1972 FA Cup final

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1972 FA Cup final
Old Wembley Stadium (external view).jpg
Event 1971–72 FA Cup
Date6 May 1972
Venue Wembley Stadium, London
Referee David Smith (Stonehouse)
Attendance100,000
1971
1973

The 1972 FA Cup final took place on 6 May 1972 at Wembley Stadium. It was the centenary final (although only the 91st final due to the world wars) and the 44th to be played at Wembley.

Contents

It was contested between cup holders Arsenal, who had won the Football League and the FA Cup the previous season, and Leeds United, who had won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and finished second in the league the previous season, but had never won the FA Cup. Arsenal and Leeds became the first clubs to have faced one another in both English domestic cup finals: the two had previously contested the 1968 Football League Cup Final, which Leeds had won, 1–0. [1] Arsenal planned to make it the third successive decade for a club to return as Cup-holders and win for a second successive year, as Newcastle United had done in 1952 and Tottenham Hotspur in 1962.

This final is the origin of the song "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!" (commonly known as "Marching On Together"), which was the B-side of Leeds's Cup Final record. The song is still played by United and other Leeds sports teams.

Road to Wembley

Leeds United

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Leeds United 4–1 Bristol Rovers

Round 4: Liverpool 0–0 Leeds United

Replay: Leeds United 2–0 Liverpool

Round 5: Cardiff City 0–2 Leeds United

 
 

Round 6: Leeds United 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur

Semi-final: Leeds United 3–0 Birmingham City

(at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)
 
 

Arsenal

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Swindon Town 0–2 Arsenal

Round 4: Reading 1 –2 Arsenal

 

Round 5: Derby County 2–2 Arsenal

Replay: Arsenal 0–0 Derby County
2nd Replay: Arsenal 1–0 Derby County (at Filbert Street)

Round 6: Leyton Orient 0–1 Arsenal

Semi-final: Stoke City 1–1 Arsenal

(at Villa Park, Birmingham)
Replay: Arsenal 2–1 Stoke City
(at Goodison Park, Everton)

Match summary

The Leeds duo Mick Jones and Allan 'Sniffer' Clarke combined to produce a goal in the fifty-third minute. Jones sent across a hard, shoulder-high centre and Clarke headed powerfully past Arsenal keeper Geoff Barnett's left hand from fifteen yards.

A match that often fell below the highest level began badly with a foul by Clarke on Alan Ball in the first five seconds and the first of four bookings – Bob McNab bringing down Peter Lorimer as early as the second minute. Neither side played consistently up to their capabilities, yet both had their moments.[ citation needed ] Charlie George's fierce volley cannoned back off the bar for Arsenal, and both Clarke and Lorimer struck the woodwork for Leeds.

Leeds' jubilation at the end was tempered by a last-minute injury to Mick Jones, who dislocated his elbow and had to be helped up the steps by Norman Hunter to receive his winners' medal.

Match facts

Leeds United 1–0 Arsenal
Clarke Soccerball shade.svg53' (Report)
Wembley, London
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: David Smith
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Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Leeds United
Kit left arm redborder.png
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Kit body whitecollarsimple.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm redborder.png
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Kit socks long.svg
Arsenal
GK1 Flag of Scotland.svg David Harvey
RB2 Flag of England.svg Paul Reaney
LB3 Flag of England.svg Paul Madeley
MF4 Flag of Scotland.svg Billy Bremner (c)
CB5 Flag of England.svg Jack Charlton
CB6 Flag of England.svg Norman Hunter
RW7 Flag of Scotland.svg Peter Lorimer
FW8 Flag of England.svg Allan Clarke
FW9 Flag of England.svg Mick Jones
MF10 Flag of Ireland.svg Johnny Giles
LW11 Flag of Scotland.svg Eddie Gray
Substitute:
MF12 Flag of England.svg Mick Bates
Manager:
Flag of England.svg Don Revie
GK1 Flag of England.svg Geoff Barnett
RB2 Ulster Banner.svg Pat Rice
LB3 Flag of England.svg Bob McNab
MF4 Flag of England.svg Peter Storey
CB5 Flag of Scotland.svg Frank McLintock (c)
CB6 Flag of England.svg Peter Simpson
MF7 Flag of England.svg George Armstrong
MF8 Flag of England.svg Alan Ball
FW9 Flag of England.svg Charlie George
FW10 Flag of England.svg John Radford Sub off.svg 73'
MF11 Flag of Scotland.svg George Graham
Substitute:
FW12 Flag of England.svg Ray Kennedy Sub on.svg 73'
Manager:
Flag of England.svg Bertie Mee

Match rules

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

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Michael David Jones is an English former footballer who played as centre forward with Leeds United during the 1960s and 1970s. He was also capped for England.

Allan John Clarke, nicknamed "Sniffer", is a former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Walsall, Fulham, Leicester City, Leeds United and Barnsley, and won 19 international caps for England.

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References

  1. Rollin, Glenda; Rollin, Jack, eds. (2001). Rothmans Football Yearbook 2001–2002. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 584, 599–600. ISBN   978-0-7472-7260-1.