It was Kevin Keegan with this first goal who began the rot.
Liverpool's Steve Heighway shoots past Newcastle
Unitet's Bobby Moncur for their second second goal of the 1974 F.A. Cup Final.
Liverpool's third goal scored by Keegan after a
spectacular inter change of passes clinches Liverpool's second FA Cup victory. |
Liverpool's Wembley opponents, Newcastle United were
making a record eleventh appearance in an FA Cup final and were one short of a record
number of wins. The north-easterners turned up at Wembley not only with a Cup-fighting
pedigree finer than Liverpool's but with the backing of supporters every bit as fanatical.
They also had a few players quite capable of destroying the Anfield dreams. Striker
Malcolm Macdonald was an England regular and one of the most dangerous finishers in the
game while Ian McFaul, David Craig, Bobby Moncur, Tommy Cassidy and Jim Smith were all
internationals. They also fielded two youngsters called Terry McDermott and Alan Kennedy
who in time would both find their way to Anfield. The Geordies would be no pushover and
Malcolm Macdonald had been boasting since the semi-final about what he was going to do to
Liverpool's supposed invincible defence. Larry Lloyd, at the heart of that defence had
taken a bad knock earlier in the year and into his boots had stepped a twenty-year-old
local lad, Phil Thompson. A tall, gangling, youth with match-stick legs who weighed not
much over 10 stones, he hardly looked an adequate replacement for the broad-shouldered,
strong-limbed Lloyd. But Thompson was skilful, determined and above all a battler who in
later years would captain not only his club but his country as well. The versatile Tommy
Smith had also slotted into the right back position with the unlucky Chris Lawler pushed
into the reserves and now close to ending his footballing career at Anfield. Up front Phil
Boersma was the unfortunate player left out with Toshack pulling on the striker's jersey.
Emlyn Hughes led Liverpool onto the pitch and into a cacophony of noise from the Geordie
and Scouse fans that rang around the arena. The first half promised much but never quite
delivered. Newcastle looked impressive early on but could never find the well-marked
Macdonald who was gradually being blotted out of the game by the novice, Phil Thompson.
Shortly before the interval Terry Hibbitt tore a knee and never really recovered and when
the half-time whistle went Liverpool were just about ahead on points.
In the second half Liverpool's slow domination turned to superiority when first
Lindsay scored only to be ruled offside in the fifty-first minute and then Keegan stabbed
home a Tommy Smith cross in the fifty-eighth minute to make it 1-0. A quarter of an hour
later and Liverpool took a firmer grip on the cup when Steve Heighway scored from a
Toshack backheader. Liverpool now gave an appreciative Wembley crowd a display of
footballing skills as they knocked the ball from wing to wing and frequently strung
together a dozen passes or more. Newcastle were simply outplayed as Liverpool oozed
confidence. The final goal was scored fittingly by Keegan with just a couple of minutes
remaining after Tommy Smith had swapped the neatest of exchanges before crossing for
Keegan to tuck away. Some thirteen passes between the red-shirted Liverpool players had
created the third goal that deservedly took the FA Cup back to Anfield for the second time
in their history.
As Emlyn Hughes strode up the thirty-nine steps to the Royal Box to receive the
trophy a security guard, not recognising Phil Thompson stopped him from joining in the
party, while down on the pitch with fans kneeling at Shankly's feet another security man
tried to usher Liverpool's trainer, Bob Paisley away. But neither of them needed to worry
as their faces would soon become familiar enough to the stadium's security staff. The
Sunday People described the game as 'the most one sided final since I960' while the
Liverpool manager told their reporter that Liverpool 'were the best team in England and
probably in the world'. After the adulation on the pitch Shankly returned to the
dressing-room and sat quietly in the corner while around him players cracked open the
champagne. Sitting there buried in his own thoughts he made a decision that was to rock
the football world. Liverpool travelled back to Merseyside the following day to the
traditional reception. A quarter of a million lined the streets of the city to cheer them
home. Shankly was their god but none of them knew that his days at Anfield were quickly
drawing to an end.
Liverpool: Clemence, Smith, Thompson, Hughes, Lindsay,
Hall, Callaghan, Cormack, Keegan, Toshack, Heighway.
Newcastle United: McFaul, Clark, Howard, Moncur, Kennedy, Smith (Gibb), McDermott,
Cassidy, Macdonald, Tudor, Hibbitt.
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