1993 FA Cup final

1993 FA Cup final
	The final and the replay were held at Wembley Stadium.
Event	1992–93 FA Cup
	Arsenal won after a replay
Final
	After extra time
Date	15 May 1993
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Keren Barratt (Warwickshire)
Attendance	79,347
Replay
	After extra time
Date	20 May 1993
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Keren Barratt (Warwickshire)
Attendance	62,267
	← 1992 1994 →

The 1993 FA Cup final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The original match, played on 15 May 1993, finished 1–1. Arsenal won the replay on 20 May, 2–1 after extra-time.

It was Arsenal's sixth FA Cup final victory, and their first since the 1979 FA Cup final. They became the first English side to achieve a domestic cup double, having also won the 1993 Football League Cup final.

It was Sheffield Wednesday's first appearance in the FA Cup final since 1966. They also reached the League Cup final that season, also losing 2–1 to Arsenal (though without a replay). This appearance of the same two sides in the final of both of England's domestic knock-out tournaments in the same season had never happened before, and would be the only time until 2022. Sheffield Wednesday have not appeared in a domestic cup final since, reaching two League Cup semi-finals since then.

The replay saw the last Arsenal appearance by veteran defender David O'Leary, who left shortly afterwards to join Leeds United, after an 18-year spell with Arsenal which had yielded 722 competitive games and six major trophies.

Match summary

Original match

Arsenal took the lead in the 20th minute, when Ian Wright headed in a cross. Sheffield Wednesday equalised in the 61st minute, when David Hirst turned in a low drive, past the advancing Arsenal goalkeeper, David Seaman.

Replay

The kick-off for the replay was delayed by 30 minutes after an accident on the M1 motorway had delayed the arrival of most of Sheffield Wednesday's fans.^[1]

Once again, Ian Wright opened the scoring for Arsenal, running onto a through ball to prod the ball past Chris Woods, into the corner of the net. This was his fourth goal in FA Cup finals at Wembley, just one behind the record-holder Ian Rush. Wednesday attacked Arsenal in the second half, and Chris Waddle's shot deflected off Arsenal defender Lee Dixon into the net in the 68th minute.

The game went into extra time, and with two minutes of the second half remaining, central defender Andy Linighan scored with a header from a Paul Merson corner.^[2] Goalkeeper Chris Woods fumbled and Graham Hyde could only help the ball into the top of the net. Linighan had played most of the game with a broken nose after Mark Bright had struck him in the face with his elbow.^[3]^[4]

Firsts and lasts

The two clubs had already contested the season's League Cup final, a match which Arsenal had won 2–1. It was the first time that the same two clubs had reached the final of both domestic club competitions.

It was also dubbed the 'longest' FA Cup final.^{[by whom?]} It had gone to extra-time in the replay – a match which was delayed by thirty minutes – and was just one minute away from the first ever FA Cup final penalty shoot-out. It was also the last FA Cup final to go to a replay; from 1999 onwards, it was decided that all FA Cup finals would be decided on the day.

This was the first FA Cup final in which squad numbers had been used, having been trialled in the League Cup final. Players from both clubs retained the same numbers for the three matches. The system was fully adopted by the Premier League for the following season.

For Arsenal, David O'Leary played his last two official matches after joining the club as an apprentice in 1973. His testimonial took place between the final and the replay, on 17 May 1993. During extra time in the replay, Alan Smith received the only yellow card of his professional career.

Match details

15 May 1993

15:00 BST

Arsenal	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Sheffield Wednesday
Wright 20'	Report	Hirst 61'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 79,347

Referee: Keren Barratt

Arsenal

Sheffield Wednesday


GK	1	David Seaman
DF	2	Lee Dixon
DF	5	Andy Linighan
DF	6	Tony Adams (c)
DF	3	Nigel Winterburn
MF	10	Paul Merson
MF	14	Paul Davis
MF	17	John Jensen
MF	11	Ray Parlour	66'
FW	7	Kevin Campbell
FW	8	Ian Wright	90'
Substitutes:
DF	22	David O'Leary	90'
FW	9	Alan Smith	66'
Manager:
George Graham


GK	1	Chris Woods
RB	2	Roland Nilsson
CB	6	Viv Anderson (c)	85'
CB	9	Paul Warhurst
LB	3	Nigel Worthington
RM	8	Chris Waddle	112'
CM	4	Carlton Palmer
CM	11	John Sheridan
LM	15	John Harkes
CF	5	David Hirst
CF	10	Mark Bright
Substitutes:
MF	14	Chris Bart-Williams	112'
MF	17	Graham Hyde	85'
Manager:
Trevor Francis

Match officials

Assistant referees:
- Roy Pearson
- Brian Wigginton
Fourth official: Roger Dilkes

Match rules

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

Replay

20 May 1993

20:30 BST

Arsenal	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Sheffield Wednesday
Wright 34' Linighan 119'	Report	Waddle 68'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 62,267

Referee: Keren Barratt

Arsenal

Sheffield Wednesday


GK	1	David Seaman
RB	2	Lee Dixon
CB	5	Andy Linighan
CB	6	Tony Adams (c)
LB	3	Nigel Winterburn
CM	14	Paul Davis
CM	17	John Jensen
CM	10	Paul Merson
RW	7	Kevin Campbell
CF	8	Ian Wright	81'
LW	9	Alan Smith
Substitutes:
DF	22	David O'Leary	81'
MF	4	Ian Selley
Manager:
George Graham


GK	1	Chris Woods
RB	2	Roland Nilsson	118'
CB	4	Carlton Palmer (c)
CB	9	Paul Warhurst
LB	3	Nigel Worthington
RM	8	Chris Waddle
CM	7	Danny Wilson	62'
CM	11	John Sheridan
LM	15	John Harkes
CF	5	David Hirst
CF	10	Mark Bright
Substitutes:
MF	14	Chris Bart-Williams	118'
MF	17	Graham Hyde	62'
Manager:
Trevor Francis

Match officials

Assistant referees:
- Roy Pearson
- Brian Wigginton
Fourth official: Roger Dilkes

Match rules

90 minutes
30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
Two named substitutes
Maximum of two substitutions

References

^ "FA Cup Final 1993", FA Cup Finals
^ "GGM 42: Last-gasp Linighan clinches FA Cup | News Archive | News". Arsenal.com. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
^ "New season will begin again minus a Linighan". The Northern Echo. 11 May 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
^ Smyth, Rob (14 September 2009). "Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend | Rob Smyth | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

External links

Line-ups

[1] "FA Cup Final 1993", FA Cup Finals

[2] "GGM 42: Last-gasp Linighan clinches FA Cup | News Archive | News". Arsenal.com. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

[3] "New season will begin again minus a Linighan". The Northern Echo. 11 May 2001. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

[4] Smyth, Rob (14 September 2009). "Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend | Rob Smyth | Football". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2013.

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v t e FA Cup
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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 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. matches
FA Cup Finals	1890 1896 1907 1935 1966 1993
League Cup Finals	1991 1993
FA Charity Shield	1930 1935
Football League play-off Finals	2005 League One 2016 Championship 2023 League One
Other matches	Sheffield Wednesday 5-1 Peterborough United (2023)