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1983 FA Cup Final
Old Wembley Stadium (external view)
EventFA Cup 1982–83
Date21 May 1983
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeAlf Grey (Norfolk)
Attendance99,059
Replay
Date26 May 1983
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeAlf Grey (Norfolk)
Attendance91,534
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. United had finished third in the league that season and already had four FA Cup victories to their name, whereas Brighton had never reached the final before, and had been relegated from the top flight that season.

The final ended in a 2–2 draw, forcing a replay at Wembley five days later, which Manchester United won 4–0.

The first match[]

The first match finished 2–2 after extra time. Gordon Smith and Gary Stevens scored for Brighton; Frank Stapleton and Ray Wilkins for United. The first game is famous for the Radio commentary quote by Peter Jones "...and Smith must score" talking about a shot by Gordon Smith which was actually a save by the Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey; the quote was subsequently used as a title for a Brighton Fanzine.

The replay[]

The second game on the Thursday night, started the same way 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-foot 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 a team a 2 goal cushion for the first time over the 2 matches. Brighton failed to clear a corner, and Davies crossed for Norman Whiteside to score with a header. This capped an incredible 12 months for the teenager, who had played in the 1982 FIFA World Cup Finals for Northern Ireland, and who had scored in the League Cup Final defeat to Liverpool F.C. earlier in the season.

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
(a.e.t.)
Manchester United Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 99,059
Referee: Alf Grey (Norfolk)
Smith Goal 14'
Stevens Goal 87'
Report Stapleton Goal 55'
Wilkins Goal 72'
Kit left arm white stripes2
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Kit right arm white stripes2
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Kit shorts thinwhitesides
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Kit socks 3 stripes blue
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Brighton & Hove Albion
Kit left arm manutdh8284
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Manchester United
GK 1 Flag of England Graham Moseley
RB 2 Flag of England Chris Ramsey
CB 3 Flag of England Gary Stevens
CB 4 Flag of England Steve Gatting
LB 5 Flag of England Graham Pearce
LM 6 Flag of England Neil Smillie
CM 7 Flag of England Jimmy Case
CM 8 Flag of Republic of Ireland Tony Grealish (c)
RM 9 Flag of Republic of Ireland Gary Howlett
CF 10 Flag of Republic of Ireland Michael Robinson
CF 11 Flag of Scotland Gordon Smith
Substitute:
MF 12 Flag of Republic of Ireland Gerry Ryan
Manager:
Flag of England Jimmy Melia
Brighton vs Man Utd 1983-05-21
GK 1 Flag of England Gary Bailey
RB 2 Flag of England Mike Duxbury
LB 3 Flag of Scotland Arthur Albiston
CM 4 Flag of England Ray Wilkins
CB 5 Flag of Scotland Gordon McQueen
CB 6 Flag of Republic of Ireland Kevin Moran
CM 7 Flag of England Bryan Robson (c)
RM 8 Flag of Netherlands Arnold Mühren
CF 9 Flag of Republic of Ireland Frank Stapleton
CF 10 Flag of Northern Ireland Norman Whiteside
LM 11 Flag of Wales Alan Davies
Substitute:
MF 12 Flag of Republic of Ireland Ashley Grimes
Manager:
Flag of England Ron Atkinson

Match rules

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

Replay[]

26 May 1983
Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 Manchester United Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 91,534
Referee: Alf Grey (Norfolk)
Robson Goal 25'44'
Whiteside Goal 30'
Mühren Goal 62' (pen.)
Kit left arm white stripes2
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body thinwhitestripes
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm white stripes2
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts thinwhitesides
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks 3 stripes blue
Kit socks long
Brighton & Hove Albion
Kit left arm manutdh8284
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body manutdh8284
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm manutdh8284
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks red top 3 white stripes
Kit socks long
Manchester United
GK 1 Flag of England Graham Moseley
CB 2 Flag of England Steve Gatting
LB 3 Flag of England Graham Pearce
CM 4 Flag of Republic of Ireland Tony Grealish
CB 5 Flag of England Steve Foster (c)
RB 6 Flag of England Gary Stevens
CM 7 Flag of England Jimmy Case
RM 8 Flag of Republic of Ireland Gary Howlett
CF 9 Flag of Republic of Ireland Michael Robinson
CF 10 Flag of Scotland Gordon Smith
LM 11 Flag of England Neil Smillie
Substitute:
MF 12 Flag of Republic of Ireland Gerry Ryan
Manager:
Flag of England Jimmy Melia
Brighton vs Man Utd 1983-05-26
GK 1 Flag of England Gary Bailey
RB 2 Flag of England Mike Duxbury
LB 3 Flag of Scotland Arthur Albiston
CM 4 Flag of England Ray Wilkins
CB 5 Flag of Scotland Gordon McQueen
CB 6 Flag of Republic of Ireland Kevin Moran
CM 7 Flag of England Bryan Robson (c)
RM 8 Flag of Netherlands Arnold Mühren
CF 9 Flag of Republic of Ireland Frank Stapleton
CF 10 Flag of Northern Ireland Norman Whiteside
LM 11 Flag of Wales Alan Davies
Substitute:
MF 12 Flag of Republic of Ireland Ashley Grimes
Manager:
Flag of England 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.

External links[]

FA Cup
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Template:1982–83 in English football

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