a goal overlooked because Liverpool were such heavy favourites to win the cup, Michael Thomas nevertheless produced a moment that would be hailed to this day if it had been scored by a Cristiano Ronaldo or Fernando Torres. Up to this point, Thomas was the still the man who cost Liverpool the title in 1989, but when he lined up a 25-yard volley from a seemingly impossible angle he suddenly became Michael “Van Basten” Thomas to all Reds fans.
6: Ray Parlour – Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea – 2002
“It’s only Ray Parlour”. Yes we all know this one. Chelsea’s defence, fearing the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Freddie Ljungberg, cleverly drop off Parlour encouraging the shaggy-haired midfielder to shoot. And shoot he did, but not in Ray-Parlour-like manner, no – he combined the talents of Henry, Bergkamp and Ljungberg to bend a sumptuous 25-yarder out of reach of Carlo Cudicini’s left hand.
7: Michael Owen – Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal 2001
One year before Parlour’s heroics, Michael Owen delivered the ultimate FA Cup final agony to Arsenal fans. After an 80-minute battering, Owen pounced to level, but his award-winning party piece was still to come. Chasing Patrik Berger’s guided long ball, Owen sizzled past Lee Dixon, brushed aside Tony Adams and then beat England’s number one David Seaman to complete the most unlikely of FA Cup final comebacks.
8: Keith Houchen – Coventry 3-2 (aet) Tottenham – 1987
Rarely do you see a man shot out of a cannon. Even more rarely do you see it on a football pitch. The cannon’s whereabouts still remains a mystery in Coventry’s 3-2 triumph over Tottenham, but Houchen surely shot out of one as he headed home an FA Cup final classic. Timing his run to perfection, Houchen met a Dave Bennett cross with the most thunderous of diving headers to write his name into FA Cup folklore.
9: Stuart Pearce – Nottingham Forest 1-2 Tottenham – 1991
The only one of our list to be scored for the losing team, “Psycho” still deserves credit for a moment that lit up a Gascoigne-less Wembley. Gascoigne had just signalled the beginning of the end of his enigmatic career with a crazy challenge on Gary Charles. Pearce remained focus, drew back that lethal left foot back and ripped the net out of the Tottenham goal. Of course, Des Walker had been dying to do his best Keith Houchen impression, and duly gifted victory to Spurs.
10: Ian Rush – Liverpool 3-1 Everton - 1986
So many Ian Rush-v-Everton cup final goals to choose from, but we’ll spare Kevin Radcliffe’s blushes by overlooking the 1989 strike. Back in ’86, Liverpool scored one of the greatest team goals of FA Cup final history to wrap up a 3-1 win over their neighbours and their first ever double. Jan Molby provided the sublime 50-yard diagonal ball, Kenny Dalglish darted left but Ronnie Whelan chipped right for Rush to pull down and break the camera in Everton’s goal.
11: Roberto Di Matteo – Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough – 1997
The quickest FA Cup final goal – and not a bad strike either! Bob Matteo needed just 45 seconds to make Middlesbrough wish they had considered a plan B before entering the 1997 final. Storming forward, the Italian Stallion released a big dipper that crashed in off the underside of the bar, with keeper Ben Roberts still in the Boro changing room. Unfair, but a stunner all the same.