1988 FA Cup final

For the women's event, see 1988 WFA Cup final.

1988 FA Cup final
Event1987–88 FA Cup
Liverpool Wimbledon
0 1
Date14 May 1988 (1988-05-14)
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchDave Beasant (Wimbledon)
RefereeBrian Hill (Northamptonshire)
Attendance98,203
WeatherSunny
23 °C (73 °F) [1]
← 1987
1989 →

The 1988 FA Cup final was the 107th final of the FA Cup. It took place on Saturday 14 May 1988 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Wimbledon and Liverpool, the dominant English club side of the 1980s and newly crowned league champions.[2][3]

In one of the biggest shocks in the entire history of the competition, Lawrie Sanchez' solitary goal of the game ensured Wimbledon's 1-0 victory over Liverpool, and won Wimbledon their only FA Cup final in their history; they had just completed their second season in the First Division and had only been in the Football League for a total of 11 years.[4][5] The final also featured the first ever penalty save in an FA Cup final, by Dave Beasant from John Aldridge.[6] Beasant is often mistakenly believed to have been the first goalkeeper to captain a winning side in an FA Cup Final but this honour falls to Major William Merriman of the Royal Engineers who captained his side to victory in 1875.[7]

It was the last FA Cup final to be broadcast live simultaneously by both the BBC and ITV until 2022 - this happened at every final since 1958. Wimbledon's victory ended Liverpool's bid to become the first team to win the Double twice,[8][9] a feat that was eventually achieved by rivals Manchester United in 1996. The game was the last that former England international Laurie Cunningham would play in England, before his death in Spain in 1989.[10]

  1. ^ "May 14, 1988 Weather History in London". Weatherspark.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  2. ^ Phillips-Knight, Rob (12 May 2010). "Beasant and the 'Crazy Gang' stun Liverpool". ESPN.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. ^ "English Division One 1987–1988 Final Table". statto.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  4. ^ Beasant, Dave (15 May 2010). "14 May 1988: The first FA Cup final penalty save". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  5. ^ "English FA Cup Finalists 1980 – 1989". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Liverpool 0 Wimbledon 1". LFC History.com. 14 May 1988. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Quirky Facts". Goalkeepersaredifferent.com. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  8. ^ Hosking, Patrick; Wighton, David (14 March 2004). "Caught in Time: Wimbledon's Crazy Gang chase FA Cup glory in 1988". The Times. London. Retrieved 24 June 2011.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ Reddy, Luke (4 January 2015). "Wimbledon v Liverpool: How the Crazy Gang made FA Cup history". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Laurie Cunningham Player Statistics". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 April 2020.