One game from glory

They say the most joyless place in football is the dressing room of the losing team after an FA Cup Semi-Final. 

It’s a case of "so near and yet so far", as they miss out on the tradition and pageantry of an FA Cup Final, watched and admired all over the world. As a consequence Semi-Final matches can be tense affairs, with no player wanting to be responsible for a mistake that leads to defeat.

But over recent years there have been some classic Semi-Final matches and some memorable moments.

Who could forget Crystal Palace’s 4-3 win against Liverpool at Villa Park in 1990, a few months after losing to them 9-0 in a League match? Or Paul Gascoigne’s thundering free-kick against Arsenal in the first Wembley semi a year later? Or Ryan Giggs’ wonder goal as Manchester United overcame Arsenal in extra-time at a Villa Park replay in 1999?

Here’s a handful of special Semi-Final matches from the 305 (yes, that many!) played up to and including last season.

1990: Crystal Palace 4 Liverpool 3

Palace, who had never reached the Final before, had made hard work of beating Fourth Division Cambridge in the Sixth Round.

Now they were pitted against Cup holders Liverpool at Villa Park, just seven months after losing to them 9-0 in a First Division fixture at Anfield.

The scoring legend that was Ian Rush gave the in-form Reds a half-time lead but Steve Coppell’s soaring Eagles hit back in thrilling fashion with goals from Mark Bright and Gary O’Reilly after the break.

For a time the powerful Merseysiders were in retreat. The tide turned again as Steve McMahon equalised and John Barnes made it 3-2 to Liverpool with a penalty.

Then the Londoners bounced back again as Andy Gray steered a header beyond Grobbelaar before one of Palace’s dangerous set-pieces won the match in extra-time.

Andy Thorn flicked on Gray’s left-wing corner in the 109th minute and Alan Pardew nodded in from close range.

1991: Tottenham Hotspur 3 Arsenal 1

These two great north London rivals were drawn together in The Cup for the first time since Garth Crooks’ goal for Spurs had won a Third Round tie in 1982.

Only Wembley Stadium was deemed big enough to house all the fans who wanted to see this semi-final. For the first time a tie other than The Final itself was being played at the "Venue of Legends".

The match had a sensational start with a typically hyped-up Paul Gascoigne blasting a free-kick past David Seaman from 30 yards in the fifth minute. It was a year ending in "1" and Spurs’ tails were up. Within four minutes Gary Lineker had made it 2-0, poking the ball home after Alan Smith had failed to control Paul Allen’s cross.

Smith atoned by scoring an Arsenal goal just before half-time, very much against the run of play, before Lineker settled matters in the second half.

1994: Manchester United 1 Oldham Athletic 1

The Cup’s latter stages are full of "last-gasp goals" but there can be few to rival Mark Hughes’ equaliser for United in this Wembley Semi-Final, scored just 40 seconds from the end of extra-time.

Six days earlier, Oldham, ultimately relegated at the end of the season, had lost 3-2 at Old Trafford in the Premiership. But the Latics made a mockery of their poor League form to battle United to a 0-0 scoreline after 90 minutes at Wembley.

Then they actually took the lead in the first minute of the second period of extra-time, full-back Neil Pointon notching his first goal of the season. Oldham were literally seconds from reaching the first Final in their 99-year history, when desperate United launched the ball forward.

There was a momentary lapse in defence as Hughes was given enough space to volley the ball in for 1-1. The Latics had missed their chance – three days later United won the replay 4-1 at Maine Road.

1999: Manchester United 2 Arsenal 1

Manchester United achieved an unprecedented "Treble" in 1999 but were living dangerously towards the end of their FA Cup Semi-Final replay with Arsenal at Villa Park.

The first match, also at Villa, had failed to produce a result – or a goal – in two hours of football.

Three days later David Beckham broke the deadlock with a United opener on 17 minutes, which Arsenal’s "Dutch Master" Dennis Bergkamp cancelled out midway through the second half.

In a pulsating last few minutes of normal time United battled to hold on after Roy Keane’s dismissal. Right at the death Arsenal were awarded a spot-kick but Peter Schmeichel dived full-length to his left to beat away Bergkamp’s shot.

Then, as if we hadn’t seen enough drama already, Ryan Giggs scored an extra-time winner of breathtaking brilliance. The Welsh winger drove a left-footer past Seaman after a mazy run that had begun near the halfway line.

2001: Liverpool 2 Wycombe Wanderers 1

Eight years after being promoted into the Football League as Conference Champions, Wycombe Wanderers found themselves in an FA Cup Semi-Final.

The team managed by Lawrie Sanchez, a Cup winner as a player with Wimbledon’s "Crazy Gang" in 1988, began their romantic run through to the last four with a home tie against Isthmian League Harrow Borough.

When they lined up against Liverpool at Villa Park, they were aiming to become the first club from outside the top two divisions ever to make it to a Final. They matched the Merseysiders until Emile Heskey and Robbie Fowler netted twice in five minutes near the end.

But the Chairboys still had time to send the tie into a barnstorming finish after Keith Ryan’s 88th-minute strike.

Roy Essandoh, who had answered Sanchez’s bizarre Teletext appeal for a striker before the Sixth Round, came on as a substitute in the Semi-Final.

You can read more about this season's FA Cup Semi-Finals in the two official match-day programmes. To buy your copy, go to either of the below sites...