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1972 FA Cup final
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English association football match
July 2021
June 2023
the women's event 1972 WFA Cup final
1972 FA Cup final Old Wembley Stadium (external view).jpg 200 1971–72 FA Cup Leeds United 1 Arsenal 0 6 May 1972 Wembley Stadium London David Smith (Stonehouse) 100,000 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.
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.Glenda Rollin Jack Rollin Rothmans Football Yearbook 2001–2002 2001 Headline Publishing Group London 978-0-7472-7260-1 584, 599–600 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.
To date, this remains Leeds's last victory in a competitive final of any type (not counting the 1992 FA Charity Shield), with their subsequent appearances in the 1973 FA Cup final, 1973 European Cup Winners' Cup final, 1975 European Cup final, 1996 Football League Cup final, and play-off final appearances in 1987, 2006, 2008 and 2024 all ending in defeat. Allan Clarke's winning goal likewise remains the last one scored by any Leeds player in a competitive final (not counting the 1987 play-off final, which took place across two legs and a replay).
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.July 2021 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
6 May 197215:00 BST Leeds United 1–0 Arsenal (Report) Clarke 53 Wembley, London 100,000 David Smith
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Arsenal
GK 1 SCO David HarveyRB 2 ENG Paul ReaneyLB 3 ENG Paul MadeleyMF 4 SCO Billy Bremner (c)CB 5 ENG Jack CharltonCB 6 ENG Norman HunterRW 7 SCO Peter LorimerFW 8 ENG Allan ClarkeFW 9 ENG Mick JonesMF10IRL Johnny GilesLW 11SCO Eddie GraySubstitute:MF 12ENG Mick BatesManager:ENG Don Revie GK 1 ENG Geoff BarnettRB 2 NIR Pat RiceLB 3 ENG Bob McNabMF 4 ENG Peter StoreyCB 5 SCO Frank McLintock (c)CB 6 ENG Peter SimpsonMF 7 ENG George ArmstrongMF 8 ENG Alan BallFW 9 ENG Charlie GeorgeFW 10ENG John Radford 73MF 11SCO George GrahamSubstitute:FW 12ENG Ray Kennedy 73Manager:ENG Bertie Mee
Match rules
90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.
One named substitute.
References
External links
Match Programme at fa-cupfinals.co.uk
Game facts at soccerbase.com
Full Results from the 1972 FA Cup competition at soccerbase.com
Match Report at Mighty Whites
Final
Category:FA Cup finals
FA Cup Final 1972
FA Cup Final 1972
FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final