1992 FA Cup Final

The 1992 FA Cup Final was contested by Liverpool and Sunderland at Wembley. Liverpool won 2–0, with goals from Michael Thomas and Ian Rush.

This was the first FA Cup Final to feature a Second Division team since West Ham had beaten Arsenal in 1980, and the last until Millwall played at Cardiff in 2004. Despite being underdogs, Sunderland had the better of the first half. The team was full of running and kept Liverpool's strikeforce of Ian Rush and Dean Saunders at bay. Sunderland's best chance fell to John Byrne who somehow miss-kicked when presented with a volley 6 yards out. Liverpool's best chance saw Michael Thomas lift his shot over the bar when pressured by the Rokerites goalkeeper Tony Norman.

Thomas redeemed himself after 47 minutes, when he scored the first goal of the game, following excellent work down the right wing by Steve McManaman. Tony Norman could only get fingertips to Thomas' superbly angled half-volley. Following this goal, the Reds had more confidence and started playing better football. On 67 minutes Dean Saunders released Michael Thomas who sped into the penalty area. His progress was halted but the ball fell to Ian Rush who slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. It was Rush's 5th goal in FA Cup Finals at Wembley - a record. Liverpool continued to dominate for the rest of the game and Ray Houghton came close to scoring when he almost lobbed Tony Norman from 40 yards.

Liverpool captain Mark Wright held aloft the FA Cup for Liverpool. During the presentation, the winning team was mistakenly given the loser's medals and Sunderland found themselves with winning medals. This was later rectified by the players themselves, on the pitch.

Match details

footballbox
date=1992-05-09
15:00 BST
team1=Liverpool
score=2 – 0
team2=Sunderland
report= [http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1992.htm (Report)]
goals1=Thomas goal|47
Rush goal|68
goals2=
stadium=Wembley, London
attendance=79,544
referee=Philip Don (South Yorkshire)

External links

* [http://footballfocus.xsmnet.com/facup/lineups/teams1992.htm Line-ups]
* [http://www.lfchistory.net/viewgame.asp?game_id=1854 LFC History Match Report]