1983 FA Cup final

Association football championship match December 2017 March 2015 March 2015 the women's event 1983 WFA Cup final 1983 FA Cup Final 1982–83 FA Cup Brighton & Hove Albion Manchester United Manchester United won after a replay Final 2 2 After extra time 21 May 1983 Wembley Stadium London Alf Grey (Norfolk) 99,059 Replay 0 4 26 May 1983 Wembley Stadium London Alf Grey (Norfolk) 91,534 1982 1984 The 1983 FA Cup final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium. Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season, and had never reached a cup final before. United had finished third in the league that season and already had four FA Cup victories to their name. The final ended in a 2–2 draw, forcing a replay at Wembley five days later, which Manchester United won 4–0. It was the third successive year that the FA Cup Final required a replay.James M. Ross England FA Challenge Cup Finals https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engcuphist.html Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 6 August 2020 8 August 2020 The first match The build-up to the first game included Brighton travelling to Wembley stadium by helicopter instead of using the traditional route of a team coach. Steve Foster, Brighton's captain was suspended for the match having received a booking in a league match against Notts County.Greg Whelan Steve Foster chats Brighton, his famous headwear and the 1983 FA Cup final https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11741/11103579/steve-foster-chats-brighton-his-famous-headwear-and-the-1983-fa-cup-final Sky Sports 25 June 2025 Despite Manchester United being strong favourites to win the game, Brighton took an early lead through Gordon Smith, who would become notable late into extra-time. Frank Stapleton equalised and Ray Wilkins with a curling shot put Manchester United into the lead. Gary Stevens scored a late equaliser for Brighton which took the game into extra time. The first game has since became infamous for the radio commentary line by Peter Jones "...and Smith must score" talking about a shot by Gordon Smith, which was then saved by the Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey; the quote was subsequently used as a title for a Brighton fanzine. The final whistle went moments later with the final score 2–2 after extra time. Bailey's save had forced a replay and prevented Brighton from winning the first major trophy in their history.Philip Cornwall My favourite game: Manchester United v Brighton, 1983 FA Cup final replay https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/22/my-favourite-game-manchester-united-v-brighton-1983-fa-cup-final-replay GuardianMike Walters Forgotten FA Cup final goal remembered after infamous Brighton vs Man Utd commentary https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/forgotten-fa-cup-final-goal-29717456 Mirror 25 June 2025 The replay The second game, on a Thursday night, started the same way as the first game had, with Brighton taking the game to Manchester United. Although their chances were limited to long-range drives from Jimmy Case, United goalkeeper Gary Bailey had a couple of important saves to make. This all changed on 25 minutes, with United's first real attack. Alan Davies, who had made his FA Cup debut in the first game, set up captain Bryan Robson for a left-footed drive past Moseley into the corner of the net. Suddenly the atmosphere changed and it was the Manchester United fans who were singing loudest. This was compounded in the 30th minute, when United went 2–0 up, giving the team a two-goal cushion for the first time over the two matches. Brighton failed to clear a corner, and Davies crossed for Norman Whiteside to score with a header, making the 18 year old the youngest player to ever score in an FA Cup final as per 2024. This capped an incredible 12 months for the teenager, who had played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup for Northern Ireland, and scored in the League Cup final defeat to Liverpool earlier that year. Brighton were rocked but continued to press, yet went further behind just before half time. Gordon McQueen headed on a free-kick and the ball fell to Robson to tap in at the far post, for his second goal of the game. The scoring was completed in the second half when the Dutch midfielder Arnold Mühren scored a penalty after Robson had been brought down by Stevens in the penalty area. It was the third consecutive year that a penalty had been awarded (and scored) in the Cup Final replay. This was the first of three times that Bryan Robson captained Manchester United to FA Cup glory; he also achieved the feat in 1985 and 1990. Match details 21 May 1983 Brighton & Hove Albion 2–2 yes Report Manchester United Smith 14Stevens 87 Stapleton 55Wilkins 72 Wembley Stadium, London 99,059 Alf Grey (Great Yarmouth) _white_stripes2 _vneckwhite _white_stripes2 _white_stripes_adidas _3_stripes_blue 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF FFFFFF Brighton & Hove Albion _manutdh8284 _manutdh8284 _manutdh8284 _adidas_red _red_top_3_white_stripes E20E0E E20E0E E20E0E FFFFFF 000000 Manchester United GK 1 ENG Graham MoseleyRB 2 ENG Chris RamseyCB 6 ENG Gary StevensCB 5 ENG Steve GattingLB 3 ENG Graham PearceRM 11ENG Neil SmillieCM 4 IRL Tony Grealish (c)CM 7 ENG Jimmy CaseLM 8 IRL Gary HowlettCF 9 IRL Michael RobinsonCF 10SCO Gordon SmithSubstitute:MF 12IRL Gerry RyanManager:ENG Jimmy Melia300px GK 1 ENG Gary BaileyRB 2 ENG Mike DuxburyCB 5 IRL Kevin MoranCB 6 SCO Gordon McQueenLB 3 SCO Arthur AlbistonRM 11WAL Alan DaviesCM 4 ENG Ray WilkinsCM 7 ENG Bryan Robson (c)LM 8 NED Arnold MührenCF 9 IRL Frank StapletonCF 10NIR Norman WhitesideSubstitute:MF 12IRL Ashley GrimesManager:ENG Ron Atkinson Assistant referees: Colin Downey (Hounslow) John Pardoe (Kidderminster) Reserve official: John Connock (Bristol)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Replay if scores still level One named substitute Maximum of one substitution Replay match details 26 May 1983 Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 Manchester United Robson 25 44Whiteside 30Mühren 62 pen. Wembley Stadium, London 91,534 Alf Grey (Norfolk) _white_stripes2 _vneckwhite _white_stripes2 _white_stripes_adidas _3_stripes_blue 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF FFFFFF Brighton & Hove Albion _manutdh8284 _manutdh8284 _manutdh8284 _adidas_red _red_top_3_white_stripes E20E0E E20E0E E20E0E FFFFFF 000000 Manchester United GK 1 ENG Graham MoseleyRB 2 ENG Steve GattingCB 6 ENG Gary StevensCB 5 ENG Steve Foster (c)LB 3 ENG Graham PearceRM 11ENG Neil SmillieCM 4 IRL Tony GrealishCM 7 ENG Jimmy CaseLM 8 IRL Gary HowlettCF 9 IRL Michael RobinsonCF 10SCO Gordon SmithSubstitute:MF 12IRL Gerry RyanManager:ENG Jimmy Melia300px GK 1 ENG Gary BaileyRB 2 ENG Mike DuxburyCB 5 IRL Kevin MoranCB 6 SCO Gordon McQueenLB 3 SCO Arthur AlbistonRM 11WAL Alan DaviesCM 4 ENG Ray WilkinsCM 7 ENG Bryan Robson (c)LM 8 NED Arnold MührenCF 9 IRL Frank StapletonCF 10NIR Norman WhitesideSubstitute:MF 12IRL Ashley GrimesManager:ENG Ron Atkinson Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. One named substitute. Maximum of one substitution. References External links Line-ups collapsed 1983 Final Fa Cup Final 1983 Fa Cup Final 1983 FA Cup Final FA Cup Final