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1991 FA Cup Final
Old Wembley Stadium (external view)
EventFA Cup 1990–91
Date18 May 1991
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeRoger Milford (Somerset)
Attendance80,000
1990
1992

The 1991 FA Cup Final saw Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup for a then-record eighth time, by beating Nottingham Forest 2–1 at Wembley in the 110th FA Cup Final.

Tottenham's triumph made them the first club to win the trophy eight times, though this record has since been surpassed by Arsenal and Manchester United. Tottenham have yet to win the trophy or reach the final since.

The 1991 final was Nottingham Forest's first appearance in the FA Cup final since their triumph 32 years earlier and they have not reached the final since.

It also gave Tottenham their first campaign in a European competition - the 1991–92 European Cup Winners' Cup - of the post-Heysel era.

Road to Wembley[]

Tottenham Hotspur[]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Blackpool 0–1 Tottenham Hotspur

Round 4: Tottenham Hotspur 4–2 Oxford United

Round 5: Portsmouth 1–2 Tottenham Hotspur

Round 6: Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 Notts County

Semi-final: Tottenham Hotspur 3–1 Arsenal (at Wembley Stadium, London)

Nottingham Forest[]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Crystal Palace 0–0 Nottingham Forest

Replay: Nottingham Forest 2–2 Crystal Palace
Replay: Nottingham Forest 3–0 Crystal Palace

Round 4: Newcastle United 2–2 Nottingham Forest

Replay: Nottingham Forest 3–0 Newcastle United

Round 5: Southampton 1–1 Nottingham Forest

Replay: Nottingham Forest 3–1 Southampton

Round 6: Norwich City 0–1 Nottingham Forest

Semi-final: Nottingham Forest 4–0 West Ham United (at Villa Park, Birmingham)

Match summary[]

Spurs had teetered on the edge of going out of business during this Cup run and the mercurial Paul Gascoigne's brilliance had inspired Spurs through to the final. Gascoigne was so pumped up for this match that he almost ended his involvement in the first few minutes. In winning the ball out on the right touchline, he followed through with his foot up and caught Garry Parker in the chest. Referee Roger Milford let him off with a lecture, but failed to calm Gascoigne, who scythed down Gary Charles as the Forest defender ran across the face of the Spurs penalty area. Forest were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box but once again Gascoigne was let off without further punishment from the referee. Before play resumed, Gascoigne received extensive treatment on his knee before standing up to join the defensive wall.

Gascoigne paid for his rash challenge, which many Forest fans thought deserved a red card, when Stuart Pearce smashed home the subsequent free kick to give Forest the lead. He (Gascoigne) had to leave the field on a stretcher shortly after the match restarted, as he could not put any weight on his leg. It was later revealed that he had torn his cruciate ligaments. Nayim – later notable for his winning last-minute goal against rivals Arsenal in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final – came on to replace him.

After 25 minutes Gary Lineker had a goal disallowed for offside and then five minutes later he was in on Mark Crossley, when the goalkeeper brought him down in the box. Lineker stepped up to take the resulting penalty and placed the ball to the keeper's left, where Crossley dived and kept the ball out. Crossley became only the second goalkeeper to save a penalty in an FA Cup Final after Dave Beasant for Wimbledon F.C. in 1988. After the interval, Nayim cushioned a Thorsvedt kick into the path of Paul Allen, who put Paul Stewart in on the right hand side of the box. Stewart drilled a low shot past Crossley into the corner of the net to put Tottenham on level terms.

With the game finishing at 1–1 after normal time, the final moved into extra time. Substitute Paul Walsh looped a header over the keeper, but the ball hit the bar and bounced back only for it to be put behind by Stuart Pearce for a corner. Nayim took it and Stewart met it at the near post to flick it on. As Gary Mabbutt ran in at the far post, he was poised to head the ball home, but Forest defender Des Walker beat him to it and diverted the ball past his own keeper to give Tottenham the lead for the first time in the game.

Tottenham saw out the rest of the game and won the FA Cup for the 8th time in their history.

Justin Edinburgh was the last member of Tottenham's cup winning team to leave the club, finally departing in 2000 – the same year that Nottingham Forest's Ian Woan became the last player from his team's side to leave them.

Match details[]

18 May 1991
15:00 BST
Tottenham Hotspur 2–1
(a.e.t.)
Nottingham Forest Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 80,000
Referee: Roger Milford (Somerset)
Stewart Goal 55'
Walker Goal 94' (o.g.)
Report Pearce Goal 16'
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body collarwithbodywhite
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Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long
Tottenham
Kit left arm whiteborder
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Kit body collarwhite
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Kit right arm whiteborder
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Kit socks long
Nottingham Forest
GK 1 Flag of Norway Erik Thorstvedt
LB 2 Flag of England Justin Edinburgh
RB 3 Flag of Wales Pat Van Den Hauwe
CB 4 Flag of England Steve Sedgley
CM 5 Flag of England David Howells
CB 6 Flag of England Gary Mabbutt (c)
CM 7 Flag of England Paul Stewart
CM 8 Flag of England Paul Gascoigne Substituted off in the 17th minute 17'
LM 9 Flag of England Vinny Samways Substituted off in the 82nd minute 82'
CF 10 Flag of England Gary Lineker
RM 11 Flag of England Paul Allen
Substitutes:
FW 12 Flag of England Paul Walsh Substituted on in the 82nd minute 82'
MF 14 Flag of Spain Nayim Substituted on in the 17th minute 17'
Manager:
Flag of England Terry Venables
Tottenham vs Nottm Forest 1991-05-18
GK 1 Flag of Wales Mark Crossley
RB 2 Flag of England Gary Charles
LB 3 Flag of England Stuart Pearce (c)
CB 4 Flag of England Des Walker
CB 5 Flag of England Steve Chettle
CM 6 Flag of Republic of Ireland Roy Keane
RM 7 Flag of England Gary Crosby
CM 8 Flag of England Garry Parker
CF 9 Flag of England Nigel Clough
CF 10 Flag of Scotland Lee Glover Substituted off in the 108th minute 108'
LM 11 Flag of England Ian Woan Substituted off in the 62nd minute 62'
Substitutes:
DF 12 Flag of England Brian Laws Substituted on in the 108th minute 108'
MF 14 Flag of England Steve Hodge Substituted on in the 62nd minute 62'
Manager:
Flag of England Brian Clough

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Replay if scores still level after extra-time.
  • Two named substitutes.
  • Maximum of two substitutions.

Long-term impact on football 'fashion'[]

This game also saw the first appearance of the much longer 'baggy' style of shorts, sported as part of Tottenham Hotspur's new Umbro kit, which Terry Venables helped design. Though attracting some ridicule at first, the style swiftly became popular, being adopted during the early 1990s throughout English and world football by every team at every level (with, to date, no team anywhere having reverted to the 'short shorts' worn ubiquitously for some decades up to this match).

External links[]

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