FA Cup final more than a game

There's a lot to admire about the English and the way they do things.

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They are generally honest, they’re pretty organised, they build some incredible castles, they make great movies and they’re not bad at football, either.

The Poms are also big on protecting their cultural heritage.

Which is why it is so wrong to dismiss the weekend FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff as a sort of non-event we have to have to complete the football calendar.

OK, the two finalists are not likely to provide us with the most sophisticated football of the season.

Even though last year’s showdown between big guns Chelsea and Manchester United was so ugly and negative that it will probably go down as one of the worst finals in the competition’s chequered history.

But to sneer at the lack of quality and appeal of this year’s final would be missing the whole point.

The FA Cup final, you see, is an "event" not a showcase for top class football.

The English Football Association has done wonders to safeguard the image and status of the world’s oldest domestic knockout competition amid stiff opposition from the Premier League and Champions League.

Not to mention the damage caused from within when top clubs started to snub the competition by fielding weakened sides in ties preceding bigger matches.

The FA Cup final is part of world football’s folklore. It has provided some memorable moments and feats of incredible bravery over the years

It is one of the most watched sporting events of the year and for many people around the world including Australia it is the only football match they would ever watch.

None of the regular or casual viewers would expect the standard of play in an FA Cup final to be anything special.

Indeed some finals have been so abysmal and technically poor that one often wondered what the fuss was all about.

But the reason football is such a wonderful and captivating sport is because other compelling factors come into the equation.

Like the sense of occasion every Cup final provides no matter who's playing, the commitment of each individual protagonist on the field, the passionate support from the terraces and the pervading feeling that every final is part of the romantic history of an old competition that won’t die. Never will.

Unfashionable Pompey and Cardiff represent the football of the past, if you like, before it was taken over by multinational companies and filthy rich moguls.

Most people outside Britain would struggle to name one player in each team yet come Saturday at midnight two sets of keen footballers, like hundreds before them, will get stuck into each other in a bid to lay their hands on the dear old mug and savour the glory it would bring to them and their fans.

There will be no Ronaldo, Drogba, Fabregas or Torres on display on Wembley's manicured turf.

But the lack of big names won't diminish the occasion by one iota. The FA Cup final is not about virtuoso performances from extraordinary players – the Champions League and Premier League are the right platform for that sort of thing.

The final match of the English club season is about upholding the Cup's proud history and rich tradition.

And while other countries keep juggling the format of their knockout competition in a bid to find a formula that gives it real and lasting credibility, the FA Cup continues to reign supreme essentially because in its simplicity it epitomises the true spirit of the English game.

MEMORABLE FA CUP FINALS:

:: 1923, Bolton 2 West Ham 0

Known as the ‘White Horse Final’, incredible crowd scenes greeted the first final played at Wembley.

Hundred thousand spectators locked outside the stadium burst through the closed gates and on to the pitch. The game would probably have been cancelled were it not for the presence of King George V and the logistics of removing a crowd that now totalled 200,000.

Order was restored by mounted police on horseback led by constable G. A. Story and his white horse Billie, who moved to the centre of the field and slowly forced the crowd to the touchlines.

The match began 45 minutes late and conditions for play were bordering on the farcical, with police having to force spectators back to allow corner kicks to be taken.

However the game was completed with Bolton winning 2-0 thanks to goals from David Jack and JR Smith.

:: 1927, Cardiff 1 Arsenal 0

Mighty Arsenal were supreme in English football but a 73rd minute goal from Hughie Ferguson gave Cardiff and their hordes of fans an unforgettable day out at Wembley.

Following a Cardiff throw-in, Ferguson tried a hurried shot at goal before he could be tackled.

His drive was hard, low and diagonal but Lewis, Arsenal's Welsh international goalkeeper, appeared to have it covered. However the ball somehow twisted on Lewis' chest and trickled slowly over the line.

It was a classic example of the kind of luck that can win or lose a final. Fred Keenor and his men went on to take the FA Cup out of England for the first and only time. So far...

:: 1953, Blackpool 4 Bolton 3

This match will always be remembered as the ‘Matthews Final’ in reference to Blackpool right-winger Stanley Matthews, one of England’s finest ever players who was trying to win a winner’s medal at the third attempt.

Bolton led 3-1 with just over 20 minutes left when Matthews instigated a famous comeback.

He crossed from the right to see Stan Mortensen score after the Bolton keeper fumbled. The score remained at 3-2 until the 87th minute when Mortensen thundered home a free kick from the edge of the area.

As the game entered the final minute, the almost hysterical crowd witnessed Matthews again beat his full back and lay the ball into Parry’s path, who thrashed it home at the near post.

:: 1973, Sunderland 1 Leeds 0

Don Revie’s Leeds team were the kings of English football and one of finest teams in Europe when they faced second division Sunderland.

Anything other than a Leeds victory seemed impossible but when Ian Porterfield volleyed home after half an hour an upset was on the cards.

Sunderland defended heroically, but the game will be remembered for a miraculous double save by goalkeeper Jim Montgomery in the 70th minute.

Fullback Paul Reaney's cross from the right was met by Trevor Cherry with a diving header.

Montgomery flew to his left but could only palm the ball straight into the path of Leeds winger Paul Lorimer, who struck it powerfully into seemingly an empty net only to see Montgomery somehow twist his body, change direction and divert the ball against the underside of the bar and away.

:: 2006, Liverpool 3 West Ham 3 (Liverpool won 3-1 on penalties)

Liverpool sealed a dramatic win at the Millennium Stadium thanks to the heroics of Jose Reina and the determination of Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool came from behind twice to take the game into extra-time and penalties in a game that will be remembered for years to come.

Showing spirit and courage, the Hammers led after 28 minutes through an own goal from Jamie Carragher and a strike from Dean Ashton.

However Liverpool hit back immediately when Djibril Cisse brilliantly guided a volley past Shake Hislop.

Liverpool’s pressure paid off when Gerrard slammed the ball home but the Hammers amazingly went back in the lead when Paul Konchesky looped the ball over Reina.

Soaking up all the Liverpool pressure, West Ham were on course for a fairytale victory but like all good stories there was another twist in the tail.

Steven Gerrard was again the hero for the Reds when he sent the game into extra-time with an incredible 30-yard strike in the last minute of the game.

Nigel Reo-Coker nearly clinched it in the closing moments of extra-time after guiding Yossi Benayoun's free-kick towards the top corner but Reina made a breathtaking stop to deny the West Ham skipper.

(Source: The FA)

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