The 1977 FA Cup final was the final match of the 1976–77 FA Cup, the 96th season of England's premier cup football competition. The match was played on 21 May 1977 at Wembley Stadium, London, and it was contested by Manchester United and Liverpool. United won the game 2–1.[1] All three goals came in a five-minute period early in the second half. Stuart Pearson opened the scoring when he latched onto a long ball forward and drove a hard shot past Ray Clemence. Liverpool equalised through Jimmy Case soon after, as he turned and hooked a right foot half-volley into the top corner, giving Stepney no chance. However, just three minutes later, United regained the lead when Lou Macari's shot deflected off teammate Jimmy Greenhoff's chest and looped into the net past Clemence and Phil Neal on the line. Jimmy Greenhoff's brother Brian was also in the United line-up, making them the first pair of brothers to play in a winning FA Cup final team since George and Ted Robledo played for Newcastle United in 1952.

1977 FA Cup Final
Match programme cover
Event1976–77 FA Cup
Date21 May 1977
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeBob Matthewson (Bolton)
Attendance99,252
1976
1978

Liverpool had already won the league title, which meant Manchester United qualified for the 1977–78 European Cup Winners' Cup regardless of the result. Liverpool then won the European Cup four days later, so United's victory prevented them from becoming the first club to win the continental treble of League, FA Cup, and European Cup titles – United would instead become the first English club to achieve this feat 22 years later.

For Tommy Docherty, this was his first FA Cup final win in four attempts: he had lost as a player with Preston in 1954, as a manager with Chelsea in 1967 and with Manchester United in 1976.

Match details

edit
Liverpool1–2Manchester United
Case   53' Report Pearson   51'
J. Greenhoff   55'
Attendance: 99,252
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liverpool
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Manchester United
GK 1   Ray Clemence
RB 2   Phil Neal
LB 3   Joey Jones
CB 4   Tommy Smith
MF 5   Ray Kennedy
CB 6   Emlyn Hughes (c)
FW 7   Kevin Keegan
MF 8   Jimmy Case
MF 9   Steve Heighway
FW 10   David Johnson   64'
MF 11   Terry McDermott
Substitute:
MF 12   Ian Callaghan   64'
Manager:
  Bob Paisley
GK 1   Alex Stepney
RB 2   Jimmy Nicholl
LB 3   Arthur Albiston
CM 4   Sammy McIlroy
CB 5   Brian Greenhoff
CB 6   Martin Buchan (c)
RM 7   Steve Coppell
CF 8   Jimmy Greenhoff
CF 9   Stuart Pearson
CM 10   Lou Macari
LM 11   Gordon Hill   81'
Substitute:
MF 12   David McCreery   81'
Manager:
  Tommy Docherty

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Replay if scores still level.
  • One named substitute.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Glory Days: 1977 FA Cup Winners". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022.

Peter Corrigan and Julie Welch (22 May 1977). "United win the Cup". The Observer. p. 1.

edit