1991 FA Cup Final

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.

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. He received a yellow card for the tackle and Forest got a free-kick on the edge of the box. Before play resumed, Gascoigne received extensive treatment on his knee before standing up to join the defensive wall. When Nottingham Forest's captain Stuart Pearce took the dead ball kick, his team-mate Glover pulled a Spurs defender off the end of the wall and the ball flew past Erik Thorstvedt to give Forest the lead in the 16th minute.

Gascoigne paid for his rash challenge, which many Forest fans thought deserved a red card, when he 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 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. After the interval, Paul Allen put Paul Stewart in on the right hand side of the box and he drilled a low shot past Crossley that hit the stanchion and put Tottenham on level terms.

With the game finishing at 1–1 after normal time, the final moved into extra time. Substitute Paul Walsh chipped the keeper, but his shot 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.

Match details

footballbox
date=1991-05-18
15:00 BST
team1=Tottenham Hotspur
score=2 – 1
(a.e.t.)
team2=Nottingham Forest
report= [http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1991.htm (Report)]
goals1=Stewart goal|55
Walker goal|94|o.g.
goals2=Pearce goal|16
stadium=Wembley, London
attendance=80,000
referee=Roger Milford (Bristol)

Road to Wembley

External links

* [http://www.soccerbase.com/results3.sd?gameid=258985 Game facts] at soccerbase.com