FA Cup - First , Worst & Best

[John Street West Terrace]

As it’s just been the FA Cup draw as the thread title says what was your first , worst & best FA Cup tie you attended watching our lot ? Mine ..

First - Arsenal ( H ) 77/78 0-5 .. my first season attending The Lane , we’d had some good results in a mini revival under Cec Coldwell at acting manager . Unfortunately hammered on the day by a good Arsenal side that went on to be runners up that year

Worst - Altrincham ( A ) 81/82 0-3.. in what was a great season for me as a Blade seeing our first bit of success even if it was the 4th Division Champions , this was a rare blot on the copy book . After Altrincham got a 2-2 draw at The Lane , we completely disappeared up our own arse at their place & were deservedly beaten 3-0 . Alty were a very good non league side in that era & took more than a few EFL scalps in that era .

Best - Well that’s a difficult one , once upon a time we were a good FA Cup side before the FA Cup became devalued by side turning out fringe players . Candidates for me off the top of my head were the beating Blackburn in FA QF in 93 , the 2 SFs vs Arsenal at Old Trafford or Hull at Wembley in 2014 , beating Arsenal 1-0 under Kendall .
But the one I’m opting for the QF replay win against Coventry that went to pens at our place , remember the game so well , Holdsworth scissor kick volley to equalise & Kellys heroics in the penalty shoot out

 

[Brian Deane]

1993 Glynn Hodges putting Manure in their place .....

 

[ancientblade]

As it’s just been the FA Cup draw as the thread title says what was your first , worst & best FA Cup tie you attended watching our lot ? Mine ..

First - Arsenal ( H ) 77/78 0-5 .. my first season attending The Lane , we’d had some good results in a mini revival under Cec Coldwell at acting manager . Unfortunately hammered on the day by a good Arsenal side that went on to be runners up that year

Worst - Altrincham ( A ) 81/82 0-3.. in what was a great season for me as a Blade seeing our first bit of success even if it was the 4th Division Champions , this was a rare blot on the copy book . After Altrincham got a 2-2 draw at The Lane , we completely disappeared up our own arse at their place & were deservedly beaten 3-0 . Alty were a very good non league side in that era & took more than a few EFL scalps in that era .

Best - Well that’s a difficult one , once upon a time we were a good FA Cup side before the FA Cup became devalued by side turning out fringe players . Candidates for me off the top of my head were the beating Blackburn in FA QF in 93 , the 2 SFs vs Arsenal at Old Trafford or Hull at Wembley in 2014 , beating Arsenal 1-0 under Kendall .
But the one I’m opting for the QF replay win against Coventry that went to pens at our place , remember the game so well , Holdsworth scissor kick volley to equalise & Kellys heroics in the penalty shoot out

remember that 0 - 5 defeat by arsenal john street it was the day dalton arsenal's north bank leader and a dozen of his mates positioned themselves in the middle of the shoreham and didnt make themselves known till the teams came out but were instantly jumped on by 40/50 of our lads police saved em from a battering that day big black lad dalton was wearing a black crombie on the pitch malcolm mcdonald ripped us apart we were.4 - 0 down after 18 minutes

 

[Snowflake]

As it’s just been the FA Cup draw as the thread title says what was your first , worst & best FA Cup tie you attended watching our lot ? Mine ..

First - Arsenal ( H ) 77/78 0-5 .. my first season attending The Lane , we’d had some good results in a mini revival under Cec Coldwell at acting manager . Unfortunately hammered on the day by a good Arsenal side that went on to be runners up that year

Worst - Altrincham ( A ) 81/82 0-3.. in what was a great season for me as a Blade seeing our first bit of success even if it was the 4th Division Champions , this was a rare blot on the copy book . After Altrincham got a 2-2 draw at The Lane , we completely disappeared up our own arse at their place & were deservedly beaten 3-0 . Alty were a very good non league side in that era & took more than a few EFL scalps in that era .

Best - Well that’s a difficult one , once upon a time we were a good FA Cup side before the FA Cup became devalued by side turning out fringe players . Candidates for me off the top of my head were the beating Blackburn in FA QF in 93 , the 2 SFs vs Arsenal at Old Trafford or Hull at Wembley in 2014 , beating Arsenal 1-0 under Kendall .
But the one I’m opting for the QF replay win against Coventry that went to pens at our place , remember the game so well , Holdsworth scissor kick volley to equalise & Kellys heroics in the penalty shoot out

First Everton at home many years ago.
Worst Pompey away Jan 71
Best too many to mention !!

 

[Bath Blade]

As it’s just been the FA Cup draw as the thread title says what was your first , worst & best FA Cup tie you attended watching our lot ? Mine ..

First - Arsenal ( H ) 77/78 0-5 .. my first season attending The Lane , we’d had some good results in a mini revival under Cec Coldwell at acting manager . Unfortunately hammered on the day by a good Arsenal side that went on to be runners up that year

Worst - Altrincham ( A ) 81/82 0-3.. in what was a great season for me as a Blade seeing our first bit of success even if it was the 4th Division Champions , this was a rare blot on the copy book . After Altrincham got a 2-2 draw at The Lane , we completely disappeared up our own arse at their place & were deservedly beaten 3-0 . Alty were a very good non league side in that era & took more than a few EFL scalps in that era .

Best - Well that’s a difficult one , once upon a time we were a good FA Cup side before the FA Cup became devalued by side turning out fringe players . Candidates for me off the top of my head were the beating Blackburn in FA QF in 93 , the 2 SFs vs Arsenal at Old Trafford or Hull at Wembley in 2014 , beating Arsenal 1-0 under Kendall .
But the one I’m opting for the QF replay win against Coventry that went to pens at our place , remember the game so well , Holdsworth scissor kick volley to equalise & Kellys heroics in the penalty shoot out

First: Luton at home in 90-91. We’d just started our upturn in form a week or so before and had won three games in quick succession (I think) including beating Luton in the league (I think again). Then played Luton in the cup third round and were well beaten, which was a disappointment after the cup run the previous season (and because the FA Cup mattered in those days.
Worst: Wembley ‘93 (not going to digress).
Best: Possibly Blackburn in ‘93 or Coventry in ‘98 but I’m going for Hull in the semi in 2014 despite us losing. I went into that match with very little hope against an established premier league team while we were in Leage One and we very nearly did it. The rapturous applause after we conceded the fifth will stay with me a long time.

 

[wak1889]

My first was ironically a 1st round tie against Mansfield, best was the 2-1 away at villa, and worst was 1993

 

[Weasel]

My first was ironically a 1st round tie against Mansfield, best was the 2-1 away at villa, and worst was 1993

We took thousands that day down to Field Mill, packed in on the old standing only concrete terrace beind the goal and a side terrace. Think we went behind and then equalised in a 1-1 draw. Did Simon Webster break his leg that day?

 

[Sportbilly /Detroit Blade]

First - Was the Maidstone home 1v0 win in the late 80s. Still remember the red and white striped nets, the roar of the crowd, and the magic of the FA cup.

Worst - I think it was an FA cup game against Villa in the mid 90s, I can't remember if it was a good game or not, but I think it took me about three days to thaw out after that game!

Best - Has to be the game against Coventry, but if we'd managed to have won against Wednesday at Wembley, Newcastle at Old Trafford, or Arsenal at Old Trafford they would have surpassed it.

 

[SW12 to S12 to S18]

First was beating Everton, the reigning champions 2-1 in 1970?
A lot of worst ones, freezing my bollocks off at Vicarage Road and losing 5-0 comes to mind or losing 4-1 at Villa Park in 1975ish.
Best, probably beating a good Blackburn Rovers on penalties in a 1/4 final replay to get to my first semi final.
We all know what happened next.

 

[Coily]

First - Altrincham (H) 2-2 - 81/82

In a season where we were rarely troubled at home, we were probably lucky to draw. We then got thumped in the replay.

Best - Man U (H) 2-1 - 92/93

A brilliant win in a frenzied atmosphere. Was probably the last time their fans thought it was fine to go in the South Stand, there was plenty of trouble after Giggs scored for them which only got worse (for them) as we got our goals, the Hodges lob I can picture clearly now. The penalty save late on added to the drama. Got home and watched it all again from the BBC footage.

Worst - Derby (H) 0-1 - 85/86

Totally outplayed by a lower division side - though they weren't for long - with three sides of the ground empty and depressed while the Bramall Lane end was packed with 10,000 Rams fans having a great time.

 

[Addison]

Think my Dad took me to my first FA Cup match at the Lane in 1964 against Swansea Town in the fourth round. Still got the programme. We drew 1-1 and lost to the second divison side 4-0 in the replay. They went onto the semi final that season losing to Preston. Their highest place finish in the FA Cup.

Worst has to be the semi final loss to the Pigs in 1993. Hated the day hated the fact Blades were mixing with that lot on coaches. We didnt turn up and Bassett admitted afterwards he got the team selection wrong. Bradshaw Beesley and Rodgers should have started. Special mentions for the quarter final defeat to Weeds scum away in 1968 when Sprake saved the ball when it had gone behind the line. The Mansfield away shock in 1969 the following year didnt help they were two divisions below us.

Best has to be 1970 Blades 2 Addison and Reece League Champions Everton 1. We beat the best team in the country on TV. The nation saw how good Woodward and Currie were that day.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

First: 0-0 v Newcastle at the Lane in the third round, 1976/77. Chico Hamilton hit the bar. We lost the replay.
Worst: 1993 semi-final against some team or other
Best: Probably have to go for the Coventry quarter final, firstly the 1-1 draw at Highfield Road, but the replay at the Lane was several levels higher.

 

[Lower Drop Blade]

First Burscough (probably spelt wrong) 79?
Worse well that fucking semi against them
Best possibly the Coventry home quarter final

 

[wak1889]

We took thousands that day down to Field Mill, packed in on the old standing only concrete terrace beind the goal and a side terrace. Think we went behind and then equalised in a 1-1 draw. Did Simon Webster break his leg that day?

I went to the home replay, I wasn't going away for another couple of seasons as I was too young

 

[HuddersfieldBlade]

1st - probably vs Maidstone in 1988. This was my 1st season I had a ST with my dad so would have also gone to it. Can’t remember the game, but looked it up we won 1-0, start of the Bassett era too

Best - been a few, but loved the Norwich trip the following season. Had been to all the cup games in that season, and we gave 1st Division Norwich a game, 1st time as a United fan I had experienced a cup run, a prelude to the following seasons

Worst - 3-0 vs Swansea at home in 2007, just shocking

 

[coaxingstar71]

First : 3-2 v Stockport County in a 1st Round replay in December 1980. It was the coldest I've been at a game and it went to extra time. Think Steve Charles scored the winner and we went on to lose to Alan Birch and Chesterfield in the 2nd Round, again after a replay.

Worst : Now I was at Wembley in 1993, but I don't remember much about it, however it was the first time I'd been and I'd never before imagined after the mainly grim 80's that I would ever see us play there, so I'm going for losing to non-league Barnet at home 0-1 in Wilder Mk 1 era and we were doing well in the Premier League. We were absolutely dire that day and didn't even look like scoring.

Best : Difficult to choose as I was at Wembley in 2014 v Hull, Blackburn penalties in 93, Coventry penalties in 98 and Blackburn with Tommy Doyle's fantastic last minute winner, but for me it has to be beating Man Utd 2-1 in 1993 with Glyn Hodges' brilliant chipped winner.

 

[ghandi]

Think my Dad took me to my first FA Cup match at the Lane in 1964 against Swansea Town in the fourth round. Still got the programme. We drew 1-1 and lost to the second divison side 4-0 in the replay. They went onto the semi final that season losing to Preston. Their highest place finish in the FA Cup.

Worst has to be the semi final loss to the Pigs in 1993. Hated the day hated the fact Blades were mixing with that lot on coaches. We didnt turn up and Bassett admitted afterwards he got the team selection wrong. Bradshaw Beesley and Rodgers should have started. Special mentions for the quarter final defeat to Weeds scum away in 1968 when Sprake saved the ball when it had gone behind the line. The Mansfield away shock in 1969 the following year didnt help they were two divisions below us.

Best has to be 1970 Blades 2 Addison and Reece League Champions Everton 1. We beat the best team in the country on TV. The nation saw how good Woodward and Currie were that day.

I don't know whether Everton game was all ticket but I remember my ticket was pink. I think the game was also televised and was shown on the Sunday.

 

[HighfieldBlade]

First: Home v Altrincham 1980/81 season I think.

Worst: Wembley v pigs 1993

Best: Home to Man U 1993, the Steve Bruce penalty miss and Glyn Hodges' winner with Motty's "This man's left foot is magic!" commentary.

 

[Sportbilly /Detroit Blade]

First: Home v Altrincham 1980/81 season I think.

Worst: Wembley v pigs 1993

Best: Home to Man U 1993, the Steve Bruce penalty miss and Glyn Hodges' winner with Motty's "This man's left foot is magic!" commentary.

Forgot the Hodges 1993 goal. That's a good shout!

 

[Super Furry Blades]

First - Altrincham (H) 2-2 - 81/82

In a season where we were rarely troubled at home, we were probably lucky to draw. We then got thumped in the replay.

Best - Man U (H) 2-1 - 92/93

A brilliant win in a frenzied atmosphere. Was probably the last time their fans thought it was fine to go in the South Stand, there was plenty of trouble after Giggs scored for them which only got worse (for them) as we got our goals, the Hodges lob I can picture clearly now. The penalty save late on added to the drama. Got home and watched it all again from the BBC footage.

Worst - Derby (H) 0-1 - 85/86

Totally outplayed by a lower division side - though they weren't for long - with three sides of the ground empty and depressed while the Bramall Lane end was packed with 10,000 Rams fans having a great time.

They were in the seats in John Street ,(Kop side)
Feyts breaking out all way down to train stn

 

[Bath Blade]

First : 3-2 v Stockport County in a 1st Round replay in December 1980. It was the coldest I've been at a game and it went to extra time. Think Steve Charles scored the winner and we went on to lose to Alan Birch and Chesterfield in the 2nd Round, again after a replay.

Worst : Now I was at Wembley in 1993, but I don't remember much about it, however it was the first time I'd been and I'd never before imagined after the mainly grim 80's that I would ever see us play there, so I'm going for losing to non-league Barnet at home 0-1 in Wilder Mk 1 era and we were doing well in the Premier League. We were absolutely dire that day and didn't even look like scoring.

Best : Difficult to choose as I was at Wembley in 2014 v Hull, Blackburn penalties in 93, Coventry penalties in 98 and Blackburn with Tommy Doyle's fantastic last minute winner, but for me it has to be beating Man Utd 2-1 in 1993 with Glyn Hodges' brilliant chipped winner.

Forgot the Blackburn win with Tommy Doyle’s goal. For all my memories of the wins over the years, being there with my ten year old lad and seeing him going crazy at the end puts it right up close to the top.

 

[Chezzy Blades]

First - Was the Maidstone home 1v0 win in the late 80s. Still remember the red and white striped nets, the roar of the crowd, and the magic of the FA cup.

Worst - I think it was an FA cup game against Villa in the mid 90s, I can't remember if it was a good game or not, but I think it took me about three days to thaw out after that game!

Best - Has to be the game against Coventry, but if we'd managed to have won against Wednesday at Wembley, Newcastle at Old Trafford, or Arsenal at Old Trafford they would have surpassed it.

That Villa game was my first! January 1996.

 

[Sportbilly /Detroit Blade]

That Villa game was my first! January 1996.

Was it cold, or am I getting mixed up?

 

[Super Furry Blades]

That Villa game was my first! January 1996.

Dwight Yorke penalty after a dive by milosovic

 

[Working Class Hero]

First - I'm pretty sure my first FA Cup game was a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane, with Lee Sandford scoring the winner. Although my dad took me to a few games as a toddler that I can't remember, so it's entirely possible I did attend an earlier one.

Worst - No games stand out as being particularly bad, but I have some bad memories etched in my mind; Seaman's save, Graham Poll, losing four semi finals including two at Wembley, Arsenal cheating. Luckily I was too young in 1993.

Best - Probably Coventry in the QF in 1998. That game introduced me to what being a football supporter can be, and I wonder if I'd be the same fan today if it wasn't for that game.

Special mention for the Quarter Final that never happened (really) in 2020. A sold out game at home Arsenal where we'd actually have been favourites to go to Wembley, would have been incredible. The buzz around the club at that time would have created an atmosphere to behold. There was also a very realistic chance we made it to the Final.

 

[raimond]

First- Burnley 2-2 at home (was it 1993? 92?)

Worst- nowt original, Wembley 93. Or more niche, Fylde at home, just for plenty there trying desperately to convince themselves Ravel Morrison was going to win the Ballon d'Or.

Best- Lots isn't there? Just because of the huge contrast of having been forced to watch Steve Hawes, Mark Blount and Mark Foran then suddenly watching Gordon Cowans make the game look beautiful again and Dougie Hodgson suddenly turn into a thinking man's Beckenbauer, I've a soft spot for the 1-0 Carl Veart Arsenal win, 1995?

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

First - can’t remember.

Worst - far too many to choose.

Best - 1-2 at Villa in 2014. Still one of my most favourite away days ever, in any competition. League 1 scrappers vs a strong Villa side. Negative Nige’s impenetrable banks of 4. Flynny’s winner. “We’ve got Chris Porter, Benteke is wank”.

Absolutely fabulous day out. We were so happy, we forgot where we were and got hopelessly lost on the way back to the car.

Honourable more recent mention for the game at home v Blackburn, referenced up thread for the Tommy Doyle goal, which was pretty much the perfect way, with the perfect timing, to win a cup tie.

But which I’ll always also remember for Iliman, whose goal that day was the best I have ever seen at Bramall Lane, bar none.

 

[bornablade]

First - Villa at home January 1965. Winston Churchill funeral. Kettleborough sent off.

Worst - April 3rd 1993. Wembley

Best - Everton January 1970. Although that Blackburn game with Tommy Doyle's goal is up there.

(One of the proudest was semi final against Arsenal at Old Trafford 2003. Lost 1-0 but we absolutely battered them in the second half. Very rarely they ventured into our half. Seaman save. Blades in full voice that day.)

 

[Cheets]

First: 0-0 draw v Stoke at home 3rd round Jan '83. It was the first time I'd ever seen the Bramall Lane end completely full. We were in div 3 and Stoke were in div 1. We went on to lose the replay 3-2 with Terry Curran playing a blinder.

Worst: Probably Wembley '93.

Best: Coventry '98, Ireland's number 1 shining on St Patrick's Day.

 

[Aganarama]

First - Watford (H) 1990 1-1 (covered on the United series - Bassett going mad after their late equaliser).

Worst - the one in north London in 1993.

Best - Man. Utd in 1993. When Giggs scored you feared the worst but we came back and Hodge’s scored that goal.