Tottenham Hotspur 3 - 2 Manchester City
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Villa 8', 76'
- Crooks 70'
- Manchester City
- MacKenzie 11'
- Reeves 50'
1st Match Ended 1-1 (Hutchison 79' o.g.) | (Hutchison 30')
Final went to a Replay (3-2)
1st Match: Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday 9th May 1981
Replay: Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday 14th May 1981
Attendance: 92,000
Match Referee: Keith Hackett (South Yorkshire)
Team Line-ups:
Tottenham Hotspur
- GK 1Milija Aleksic
- LB 2Chris Hughton
- CB 3Paul Miller
- CB 4Graham Roberts
- CM 5Ricardo Villa
- RB 6Steve Perryman (c)
- RM 7Osvaldo Ardiles
- CF 8Steve Archibald
- LM 9Tony Galvin
- CM 10Glenn Hoddle
- CF 11Garth Crooks
- Substitutes
- MF 12Garry Brooke
Manchester City
- 1 GKJoe Corrigan
- 2 RBRay Ranson
- 3 LBBobby McDonald
- 4 CBNicky Reid
- 5 LMPaul Power (c)
- 6 CBTommy Caton
- 7 CFDave Bennett
- 8 CMGerry Gow
- 9 CMSteve MacKenzie
- 10 RMTommy Hutchison
- 11 CFKevin Reeves
- Substitutes
- 12 MFDennis Tueart
Road to Wembley:
- 0 - 0 vs Queens Park Rangers (A)
- 3 - 1 vs Queens Park Rangers (H)
- 2 - 0 vs Hull City (H)
- 3 - 1 vs Coventry City (H)
- 2 - 0 vs Exeter City (H)
- 2 - 2 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (a.e.t) (Hillsborough, Sheffield)
- 3 - 0 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (a.e.t) (Highbury, London)
- 3rd Round
- Replay
- 4th Round
- 5th Round
- Q/Finals
- Replay
- S/Finals
- Replay
- 4 - 0 vs Crystal Palace (H)
- 2 - 1 vs Norwich City (H)
- 1 - 0 vs Peterborough United (A)
- 2 - 2 vs Everton (A)
- 3 - 1 vs Everton (H)
- 1 - 0 vs Ipswich (Villa Park, Birmingham)
Match Breakdown
FA Cup Finalists Full Teams in 1981
After a final which had seen Tommy Hutchison score at both ends to force a replay, the fireworks were well and truly lit on a damp, dark night at Wembley.
In contrast to the original clash, the replay flowed from the very first whistle and Spurs and Manchester City exchanged goals in the opening 10 minutes through Ricardo Villa and Steve Mackenzie.
City got their noses in front four minutes into the second half when Kevin Reeves fired home a penalty after Paul Miller and Chris Hughton had combined to squeeze out Dave Bennett.
But Spurs hit back when Garth Crooks rammed home an equaliser 20 minutes from time, setting the stage for one of the greatest winning goals ever seen in a Wembley final.
Villa was faced with a sea of blue shirts as he picked up Tony Galvin's pass on the edge of the area.
But the Agentina midfielder weaved his way past Tony Caton, Ray Ranson then, cruelly, Caton again before sliding a shot beyond the advancing Joe Corrigan.
FA Cup Final 1981 Round by Round Poster
