1978-79 FA Cup · The Final
1979 FA Cup Final: Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
The Five-minute Final
The final is remembered for three goals in the last five minutes, but the scoreline was 2-0 for more than 85 minutes and the attendance is still argued over.
Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2 in the 1979 FA Cup final after three goals in the closing minutes turned a seemingly settled match into one of the competition's most famous finishes.
Saturday 12 May 1979 · Wembley Stadium
What you will not find elsewhere
The Five-minute Final was actually decided by three goals in four minutes
The nickname suggests a five-minute burst at the end, but the record is tighter than that. Gordon McQueen scored in the 86th minute, Sammy McIlroy equalised in the 88th minute, and Alan Sunderland won it in the 89th minute. That is three goals in four minutes of elapsed time, with two United goals in two minutes and the Arsenal reply coming one minute after the equaliser. The phrase captures the shock; the minutes show how little time there was for anybody to recover.[1][2][3]
The attendance is 99,219, not 100,000
Wembley finals of this era are often rounded to 100,000 in season-summary tables and in shorthand. The dedicated match record for this final gives 99,219. The Football Association's own retrospective account says almost 100,000, which is consistent with the precise figure rather than a competing one.[1][2][3]
Arsenal needed nine cup ties and four replays in one round to reach Wembley
Counting the five matches against Sheffield Wednesday, the fourth-round tie with Notts County, the fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest, the two Southampton matches and the semi-final at Villa Park, Arsenal played nine FA Cup ties in 1979. Four of those were replays against Sheffield Wednesday alone, after the original tie at Hillsborough and the first replay at Highbury both finished 1-1.[5][7]
The footage
The match report
Arsenal won the 1979 FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday 12 May 1979, beating Manchester United 3-2 in a match that is still known as the Five-minute Final. For most of the match it had been unremarkable, Arsenal leading 2-0 through first-half goals from Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton. Then, in the space of four minutes, United scored twice to level and Arsenal scored again to win it.[1][3]
The opening goal came in the 12th minute. Pat Rice advanced down the right and pulled the ball back for Brian Talbot, who turned it past Gary Bailey. Talbot had been signed from Ipswich Town in the January transfer window, and this was his fourth FA Cup appearance for the club. Arsenal's second, on 43 minutes, was a header by Frank Stapleton from Graham Rix's cross from the left. United had won the toss and chosen to wear their red home kit, which meant Arsenal played in yellow and blue.[1][3][5][8]
The second half produced little until the final few minutes. Arsenal brought on Steve Walford for David Price in the 83rd minute, a change intended to protect the lead. Instead, United pulled a goal back in the 86th minute when Gordon McQueen headed in from a set-piece. Two minutes later Sammy McIlroy dribbled past two Arsenal players and scored to make it 2-2.[1][2][3]
With extra time apparently certain, Arsenal scored almost straight from the restart. Liam Brady hit a long pass out to Graham Rix on the left, Rix crossed to the far post, and Alan Sunderland stretched to turn the ball in as Bailey misjudged the flight. The final whistle confirmed a 3-2 win and Arsenal's first major trophy since 1971.[1][7][3]
The victory was Terry Neill's only major trophy in seven years as Arsenal manager, and it took the club into the European Cup Winners' Cup. For Dave Sexton's Manchester United it was the only FA Cup final they reached; Sexton was sacked in 1981 without bringing a major trophy to Old Trafford.[1][4][5]
How the match unfolded
- 1'Jimmy Greenhoff and Frank Stapleton collide and both need treatment before play can continue.[9]
- 12'Brian Talbot scores for Arsenal, turning home a low cross from Pat Rice after a move down the right.[1][2][3]
- 43'Frank Stapleton heads Arsenal's second from a Graham Rix cross, giving the side a 2-0 half-time lead.[1][2][3]
- half-timeArsenal lead 2-0. The second half has been quiet for most of its length.[1][3]
- 83'Arsenal bring on Steve Walford for David Price.[1]
- 86'Gordon McQueen scores for Manchester United from a set-piece, heading past Pat Jennings after a scramble.[1][2][3]
- 88'Sammy McIlroy dribbles past two Arsenal defenders and scores, levelling the match at 2-2.[1][2][3]
- 89'Almost straight from the restart, Liam Brady plays a long ball to Graham Rix on the left. Rix crosses to the far post and Alan Sunderland stretches to score the winner.[1][2][3][7]
- full-timeArsenal win 3-2.[1][2][3]
Match facts
- Date
- Saturday 12 May 1979
- Venue
- Wembley Stadium, London
- Attendance
- 99,219The figure recorded in the dedicated match references is 99,219. Season-summary tables for both clubs round the gate to 100,000, and The FA's own retrospective says almost 100,000.[1][2]
- Scorers
- Brian Talbot 12'
Frank Stapleton 43'
Gordon McQueen 86'
Sammy McIlroy 88'
Alan Sunderland 89'[1][2][3] - Half-time
- 2-0
- Competition
- 1978-79 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
Arsenal
- Third round: Sheffield Wednesday (a) drew 1-1, then four replays at Filbert Street and Highbury before winning 2-0 in the fourth replay
- Fourth round: Notts County (h) won 2-0
- Fifth round: Nottingham Forest (a) won 1-0
- Sixth round: Southampton (a) drew 1-1, replay (h) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Villa Park) won 2-0
Manchester United
- Third round: Chelsea (h) won 3-0
- Fourth round: Fulham (a) drew 1-1, replay (h) won 1-0
- Fifth round: Colchester United (a) won 1-0
- Sixth round: Tottenham Hotspur (a) drew 1-1, replay (h) won 2-0
- Semi-final: Liverpool (Maine Road) drew 2-2, replay (Goodison Park) won 1-0
Line-ups
Arsenal · 4-4-2
- Pat Jennings Goalkeeper
- Pat Rice Right back, captain
- Sammy Nelson Left back
- Willie Young Centre back
- David O'Leary Centre back
- Liam Brady Left midfield; started the move for the winner with a long ball to Graham Rix
- David Price Central midfield; substituted on 83 minutes
- Brian Talbot Central midfield; scored the opening goal
- Graham Rix Right midfield; crossed for both Stapleton's and Sunderland's goals
- Frank Stapleton Centre forward; scored Arsenal's second goal with a header
- Alan Sunderland Centre forward; scored the winning goal in the 89th minute
Manchester United · 4-4-2
- Gary Bailey Goalkeeper; misjudged the flight of Graham Rix's cross for the winner
- Jimmy Nicholl Right back
- Arthur Albiston Left back
- Gordon McQueen Centre back; scored United's first goal in the 86th minute
- Martin Buchan Centre back, captain
- Steve Coppell Right midfield
- Sammy McIlroy Central midfield; scored the 88th-minute equaliser
- Lou Macari Central midfield
- Mickey Thomas Left midfield
- Jimmy Greenhoff Centre forward; collided with Stapleton in the opening minute
- Joe Jordan Centre forward
Trivia and detail
- Arsenal's third-round tie against Third Division Sheffield Wednesday went to four replays, three of them at Filbert Street in Leicester, before Arsenal won the fourth replay 2-0.[5][7]
- Brian Talbot, who scored the opening goal, had been bought from Ipswich Town for £400,000 in January 1979 after Arsenal lost the 1978 final to Ipswich.[5][7]
- Arsenal's fifth-round win at Nottingham Forest ended Forest's 52-match unbeaten run at the City Ground.[5][7]
- Manchester United reached the final by beating Liverpool in a semi-final replay at Goodison Park, Jimmy Greenhoff scoring the only goal.[6][4]
- The 1979 FA Cup was the only major trophy Arsenal won during Terry Neill's seven-year management.[1][5]
How well do you know the 1979 final?
Five questions. Every answer is sourced from the material on this page.
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Who scored Arsenal's winning goal in the 1979 FA Cup final?
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What was the score at half-time?
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Which Manchester United player scored the 88th-minute equaliser?
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How many replays did Arsenal need to beat Sheffield Wednesday in the third round?
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Who was the Arsenal manager when they won the 1979 FA Cup?
What is not settled
Honesty matters more than tidiness. These details are contested or unrecorded, and we have not guessed at them:
- The attendance is reported as both 99,219 and rounded to 100,000. The dedicated match records give 99,219; season-summary tables for both clubs round the figure.
- The exact minute of each late goal is given slightly differently by different sources. Wikipedia and MUFCINFO agree on 86, 88 and 89 minutes; some retrospective accounts place McIlroy's equaliser in the 87th minute or Sunderland's winner in the 88th.
- The move for the winning goal is described in varying detail. The consensus is that Liam Brady started it with a long ball to Graham Rix, whose cross Alan Sunderland met at the far post.
- No verified footage has been embedded yet. A candidate video has been proposed; the verifier will decide whether it is playable inline.
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:
- Man Utd v Arsenal: Five most memorable meetings · The Football Association
Where a primary record and a modern account disagree, we show both rather than choosing the tidier number.
Sources
- 1979 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
- Manchester United 2 v 3 Arsenal, FA Cup Final, 12 May 1979 · MUFCINFO.COM
- Man Utd v Arsenal: Five most memorable meetings · The Football Association
- 1970-1979 | History by Decade · Manchester United FC
- 1978-79 Arsenal F.C. season · Wikipedia
- 1978-79 Manchester United F.C. season · Wikipedia
- How Arsenal won the FA Cup in 1979 · The History of Arsenal
- Frank Stapleton - FA Cup Final - 1979 - Arsenal Matchworn Shirts · Arsenal Match Worn Shirts
- Flashback: 1979 FA Cup Final · Overtime