May 17 – Fergie Off The Mark | On This Football Day

May 17 – Fergie Off The Mark

HE’S won ten Premiership titles, five FA Cups and god knows how many other gongs. But you can bet your bottom dollar that the trophy that Sir Alex Ferguson won today in 1990 was one of the sweetest of the bunch. As his tenure of Manchester United was beginning to look a little dodgy, Fergie picked up his first honour at the club, when the Red Devils beat Crystal Palace in an FA Cup final replay.

If you ask Sir Alex what his greatest achievement at Old Trafford would be then his answer would be simple: “knocking Liverpool off their f***ing perch.” When Lee Martin hit his 59h-minute winner at Wembley on a Thursday night the pendulum had started to swing Manchester United’s way.

Palace’s semi-final against Liverpool was one of the most dramatic in recent times; avenging an early season 9-0 defeat, the Eagle’s had produced the shock of the tournament by defeating Dalglish’s all-conquering Liverpool side 4-3 thanks to an extra-time Alan Pardrew header. United, meanwhile, had held off local rivals Oldham at Maine Road to book their place at Wembley, ensuring that Fergie would face-off against former United midfielder Steve Coppell, who was cutting his managerial teeth at Selhurst Park.

A pulsating three-all draw followed in the final, with Mark Hughes and Ian Wright both completing their braces in extra time, as the clubs couldn’t be settled in an epic clash. A replay followed, and Fergie showed that he wasn’t afraid to show his ruthless side, dropping Scottish international keeper, and ugliest man to ever play the game, Jim Leighton for the relatively inexperienced Les Sealey, who was incredibly only on loan from Luton Town.

The replay wasn’t a repeat of the free-scoring match of the first leg, as Palace tried to kick United off the park. A scrappy game ensued, with Lee Martin’s clinical strike earning United their first trophy for five years. Paul Ince’s grafting display in midfield won him the man of the match plaudits as United made up for their 13-place finish in the league, and more than likely saved the job of their manager.

Ferguson now had a bit of breathing room amongst the Old Trafford faithful and was given the chance by his board to continue with his rebuilding process, which didn’t go too badly in the end. The win also meant the Sealey bagged a permanent transfer to Old Trafford, where he became a regular throughout the 1990/91 season, when United picked up the European Cup Winners’ Cup – a nice slice of karma for the former Coventry stopper, as he had given his 1990 winners’ medal to Leighton, as the Scot had played throughout the cup run.

There’s a distinct lack of footage knocking around on Youtube from the 1990 final, so instead see Mark Robins scoring the goal that got United to the final at the expense of Oldham Athletic. Reminisce there and unlike a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens we won’t be on the blink tomorrow, so come on over.