Bobbies Moore and Stokes feature at either end of this FA Cup underdog XI as we contemplate the prospect of an EFL side reaching Wembley…
This season, half of the teams in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup are from outside the top-flight and with Sheffield United facing Blackburn Rovers, there will be at least one Football League side in the semis. Could this be the first year since 2008 that we see a non-Premier League club in the final?
Here’s an XI made up from players who helped make those underdog dreams come true…
Goalkeeper: Jim Montgomery
There have been some memorable moments in-between the sticks during FA Cup finals; Bert Trautmann’s broken neck, Dave Beasant saving John Aldridge’s penalty, defender Jackie Blanchflower playing in goal for the majority of the match in 1957. However, Jim Montgomery’s crusade for a clean sheet in the 1973 final is perhaps the most famous, with his double save keeping out holders Leeds United and helping Division Two outfit Sunderland win the trophy for a second time. If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming the Black Cats ‘keeper who lined up at Wembley against Liverpool in 1992.
Centre-back: Terry Fenwick
Tottenham went into the final of 1982 as defending champions, having seen off Manchester City the previous year in a match remembered for Ricky Villa’s marvellous solo goal. Spurs needed a replay in that contest and it proved to be the same the following May, with second tier QPR holding the holders after Terry Fenwick equalised for the Hoops against his future employers in extra time
Centre-back: Tony Singleton
Two years before he led England to World Cup glory, a 23-year-old Bobby Moore captained West Ham to a maiden FA Cup win. The Hammers faced a Preston North End side that had narrowly missed out on promotion to the First Division and reached the final with a 2-1 win over Swansea in the semis, with long serving defender Singleton getting the winner. Determined to become the first second-tier team to win the trophy since West Brom in 1931, PNE twice took the lead at Wembley, only to be pegged back both times before being beaten by a last-minute header from Ronnie Boyce.
Centre-back: Bobby Moore
In 1975, eleven years later after Moore lifted the trophy, West Ham were champions once again and it was another Second Division team defeated in the final, only this time Moore was a runner-up. Now at the end of his career, the match proved to be the iconic defender’s last…
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