1973 FA Cup final

1973 FA Cup final
Event	1972–73 FA Cup
Date	5 May 1973
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Ken Burns
Attendance	100,000
	← 1972 1974 →

The 1973 FA Cup final was the 92nd final of the FA Cup. It took place on 5 May 1973 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Leeds United, the previous season's winners and one of the dominant teams in English football at the time, and Sunderland, then playing in the Second Division.

In one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition, Sunderland won 1–0 to become the first Second Division side to lift the Cup since West Bromwich Albion in 1931. It was Sunderland's last Cup win for almost 50 years until the team won the EFL Trophy in 2021 and their last domestic trophy win as of 2024. Sunderland's team were the only FA Cup winners of the 20th century not to field any full internationals,^{[citation needed]} although some of their players were capped later.

Road to Wembley

Leeds United
Home teams listed first. Round 3: Norwich City 1–1 Leeds United

Replay: Leeds United 1–1 Norwich City

2nd Replay: Leeds United 5–0 Norwich City (at Villa Park)

Round 4: Leeds United 2–1 Plymouth Argyle

Round 5: Leeds United 2–0 WBA

Quarter-Final: Derby County 0–1 Leeds United

Semi-Final: Leeds United 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

(at Maine Road, Manchester)

Sunderland
Home teams listed first. Round 3: Notts County 1–1 Sunderland

Replay: Sunderland 2–0 Notts County

Round 4: Sunderland 1–1 Reading

Replay: Reading 1–3 Sunderland

Round 5: Manchester City 2–2 Sunderland

Replay: Sunderland 3–1 Manchester City

Quarter-Final: Sunderland 2–0 Luton Town

Semi-Final: Sunderland 2–1 Arsenal

(at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield)

Match summary

Sunderland established their tactics immediately from the kick-off and refused to be intimidated by their more illustrious opponents, tackling fiercely and defiantly with an unremitting determination. Leeds looked anxious, lacking their usual composure. The match itself was decided by two crucial moments that would be talked about for years to come.

After 32 minutes Sunderland took the lead when Vic Halom chested down a corner from Billy Hughes. Assisted by Dave Watson between two defenders, the deflected high ball was controlled by Ian Porterfield who shot home from 12 yards. Leeds, shocked, battled back with predictable determination. Sunderland's goalkeeper Jimmy Montgomery was outstanding, defying Leeds with a string of fine saves and preserving his team's lead.

The turning point of the match came midway through the second half. Montgomery dived to palm away a close range header from Trevor Cherry. It fell into the path of Lorimer who blasted goalward from 10 yards but Montgomery managed to divert the ball on to the underside of the bar and Malone scrambled the ball clear. The save is considered one of the greatest of all time and has been compared with that made by England's Gordon Banks in the 1970 FIFA World Cup match against Brazil.^[1]^[2]

The North East team survived more pressure from Leeds to secure a notable upset.^[3]

The 1973 showpiece is the last FA Cup final to be played with an orange ball.

Sunderland's FA Cup record, "Sunderland All the Way", was recorded by comedian Bobby Knoxall.^[4]

Match details

5 May 1973
15:00 BST

Leeds United	0–1	Sunderland
	(Report)	Porterfield 32'

Wembley, London

Attendance: 100,000

Referee: Ken Burns, Stourbridge

Leeds United

Sunderland



GK	1	David Harvey
DF	2	Paul Reaney
DF	3	Trevor Cherry
MF	4	Billy Bremner (c)
DF	5	Paul Madeley
DF	6	Norman Hunter
FW	7	Peter Lorimer
FW	8	Allan Clarke
FW	9	Mick Jones
MF	10	Johnny Giles
MF	11	Eddie Gray 75'
Substitute:
MF	12	Terry Yorath 75'
Manager:
Don Revie



GK	1	Jimmy Montgomery
RB	2	Dick Malone
LB	3	Ron Guthrie
CM	4	Micky Horswill
CB	5	David Watson
CB	6	Richie Pitt
RCM	7	Bobby Kerr (c)
RW	8	Billy Hughes
ST	9	Vic Halom
LCM	10	Ian Porterfield
LW	11	Dennis Tueart
Substitute:
CB	12	David Young
Manager:
Bob Stokoe

Match rules

90 minutes.
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
Replay if scores still level.
One named substitute.

References

^ "Jim Montgomery's Save Discussed By Alan Hansen & Peter Reid". YouTube. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
^ "Dream comes true for Sunderland". Glasgow Herald (page 4). 7 May 1973. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ "1973 FA Cup Rune". Roker Roar.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
^ Tim Booler and Jessica Forster (21 July 2009). "Comic legend Bobby Knoxall dies". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.

External links

Game facts at soccerbase.com
Match report in "Daily Telegraph"

[1] "Jim Montgomery's Save Discussed By Alan Hansen & Peter Reid". YouTube. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2023.

[2] "Dream comes true for Sunderland". Glasgow Herald (page 4). 7 May 1973. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[3] "1973 FA Cup Rune". Roker Roar.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.

[echo-4] Tim Booler and Jessica Forster (21 July 2009). "Comic legend Bobby Knoxall dies". Sunderland Echo. Archived from the original on 27 July 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2009.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e 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 1899–1900 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 1939–40 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 1999–2000 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 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 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 1999–2000 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 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
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 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
History List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award

v t e Leeds United F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1965 1970 1972 1973
League Cup Finals	1968 1996
FA Charity Shields	1969 1974 1992
European Cup Final	1975
European Cup Winners' Cup Final	1973
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Finals	1967 1968 1971 Trophy play-off
Football League play-off Finals	1987 Second Division 2006 Championship 2008 League One 2024 Championship
Other matches	Cardiff City 2–1 Leeds United (2002)

v t e Sunderland A.F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1913 1937 1973 1992
Football League Cup Finals	1985 2014
Football League Trophy Finals	2019 2021
Football League War Cup Finals	1942
FA Charity Shields	1936 1937
Football League play-off Finals	1990 Second Division 1998 First Division 2019 League One 2022 League One
Other matches	Game of three halves (1894) 1895 World Championship Yeovil Town 2–1 Sunderland (1949) Football League 100th Championship Challenge (1999)