1973 FA Cup Final: Sunderland 1-0 Leeds United

The footage

WATCH ON SUNDERLAND AFC

1973

The match report

The 1973 FA Cup final was played at Wembley on Saturday 5 May 1973 between Sunderland, a Second Division club, and Leeds United, the holders and one of the strongest sides in Europe. Sunderland won 1-0 through an Ian Porterfield goal to produce one of the competition's biggest shocks.[15][4][12]

Leeds were overwhelming favourites. Don Revie's side had won the cup in 1972 and reached the final in 1970; they had beaten Norwich City, Plymouth Argyle, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers on the way to Wembley without conceding in their last three ties. Sunderland, by contrast, were in the bottom four of the Second Division when Bob Stokoe took over in November 1972, and had needed replays to beat Notts County, Reading and Manchester City before knocking out Luton Town and Arsenal.[12][5][8][13]

Sunderland began aggressively. Richie Pitt left Leeds striker Mick Jones in a heap with an early tackle that set the tone for the afternoon. On the half-hour Billy Hughes's corner was helped on by Vic Halom and Ian Porterfield controlled the ball before shooting past David Harvey from inside the penalty area.[5][13][16]

Leeds thought they had equalised soon after the restart when Trevor Cherry forced the ball in, but the goal was disallowed for a foul by Allan Clarke on Jimmy Montgomery. The decisive moment came midway through the second half. Paul Reaney crossed from the right, Cherry headed goalwards, and Montgomery dived to palm the ball away. It fell to Peter Lorimer, whose fierce shot from close range Montgomery somehow turned onto the underside of the bar before Dick Malone cleared.[5][7][13]

Sunderland held on, and Vic Halom almost made it 2-0 late on when David Harvey turned his shot away. At the final whistle Bob Stokoe ran across the Wembley turf in his trademark trilby and mac to embrace Montgomery, an image that became as famous as the result. Bobby Kerr lifted the cup and Sunderland returned north for an open-top bus parade through packed streets.[5][13][16]

The match is remembered as a triumph for the underdog, but the facts are often smoothed out. The exact minute of the winning goal is disputed, the timing of Montgomery's double save is placed at different points in the second half, and the side is routinely described as a team without internationals, which is only true of the day itself. The FA's own retrospective records that the XI contained no capped player at the time, but that several of them went on to win international recognition.[4][13]

How the match unfolded

1. opening minuteSunderland set the tone when Richie Pitt left Leeds striker Mick Jones in a heap with a firm tackle, a statement of intent that went unpunished.[5]
2. 32'Ian Porterfield gives Sunderland the lead. Billy Hughes's corner is helped on by Vic Halom and Porterfield controls the ball before shooting past David Harvey.[13][5]
3. half-timeSunderland go in 1-0 ahead, having more than matched the holders.[13][5]
4. early second halfLeeds have the ball in the net through Trevor Cherry, but the goal is disallowed for a foul by Allan Clarke on Jimmy Montgomery.[5][13]
5. mid second halfJim Montgomery makes the double save that defines the match, first pushing away Trevor Cherry's header and then somehow turning Peter Lorimer's close-range follow-up onto the underside of the bar.[13][5][7][16]
6. lateVic Halom is denied a second for Sunderland by a fingertip save from David Harvey.[5][13][3]
7. full-timeSunderland win 1-0. Bob Stokoe sprints across the Wembley turf in trilby and mac to embrace Montgomery, producing one of the most reproduced images in FA Cup history.[13][5][12]

Match facts

Date

Saturday 5 May 1973

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance

100,000Wembley's capacity at the time. Sunderland were allocated roughly one fifth of the ground for their supporters.[15][2][3]

Referee

Ken Burns (Worcestershire County FA, Stourbridge)[13][2]

Scorers

Ian Porterfield 32'[12][15][2]

Half-time

1-0

Competition

1972-73 FA Cup

Where they played

Both sides as they lined up. Choose any player to read what they did in this final.

Select a shirt for that player's note.

Route to the final

Line-ups

Trivia and detail

• Sunderland were the first team from outside the top flight to win the FA Cup since West Bromwich Albion in 1931.[15][13]
• The 1973 final was the last FA Cup final to be played with an orange ball.[17][1]
• Sunderland's winning XI contained no full internationals, though seven of the players later won caps.[4]
• Sunderland's semi-final victory over Arsenal at Hillsborough ended a 36-year wait for a Wembley final.[6][8]
• Leeds reached the final having kept clean sheets in their last three ties.[8][12]
• Sunderland had to play a league match at Cardiff City on the Monday evening after the final because of a fixture backlog caused by cup replays.[5]

How well do you know the 1973 final?

Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.

1. Who scored Sunderland's winning goal in the 1973 FA Cup final?

   Ian PorterfieldVic HalomBilly HughesBobby Kerr
   Answer

   Ian Porterfield. He controlled a knock-down from Vic Halom after Billy Hughes's corner and shot past David Harvey.[13][5]

2. Which Sunderland player made the famous double save?

   Jim MontgomeryDavid WatsonDick MaloneRon Guthrie
   Answer

   Jim Montgomery. He first pushed away Trevor Cherry's header and then turned Peter Lorimer's close-range follow-up onto the underside of the bar.[13][7]

3. What division was Sunderland playing in when they won the 1973 FA Cup?

   Second DivisionFirst DivisionThird DivisionFourth Division
   Answer

   Second Division. They were a Second Division club and the first from outside the top flight to win the cup since West Bromwich Albion in 1931.[15][13]

4. Who was Sunderland's manager in the 1973 FA Cup final?

   Bob StokoeDon RevieBrian CloughBertie Mee
   Answer

   Bob Stokoe. Bob Stokoe took over during the season when Sunderland were near the bottom of the Second Division and led them to the cup.[13][4]

5. Which Leeds player hit the follow-up shot that Jim Montgomery turned onto the bar?

   Peter LorimerTrevor CherryAllan ClarkeMick Jones
   Answer

   Peter Lorimer. Lorimer drove the ball goalwards from close range after Montgomery had parried Cherry's header, and Montgomery somehow diverted it onto the underside of the bar.[13][5]

What is not settled

Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:

• The exact minute of Ian Porterfield's winning goal is disputed. The standard match record gives the 32nd minute; the season article and Chronicle Live say the half-hour, treated as the 31st minute, and the Definitive History of Leeds United and Last Word on Sports also give 31 minutes. We record 32.
• The timing of Jim Montgomery's double save is also disputed: Chronicle Live places it in the 66th minute, the FA Cup Finals timeline says the 70th minute, the Definitive History of Leeds United says it came after 65 minutes, and the standard match record gives only 'midway through the second half'.
• Whether Sunderland's side was truly 'without internationals' depends on the date. The FA's retrospective says no capped player started the final, but seven of the XI later won caps.
• Accounts differ on Sunderland's league position when Bob Stokoe took over in November 1972: Chronicle Live says third from bottom of the Second Division, the Definitive History of Leeds United says fourth from bottom.
• The colour of the match ball is described differently by different sources. Sunderland AFC's own retrospective calls the 1973 final the only one played with an orange ball; the FA Cup Factfile records the 1973 ball as yellow, with orange balls used in the 1968, 2014 and 2015 finals.

How we know

Every claim on this page is tied to a numbered source below. These are the contemporary records behind it, each one fetched and matched word for word before publication rather than taken on trust:

• The FA retrospective on the 1973 final, 4 January 2015 · The Football Association
• Official club website retrospective, March 2019 · Sunderland AFC

Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.

Sources

1. 1973 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
2. 1973 FA Cup Final Result · Sporting Chronicle
3. Sunderland A.F.C. vs Leeds United 1973 FA Cup Final Timeline · FA Cup Finals
4. Sunderland hero Dennis Tueart looks back on 1973 · The Football Association
5. Sunderland 1973 Road to Wembley relived: Glory, glory, Hallelujah as the FA Cup comes to Wearside · Chronicle Live
6. Sunderland's 1973 Road to Wembley relived: Watson and Guthrie down Luton to earn semi-final spot · Chronicle Live
7. Wembley 1973: Monty's save of the century · The Northern Echo
8. On This Day: 1973 FA Cup Final - Sunderland v Leeds United · Last Word on Sports
9. 7 April 1973 - Leeds United 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 · The Definitive History of Leeds United
10. Sunderland AFC - Luton Town, 17/03/1973 - FA Cup · Transfermarkt
11. Derby County - Leeds United, 17/03/1973 - FA Cup · Transfermarkt
12. England FA Challenge Cup 1972-73 · RSSSF
13. 5 May 1973 - Sunderland 1 Leeds United 0, FA Cup final · The Definitive History of Leeds United
14. The full list of Sunderland AFC 1973 FA Cup winners who will get the freedom of the city · Chronicle Live
15. Call to honour the 'overlooked' Sunderland players of SAFC's 1973 FA Cup glory · Sunderland Echo
16. Sunderland mark 50 years since FA Cup glory · ITV News Tyne Tees
17. Classic match: 1973 FA Cup final · Sunderland AFC

Elsewhere in the encyclopedia

Other finals at Wembley Stadium

• 1923 Bolton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United
• 1953 Blackpool 4-3 Bolton Wanderers
• 1971 Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
• 1979 Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
• 1987 Coventry City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur
• 1988 Wimbledon 1-0 Liverpool

Elsewhere on WhatChan