1971 FA Cup Final

Event

FA Cup 1970–71

Arsenal	Liverpool

2	1

Date

8 May 1971

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Referee

Norman Burtenshaw

Attendance

100,000

Weather

sunny, warm

In the finale to the 1970–71 FA Cup season, the 1971 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley on 8 May 1971.

Arsenal won 2–1 after extra time, with all three goals coming in the added half-hour. Steve Heighway opened the scoring for Liverpool with a low drive past Wilson on his near post. However, Arsenal equalised with a scrambled goal from substitute Eddie Kelly – the first time a substitute had ever scored in an FA Cup final. The goal was initially credited to George Graham, but replays showed that the decisive touch came from Kelly after Graham had struck the shot.^[1] Charlie George then scored a dramatic winner late in extra time, when his long range effort flew past Ray Clemence. This prompted George into a famous celebration – lying on his back on the Wembley turf waiting for his team mates to pick him up.

The game was the second half of Arsenal's first League and FA Cup double, the first double achieved by any club since Tottenham Hotspur's double in 1961. The first half had been achieved through Arsenal's league victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the Monday of the same week. The trophy was presented by the President of The Football Association, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.

Due to the clash of Liverpool's red strip with Arsenal's red and white colours, Arsenal wore their away strip of yellow shirt and blue shorts.

Final

The game was played on a hot sunny day, and cramp and stamina were both to be of concern by the end of the match. Arsenal captain Frank McLintock won the toss, and he chose to play towards the southern end for the first half, meaning that Arsenal would have the low late afternoon sun at their backs in the second period.

Early play was dominated by Liverpool, who mounted several attacks on the Arsenal goal but found difficulty breaking through Arsenal's defence. As the half progressed play became for the most part evenly balanced, with Arsenal mounting more counterattacks on the break and Liverpool's best chances coming largely from free kicks deep in Arsenal's half of the field. The best opportunities to break the deadlock came late in the half, with Ray Clemence forced to make a reflex save of a header from George Armstrong in the 41st minute, followed in the 44th minute by a similarly fine diving save by Bob Wilson from Alec Lindsay, the result of a free kick. Earlier in the half, Ray Kennedy had caused several problems for the Liverpool defence, and a long range effort from Charlie George also narrowly failed to find the net.

Neither side had total dominance during the second period; Arsenal started strongly, with Liverpool coming more into the game as play progressed. Arsenal finished more strongly with a spell of concerted pressure in the latter stages of the half as the game opened up. The first few minutes of the second half consisted of the teams sizing each other up, with no clear chance coming until an opportunity for Arsenal in the 51st minute when Kennedy failed to get his foot to an effort from close range. Play was largely uneventful from then until the 56th minute, when Charlie George again shot wide from long distance. Liverpool's style of play largely consisted of slow, patient attacks, with their first major foray of the half coming in the 58th minute, ending when John Toshack failed to link up with Alun Evans. Eddie Kelly replaced a limping Peter Storey in the 64th minute. Three minutes later, Evans was replaced for tactical reasons for Liverpool by Peter Thompson. He was to have a part in a strong attack by Liverpool less than two minutes later, halted when the ball was cleared by McLintock. The game was briefly paused immediately after this attack, owing to Emlyn Hughes receiving treatment after being hit in the face by the ball. Liverpool were now having more of the possession, though the next clear chance, in the 74th minute, fell to Ray Kennedy when he received a John Radford cross within the goal area. The game opened up considerably from this point, and a George Graham header from a Radford long throw hit the crossbar in the 77th minute. The resulting corner led to a scrambled goal-line clearance by Lindsay. Steve Heighway mounted an instant counter-attack, but it came to nothing. In the next three minutes, Wilson was forced to make two saves in response to further attacks by Heighway and Thompson. A further solo effort by Brian Hall came five minutes before the end of the half, followed shortly afterwards by a shot from Kennedy at the other end.

Extra time

The first period of extra time began with Arsenal kicking off facing the same way as in the second half, with the low sun at their backs. Within a minute, a move which began with Larry Lloyd deep within Liverpool's half found Heighway in space on the left flank. He sent a low ball from the edge of the penalty area which went behind the advancing Wilson and into the Arsenal net. Two minutes later John Toshack almost made it two, with a sharp reflex save required from Wilson to prevent further damage to Arsenal's cause. Liverpool continued to dominate for the next ten minutes, but without any clear chances. This pressure left some holes in Liverpool's defence, however, and in the eleventh minute of extra time an overhead kick from John Radford into the Liverpool penalty area led to a scrambled attempt to clear the ball which saw the ball end up in the net. Initially, it appeared as if Graham had got the final touch, but later replays showed that it was Kelly, who became the first substitute ever to score in an FA Cup final. Clemence was forced to make a brave save two minutes from the end of the half after a centring cross almost found Kelly deep in the Liverpool area. The last chance of the half came from a strong shot from distance by Radford which went straight to Clemence.

By the start of the second period of extra time, the hot conditions and pace of the match were starting to take their toll, with several players (notably Brian Hall and George Graham) suffering from cramp. As such play was more broken, with fewer successful attacks, as crosses frequently failed to find their targets. Liverpool had the first clear chance after five minutes, when a cross from Thompson deep on the right flank narrowly failed to find Toshack. An immediate counterattack required Tommy Smith to tackle Kennedy deep in his own penalty area after Kennedy had received a long ball from Graham.The winning goal was to come moments later in the seventh minute of the period, when a ball from Radford found Charlie George just outside the Liverpool penalty area. His powerful strike beat Clemence to hit the top left of the Liverpool net. He followed this up with his famous celebration, lying on his back with arms outstretched until he was picked up by other members of his team. Liverpool were not to give up, however, and the first opportunity to reply came from Chris Lawler, who defied his cramping legs to attempt a flying kick at a pass from Toshack within the Arsenal area. This was one of the few remaining instances to really threaten in the dying minutes, however, although Radford produced a powerful long-range shot some two minutes before the final whistle.

The match was played in a great spirit of sportsmanship by the players and was responded to as such by the fans. When Liverpool's Lawler was floored with cramp late in extra time, he was helped to recover by two Arsenal players. Arsenal's victory – and double win after a gruelling 64-match season – was greeted with an ovation by both their own and Liverpool's fans at the stadium, and Liverpool were also cheered by both sets of fans as they took a lap of honour after the presentation of the trophy and medals.

Match details

Liverpool v Arsenal

8 May 1971
15:00 BST

Liverpool	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Arsenal
Heighway 92'	Report	Kelly 101' George 111'

Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 100,000
Referee: Norman Burtenshaw (Great Yarmouth)

Liverpool

Arsenal



GK	1	Ray Clemence
RB	2	Chris Lawler
LB	3	Alec Lindsay
CB	4	Tommy Smith (c)
CB	5	Larry Lloyd
CM	6	Emlyn Hughes
RM	7	Ian Callaghan
ST	8	Alun Evans	68'
LM	9	Steve Heighway
ST	10	John Toshack
CM	11	Brian Hall
Substitutes:
MF	12	Peter Thompson	68'
Manager:
Bill Shankly



GK	1	Bob Wilson
RB	2	Pat Rice
LB	3	Bob McNab
RM	4	Peter Storey	64'
CB	5	Frank McLintock (c)
CB	6	Peter Simpson
LM	7	George Armstrong
CM	8	George Graham
ST	9	John Radford
ST	10	Ray Kennedy
CM	11	Charlie George
Substitutes:
MF	12	Eddie Kelly	64'
Manager:
Bertie Mee

DVD release

Television coverage of the match has been released on DVD by the BBC as part of their FA Cup Final Classics series as part of a double-DVD set (BBCDVD 1681) along with Arsenal's win over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final. The ITV coverage was also released on DVD in 2004, as one of a series of DVDs covering the 1970s Cup Finals, distributed by ILC Sport (DVD2508). The same company have also released DVDs of all the 1980s and 1990s Cup Finals.

References

↑ Arsenal: The official history. itvDVD.

External links

LFC History Match Report

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 1899–00 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 1999–00 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

Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–00 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 1999–00 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

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

History Trophy List of finals FA Cup Third-fourth place matches Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Non-league clubs in the 5th Round

1970–71 in English football

« 1969–70

1971–72 »

FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

European competitions

Related to national team

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Blackpool Burnley Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Huddersfield Town Ipswich Town Leeds United Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Southampton Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers

Second Division	Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bristol City Cardiff City Carlisle United Charlton Athletic Hull City Leicester City Leyton Orient Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Norwich City Oxford United Portsmouth Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield United Sunderland Swindon Town Watford

Third Division	Aston Villa Barnsley Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Bury Chesterfield Doncaster Rovers Fulham Gillingham Halifax Town Mansfield Town Plymouth Argyle Preston North End Port Vale Reading Rochdale Rotherham United Shrewsbury Town Swansea City Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Walsall Wrexham

Fourth Division	Aldershot Barrow Bournemouth Brentford Cambridge United Chester Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Exeter City Grimsby Town Hartlepool United Lincoln City Newport County Northampton Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Peterborough United Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Workington York City

Arsenal F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1927 1930 1932 1936 1950 1952 1971 1972 1978 1979 1980 1993 1998 2001 2002 2003 2005 2014 2015

Football League War Cup Finals	1941 1943

League Cup Finals	1968 1969 1987 1988 1993 2007 2011

FA Community Shields	1930 1931 1933 1934 1935 1936 1938 1948 1953 1979 1989 1991 1993 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004 2005 2014 2015

UEFA Champions League Final	2006

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Finals	1980 1994 1995

UEFA Cup Final	2000 riots

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final	1970

European Super Cup	1994

Other matches	Leicester City 6–6 Arsenal (1930) Aston Villa 1–7 Arsenal (1935) Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989) Manchester United–Arsenal brawl (1990) Wrexham 2–1 Arsenal (1992) Battle of Old Trafford (2003) Battle of the Buffet (2004) Eusébio Cup (2011) MLS All-Star Game (2016)

Liverpool F.C. matches

FA Cup Finals	1914 1950 1965 1971 1974 1977 1986 1988 1989 1992 1996 2001 2006 2012

League Cup Finals	1978 1981 1982 1983 1984 1987 1995 2001 2003 2005 2012 2016

FA Community Shield	1922 1964 1965 1966 1971 1974 1976 1977 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1988 1989 1990 1992 2001 2002 2006

UEFA Champions League Finals	1977 1978 1981 1984 1985 2005 2007

European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1966

UEFA Europa League Finals	1973 1976 2001 2016

UEFA Super Cup	1977 1978 ~~1981~~ 1984 2001 2005

Intercontinental Cup	~~1978~~ 1981 1984

FIFA Club World Championship Final	2005

Other matches	Ajax 5–1 Liverpool (1966) 1983–84 European Cup semi-final 1986 English Super Cup Final Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (1989) Liverpool 9–0 Crystal Palace (1989) Liverpool 4–3 Newcastle (1996)

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.