1993 FA Cup final (original) (raw)

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English association football match

Football match

1993 FA Cup final

The final and the replay were held at Wembley Stadium.
Event	1992–93 FA Cup
Arsenal Sheffield Wednesday
Arsenal won after a replay
Final
Arsenal Sheffield Wednesday 1 1
After extra time
Date	15 May 1993
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Keren Barratt (Warwickshire)
Attendance	79,347
Replay
Arsenal Sheffield Wednesday 2 1
After extra time
Date	20 May 1993
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Keren Barratt (Warwickshire)
Attendance	62,267
← 1992 1994 →

The 1993 FA Cup final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The original match, played on 15 May 1993, finished 1–1. Arsenal won the replay on 20 May, 2–1 after extra-time.

It was Arsenal's sixth FA Cup final victory, and their first since the 1979 FA Cup final. They became the first English side to achieve a domestic cup double, having also won the 1993 Football League Cup final.

It was Sheffield Wednesday's first appearance in the FA Cup final since 1966. They also reached the League Cup final that season, also losing 2–1 to Arsenal (though without a replay). This appearance of the same two sides in the final of both of England's domestic knock-out tournaments in the same season had never happened before, and would be the only time until 2022. Sheffield Wednesday have not appeared in a domestic cup final since, reaching two League Cup semi-finals since then.

The replay saw the last Arsenal appearance by veteran defender David O'Leary, who left shortly afterwards to join Leeds United, after an 18-year spell with Arsenal which had yielded 722 competitive games and six major trophies.

Arsenal took the lead in the 20th minute, when Ian Wright headed in a cross. Sheffield Wednesday equalised in the 61st minute, when David Hirst turned in a low drive, past the advancing Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman.

The kick-off for the replay was delayed by 30 minutes after an accident on the M1 motorway had delayed the arrival of most of Sheffield Wednesday's fans.[1]

Once again, Ian Wright opened the scoring for Arsenal, running onto a through ball to prod the ball past Chris Woods, into the corner of the net. This was his fourth goal in FA Cup finals at Wembley, just one behind the record-holder Ian Rush. Wednesday attacked Arsenal in the second half, and Chris Waddle's shot deflected off Arsenal defender Lee Dixon into the net in the 68th minute.

The game went into extra time, and with two minutes of the second half remaining, central defender Andy Linighan scored with a header from a Paul Merson corner.[2] Goalkeeper Chris Woods fumbled and Graham Hyde could only help the ball into the top of the net. Linighan had played most of the game with a broken nose after Mark Bright had struck him in the face with his elbow.[3][4]

The two clubs had already contested the season's League Cup final, a match which Arsenal had won 2–1. It was the first time that the same two clubs had reached the final of both domestic club competitions.

It was also dubbed the 'longest' FA Cup final.[_by whom?_] It had gone to extra-time in the replay – a match which was delayed by thirty minutes – and was just one minute away from the first ever FA Cup final penalty shoot-out. It was also the last FA Cup final to go to a replay; from 1999 onwards, it was decided that all FA Cup finals would be decided on the day.

This was the first FA Cup final in which squad numbers had been used, having been trialled in the League Cup final. Players from both clubs retained the same numbers for the three matches. The system was fully adopted by the Premier League for the following season.

For Arsenal, David O'Leary played his last two official matches after joining the club as an apprentice in 1973. His testimonial took place between the final and the replay, on 17 May 1993. During extra time in the replay, Alan Smith received the only yellow card of his professional career.

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GK 1 David Seaman DF 2 Lee Dixon DF 5 Andy Linighan DF 6 Tony Adams (c) DF 3 Nigel Winterburn MF 10 Paul Merson MF 14 Paul Davis MF 17 John Jensen MF 11 Ray Parlour 66' FW 7 Kevin Campbell FW 8 Ian Wright 90' Substitutes: DF 22 David O'Leary 90' FW 9 Alan Smith 66' Manager: George Graham		GK 1 Chris Woods RB 2 Roland Nilsson CB 6 Viv Anderson (c) 85' CB 9 Paul Warhurst LB 3 Nigel Worthington RM 8 Chris Waddle 112' CM 4 Carlton Palmer CM 11 John Sheridan LM 15 John Harkes CF 5 David Hirst CF 10 Mark Bright Substitutes: MF 14 Chris Bart-Williams 112' MF 17 Graham Hyde 85' Manager: Trevor Francis

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GK 1 David Seaman RB 2 Lee Dixon CB 5 Andy Linighan CB 6 Tony Adams (c) LB 3 Nigel Winterburn CM 14 Paul Davis CM 17 John Jensen CM 10 Paul Merson RW 7 Kevin Campbell CF 8 Ian Wright 81' LW 9 Alan Smith Substitutes: DF 22 David O'Leary 81' MF 4 Ian Selley Manager: George Graham		GK 1 Chris Woods RB 2 Roland Nilsson 118' CB 4 Carlton Palmer (c) CB 9 Paul Warhurst LB 3 Nigel Worthington RM 8 Chris Waddle CM 7 Danny Wilson 62' CM 11 John Sheridan LM 15 John Harkes CF 5 David Hirst CF 10 Mark Bright Substitutes: MF 14 Chris Bart-Williams 118' MF 17 Graham Hyde 62' Manager: Trevor Francis

1. ^ "FA Cup Final 1993", FA Cup Finals
2. ^ "GGM 42: Last-gasp Linighan clinches FA Cup | News Archive | News". Arsenal.com. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
3. ^ "New season will begin again minus a Linighan". The Northern Echo. 11 May 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
4. ^ Smyth, Rob (14 September 2009). "Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend | Rob Smyth | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

• Line-ups