1973 FA Cup final

Event

Leeds United	Sunderland

0	1

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. 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

External links

FA Cup

FA Cup
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1972–73 in English football

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National teams

League competitions

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Levels 5–6	Isthmian League (level 5 only) Northern Premier League (level 5 only) Southern League (Premier, One North, One South)
Levels 7–9	Athenian League (Premier, One, Two) Cheshire County League (level 7 only) Eastern Counties League (level 7 only) Essex Senior League (level 7 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One, Two) Kent League (level 7 only) Lancashire Combination (level 7 only) Midland Football Combination (level 7 only) Midland League (level 7 only) Northern League (level 7 only) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Spartan League (level 7 only) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One, Two) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only) Western League (level 7 only) Yorkshire League (One, Two, Three)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final) FA Amateur Cup
Football League cups	League Cup (Final) Watney Cup

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Birmingham City Chelsea Coventry City Crystal Palace Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Norwich City Queens Park Rangers Sheffield United Southampton Stoke City Tottenham Hotspur Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Aston Villa Blackpool Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol City Burnley Cardiff City Carlisle United Fulham Huddersfield Town Hull City Leyton Orient Luton Town Middlesbrough Millwall Nottingham Forest Oxford United Portsmouth Preston North End Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland Swindon Town West Bromwich Albion West Ham United
Third Division	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Bournemouth Brentford Bristol Rovers Charlton Athletic Chesterfield Grimsby Town Halifax Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Rochdale Rotherham United Scunthorpe United Shrewsbury Town Southend United Swansea City Tranmere Rovers Walsall Watford Wrexham York City
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Leeds United F.C. matches

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
Other matches	Cardiff City 2–1 Leeds United (2002)

Sunderland A.F.C. matches

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)