1987 FA Cup Final

1987 FA Cup Final
Event	1986–87 FA Cup
Date	16 May 1987
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Neil Midgley (Manchester)
Attendance	96,000
	← 1986 1988 →

The 1987 FA Cup Final took place on 16 May 1987 at Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs were appearing in their third final in seven seasons, having won the trophy in 1981 and 1982 and were strong favourites, while unfancied Coventry were appearing in their first ever domestic cup final. Spurs were going for a record eighth victory and had never lost a final. In an exciting match, Coventry eventually triumphed 3–2 after extra time.^[1]^[2]

Summary[edit]

BBC commentator John Motson stated it was "the finest Cup Final I've had the pleasure of commentating on". It was a clean, good-willed yet well-contested final, with no bookings and high-quality football being produced by both sides. Both teams exercised quick, neat passing ability interspersed with exciting wing play and it was generally considered a good advertisement for English football. In marked contrast to the modern game, all but one of Coventry's players were English, the exception being Welsh international David Phillips, while eight of the Spurs starting eleven were also English.

Spurs played the game in their new kit for the following 1987–88 season but with white shorts instead of blue. Due to a mix up only half of the Spurs players wore the Holsten sponsorship on their shirts.^[3]

Tottenham had been knocked out of the Football League Cup in the semi-finals and had finished third in the league, and so, having spent most of the season challenging for a unique domestic treble, they ended it with no major trophies at all. Aside from the Third Round against Bolton Wanderers, Coventry had progressed to the final impressively, by winning all of their games away from home, including victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford (Alex Ferguson's first FA Cup loss with United).

One downside to Coventry's remarkable triumph was that they would not be able to make a challenge for the European Cup Winners' Cup; UEFA had voted for the ban on English clubs in European competitions, imposed in 1985 following the Heysel disaster, to continue for a third season. In an attempt to show some reward for their achievement, Coventry arranged 'the Anglo-Scottish Challenge Cup', a two-legged match against the Scottish Cup winners, St Mirren. After a 1–1 draw at Highfield Road, attended by fewer than 5,000 spectators, the second leg at Love Street was postponed and eventually forgotten.^[4]

In Keith Houchen's 2006 book A Tenner and a Box of Kippers: The Story of Keith Houchen, he describes his goal which levelled the match. "The cross came in and I never took my eyes off it. I had to throw myself at it, or I would never have got on the end of it. I can’t say I was consciously thinking: ‘If it comes in, I’m going to dive and head it.’ It’s all instinct. When it is perfect timing, it’s like a dance — it all comes together. I knew I was getting it. When I scored, I was totally disorientated. I hit the ground, bounced back up again and off I went. All you could hear was this deafening noise. I always thought I’d score in the Cup. The fact it was such a spectacular goal made it sweeter. There was only one team going to win. It’s like two boxers; all of a sudden, one punch changes everything."^[5]

Steve Ogrizovic, who remained with Coventry until retiring as a player in 2000, was Coventry's last remaining player from the game when he played his last game for them. Gary Mabbutt, who remained with Tottenham until 1998, was the last player to leave runners-up Tottenham.

Clive Allen scored his 49th goal of the season for Tottenham in the final, after a prolific season where his scoring exploits earned him the Player of the Year awards from both the FWA and PFA.

London rockers Chas & Dave released a song called Hot Shot Tottenham!. It reached No. 18 in the charts. Coventry's single 'Go For It' reached No. 61.

Road to Wembley[edit]

Home teams listed first.

Coventry City[edit]

Round 3: Coventry City 3–0 Bolton Wanderers

Round 4: Manchester United 0–1 Coventry City

Round 5: Stoke City 0–1 Coventry City

Round 6: Sheffield Wednesday 1–3 Coventry City

Semi-final: Coventry City 3–2 Leeds United

Tottenham Hotspur[edit]

Round 3: Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Scunthorpe United

Round 4: Tottenham Hotspur 4–0 Crystal Palace

Round 5: Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 Newcastle United

Round 6: Wimbledon 0–2 Tottenham Hotspur

Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur 4–1 Watford

Match summary[edit]

The bus in which the victorious Coventry players paraded the cup through the city after their victory. It is now on display in the Coventry Transport Museum.

After only two minutes, Clive Allen scored his 49th goal of the season, heading past keeper Steve Ogrizovic at the near-post from a perfect Chris Waddle cross from the right. Within seven minutes though, the Sky Blues were level through Dave Bennett, a Cup Final loser in 1981 for Manchester City, coincidentally at the hands of Spurs. Bennett collected the ball in the box and got around the advancing goalkeeper to hit left footed into the net past Steve Hodge on the line.

The London club were back in front five minutes before the break through defender Gary Mabbutt when he deflected the ball past the goalkeeper after a cross from the right. Midway through the second half the Midlanders were level again – Bennett's pinpoint cross from the right was met by striker Keith Houchen with a diving header from six yards out for a memorable goal, which was voted in the top 10 goals ever scored at Wembley. Houchen was also awarded the BBC's Goal of the Season for 1987.

The scores stayed level until full-time and the game went into extra-time. Six minutes in, the unfortunate Mabbutt scored an own goal after Lloyd McGrath centred the ball from the right and it took a deflection off of the Spurs defender's left knee from six yards out and over keeper Ray Clemence. One of Coventry's fanzines remains mischievously entitled 'Gary Mabbutt's Knee' also known as GMK.^[6]^[7]

Match details[edit]

16 May 198715:00

Coventry City	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Tottenham Hotspur
Bennett 8' Houchen 62' Mabbutt 95' (o.g.)	Report	C. Allen 2' Mabbutt 40'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 96,000

Referee: Neil Midgley (Manchester)

Coventry

Tottenham Hotspur



GK	1	Steve Ogrizovic
RB	2	David Phillips
LB	3	Greg Downs
MF	4	Lloyd McGrath
CB	5	Brian Kilcline (c)	89'
CB	6	Trevor Peake
MF	7	Dave Bennett
MF	8	Micky Gynn
CF	9	Cyrille Regis
CF	10	Keith Houchen
MF	11	Nick Pickering
Substitutes:
DF	14	Graham Rodger	89'
MF	12	Steve Sedgley
Manager:
John Sillett and George Curtis



GK	1	Ray Clemence
RB	2	Chris Hughton	97'
LB	3	Mitchell Thomas
MF	4	Steve Hodge
CB	5	Richard Gough (c)
CB	6	Gary Mabbutt
CF	7	Clive Allen
MF	8	Paul Allen
MF	9	Chris Waddle
MF	10	Glenn Hoddle
MF	11	Ossie Ardiles	91'
Substitutes:
FW	12	Nico Claesen	97'
DF	14	Gary Stevens	91'
Manager:
David Pleat

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.
Two named substitutes
Maximum of 2 substitutions.

References[edit]

^ "Classic Cup Finals: 1987". The FA. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ "Back then it was the Holy Grail... and we won it! Houchen explains his big day at Wembley, that goal, and not having a picture". Daily Mail. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ "1987 FA Cup Final Kits". Historical Kits. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ The Scotsman, 31 January 2009, accessed 23 April 2010
^ "Coventry to roll back the years by wearing 1987 FA Cup final kit in third round tie at Spurs". Daily Mail. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ "Cup earned by the Blue crew". Guardian. 16 May 1987. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
^ "How Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt gave Coventry City an epic knees-up in 1987 FA Cup final". Daily Telegraph. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

External links[edit]

Official Match Highlights at the FA
Game facts at soccerbase.com

[1] "Classic Cup Finals: 1987". The FA. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[2] "Back then it was the Holy Grail... and we won it! Houchen explains his big day at Wembley, that goal, and not having a picture". Daily Mail. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[3] "1987 FA Cup Final Kits". Historical Kits. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[4] The Scotsman, 31 January 2009, accessed 23 April 2010

[5] "Coventry to roll back the years by wearing 1987 FA Cup final kit in third round tie at Spurs". Daily Mail. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[6] "Cup earned by the Blue crew". Guardian. 16 May 1987. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[7] "How Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt gave Coventry City an epic knees-up in 1987 FA Cup final". Daily Telegraph. 4 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e FA Cup
Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
History Trophy List of finals Third-fourth place matches Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round

v t e Coventry City F.C. matches
FA Cup Final	1987
FA Charity Shield	1987
EFL Trophy Final	2017
EFL League Two play-off Final	2018
FA Youth Cup Final	1987
Other matches	Sutton United 2–1 Coventry City (1989)

v t e Tottenham Hotspur F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1901 1921 1961 1962 1967 1981 1982 1987 1991
League Cup Finals	1971 1973 1982 1999 2002 2008 2009 2015
FA Charity Shields	1920 1921 1961 1962 1967 1981 1982 1991
UEFA Cup Finals	1972 1974 1984
European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1963
Other matches	1901–02 World Championship Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 3–4 Manchester City F.C. (2004) 2015 MLS All-Star Game