1972 FA Cup Final


The 1972 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1972 at Wembley Stadium. It was the centenary final and the 44th to be played at Wembley.
It was contested between cup holders Arsenal, who had won the Football League and the FA Cup the previous season, and Leeds United, who had won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and finished second in the league the previous season, but had never won the FA Cup.
Arsenal planned to make it the third successive decade for a club to return as Cup-holders and win for a second successive year, as Newcastle United had done in 1952 and Tottenham Hotspur in 1962.
This final is the origin of the song "Leeds! Leeds! Leeds!", which was the B-side of Leeds's Cup Final record. The song is still played by United and other Leeds sports teams.

Road to Wembley

Leeds United

''Home teams listed first.
Round 3: Leeds United 4–1 Bristol Rovers
Round 4: Liverpool 0–0 Leeds United
Round 5: Cardiff City 0–2 Leeds United
Round 6: Leeds United 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur
Semi-final: Leeds United 3–0 Birmingham City

Arsenal

''Home teams listed first.
Round 3: Swindon Town 0–2 Arsenal
Round 4: Reading 1 –2 Arsenal
Round 5: Derby County 2–2 Arsenal
Round 6: Leyton Orient 0–1 Arsenal
Semi-final: Stoke City 1–1 Arsenal

Match summary

The Leeds duo Mick Jones and Allan 'Sniffer' Clarke combined to produce a goal in the fifty-third minute. Jones sent across a hard, shoulder-high centre and Clarke headed powerfully past Arsenal keeper Geoff Barnett's left hand from fifteen yards.
A match that often fell below the highest level began badly with a foul by Clarke on Alan Ball in the first five seconds and the first of four bookings — Bob McNab bringing down Peter Lorimer as early as the second minute. Neither side played consistently up to their capabilities, yet both had their moments. Charlie George's fierce volley cannoned back off the bar for Arsenal, and both Clarke and Lorimer struck the woodwork for Leeds.
Leeds' jubilation at the end was tempered by a last-minute injury to Mick Jones, who dislocated his elbow and had to be helped up the steps by Norman Hunter to receive his winners' medal.

Match facts