1983 FA Cup Final

The 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium.

Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season. United had finished third in the league that season and already had four FA Cup victories to their name, whereas Brighton had never reached the final before, and had been relegated from the top flight that season.

The first match

The first match finished 2-2 after extra time. Gordon Smith and Gary Stevens scored for Brighton; Frank Stapleton and Ray Wilkins for United. The first game is famous for the Radio commentary quote by Peter Jones "...and Smith must score" talking about a shot by Gordon Smith which was actually a save by the Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey; the quote was subsequently used as a title for a Brighton Fanzine.

The replay

The second game on the Thursday night, started the same way the first game had, with Brighton taking the game to Manchester United. Although their chances were limited to long-range drives from Jimmy Case, United goalkeeper Gary Bailey had a couple of important saves to make. This all changed on 25 minutes, with United's first real attack. Alan Davies, who had made his FA Cup debut in the first game, set up captain Bryan Robson for a left-foot drive past Moseley into the corner of the net. Suddenly the atmosphere changed and it was the Manchester United fans who were singing loudest. This was compounded...
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