1987 FA Cup Final: Coventry City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur

The footage

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1987

The match report

The 1987 FA Cup final was the 106th final of the competition. Tottenham Hotspur were appearing in their third final in seven years, having won the trophy in 1981 and 1982, and had never lost one; they finished the league season third in the First Division. Coventry City, tenth in the same division, were playing in their first cup final after more than a century of trying, and won the FA Cup at the first attempt in front of 96,000 spectators.[1][15][18]

Tottenham were heavy favourites. Every member of their squad bar Mitchell Thomas had played international football, and striker Clive Allen was coming to the end of a record-breaking season. Coventry had only one current international, David Phillips, and just four players with any Wembley experience. But a league meeting at Highfield Road the previous December had finished 4-3 to Coventry, and both managers, David Pleat and John Sillett, predicted an open, attacking final rather than a cautious one.[1][4]

Both sides had to adjust at right back. Coventry lost Brian Borrows to a knee injury in the final league game, so Phillips moved into defence and Micky Gynn came into midfield; Tottenham chose Chris Hughton ahead of Gary Stevens. Coventry set up 4-4-2; Tottenham's shape, with Clive Allen as the lone forward, was described by Pleat's admirers as 4-5-1, though some records list it as 4-4-2. It was the first season in which teams could name two substitutes for an FA Cup match.[1][12][14][4]

The final detonated immediately. Inside two minutes Chris Waddle crossed from the right and Clive Allen headed his 49th goal of the season past Steve Ogrizovic. Seven minutes later Coventry were level, Dave Bennett rounding Ray Clemence after Keith Houchen headed on a Greg Downs cross. Regis had a header disallowed for a push, and four minutes before half-time Glenn Hoddle's free kick went in off Gary Mabbutt to restore Tottenham's lead. The BBC commentary team first gave the goal as a Brian Kilcline own goal; it was officially credited to Mabbutt after the match.[3][5][9][13]

Midway through the second half Coventry equalised again with the final's enduring image. Bennett crossed from the right and Houchen launched himself full length to score with a diving header, a goal later voted the BBC Goal of the Season. Clemence saved from Houchen and Ogrizovic blocked a late Clive Allen shot with his foot, and with Kilcline injured and replaced by Graham Rodger in the 89th minute, the match went into extra time at 2-2.[3][5][17][26]

Six minutes into extra time came the decisive moment. Rodger sent Lloyd McGrath away down the right, his cross struck the backtracking Mabbutt's left knee, and the ball looped over the stranded Clemence into the net. It was a cruel way for any final to be settled, and a fanzine was later named for it. Tottenham sent on Nico Claesen but could not break Coventry down again, and the Sky Blues saw out the second period to win 3-2.[3][5][10][17]

Both managers were generous afterwards, Sillett crediting two sides who had shown the best of the English game and Pleat admitting Coventry deserved to finish in front. The consequences ran further than the scoreline. It was Hoddle's last match for Tottenham before his move to AS Monaco. Coventry's win should have taken them into the European Cup Winners' Cup, but the ban on English clubs after the Heysel disaster shut them out. Allen, who finished the season with a Tottenham record 49 goals, won both the FWA Footballer of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year awards.[1][4][16][13]

How the match unfolded

1. 2'Chris Waddle crosses from the right and Clive Allen beats Trevor Peake to the ball, heading past Steve Ogrizovic for his 49th goal of the season.[13][3]
2. 9'Coventry level. Greg Downs' deep cross is headed on by Keith Houchen to Dave Bennett, who rounds Ray Clemence and scores.[9][3]
3. midway through the first halfCyrille Regis heads in from a David Phillips long throw, but the goal is disallowed for a push on Mitchell Thomas.[5][9]
4. 41'Tottenham lead again. Glenn Hoddle's free kick goes in off Gary Mabbutt. The BBC commentary team initially gives it as a Brian Kilcline own goal; it is officially credited to Mabbutt after the match.[5][9]
5. 63'Keith Houchen throws himself full length at Dave Bennett's cross and scores with a diving header, later voted the BBC Goal of the Season. It is 2-2.[17][26][3]
6. 89'Coventry captain Brian Kilcline, injured in an earlier challenge on Mabbutt, is replaced by Graham Rodger.[5][9]
7. 91'Gary Stevens replaces Ossie Ardiles for Tottenham at the start of extra time.[5][9]
8. 96'Lloyd McGrath's cross loops off Gary Mabbutt's left knee and over Ray Clemence for an own goal. Coventry lead for the first time, 3-2.[17][10][3]
9. 97'Tottenham send on striker Nico Claesen for Chris Hughton as they chase the game.[5][9]
10. full-timeCoventry hold on through the second period of extra time to win 3-2 and lift the FA Cup for the first time in their history.[3][8]

Match facts

Date

Saturday 16 May 1987

Venue

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance

96,000The official attendance recorded across the standard match records. One Guardian retrospective and Coventry City's own 'On this day' feature give 98,000; see uncertainties.[1][6]

Referee

Neil Midgley (Manchester)[9]

Scorers

Clive Allen 2'
Dave Bennett 9'
Gary Mabbutt 41'
Keith Houchen 63'
Gary Mabbutt (own goal) 96'[3][7][8]

Half-time

1-2

Competition

1986-87 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

• The final ended a 104-year wait for a major trophy for Coventry, a club founded as Singers FC.[8][25][27]
• Both clubs recorded cup final songs. Chas and Dave's Hot Shot Tottenham! reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart; Coventry's Go for It reached number 61.[19][1]
• Clive Allen came into the final on 48 goals for the season. His opener was his 49th, a Tottenham club record that has never been topped.[14][13]
• Gary Mabbutt became the third player to score for and against his own club in an FA Cup final, after Bert Turner of Charlton Athletic in 1946 and Tommy Hutchison of Manchester City in 1981.[1][5][18]
• One of Coventry's fanzines is entitled Gary Mabbutt's Knee, in commemoration of the deciding goal.[1][6]
• Around 250,000 people lined the streets for Coventry's victory parade the day after the match, and the bells of the old Coventry Cathedral were rung for the first time in over a century.[23][24][27]
• The bus used for the victory parade, a 1973 Daimler Fleetline, is preserved as an exhibit at the Coventry Transport Museum.[20][21]
• Due to a kit mix-up, only half of the Tottenham players wore the Holsten sponsor on their shirts; the story made the front pages on the Monday after the final.[18][1][4]
• Keith Houchen had been suffering with food poisoning in the week of the final, from a trout caught by Coventry's reserve goalkeeper Jake Findlay.[4]
• The win was noted in the House of Commons the following spring, when industry minister and Coventry MP John Butcher admitted taking a minuscule amount of pride in the club's performance in the final.[28]

How well do you know the 1987 final?

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

1. Who scored Coventry's diving-header equaliser in the 1987 final?

   Keith HouchenCyrille RegisDave BennettMicky Gynn
   Answer

   Keith Houchen. Houchen threw himself full length at Bennett's cross to make it 2-2 in the 63rd minute; the goal was voted BBC Goal of the Season.[17][3]

2. How was the winning goal scored?

   Lloyd McGrath's cross deflected in off Gary Mabbutt's kneeGary Mabbutt headed in a Glenn Hoddle free kickDave Bennett scored from the penalty spotCyrille Regis scored from long range
   Answer

   Lloyd McGrath's cross deflected in off Gary Mabbutt's knee. Six minutes into extra time McGrath crossed from the right and the ball looped off Mabbutt's left knee and over Ray Clemence for an own goal.[17][10]

3. Who opened the scoring after just two minutes?

   Clive AllenChris WaddleGlenn HoddleGary Mabbutt
   Answer

   Clive Allen. Allen beat Trevor Peake to Waddle's cross and headed past Steve Ogrizovic for his 49th goal of the season.[13][3]

4. Who managed Coventry City to their 1987 triumph?

   John Sillett and George CurtisBobby GouldJimmy HillDon Mackay
   Answer

   John Sillett and George Curtis. George Curtis was manager with John Sillett as first-team coach, and the pair worked effectively as joint managers.[22][10]

5. What was the score at half-time?

   2-1 to Tottenham1-12-21-0 to Coventry
   Answer

   2-1 to Tottenham. Mabbutt's goal four minutes before the break restored Tottenham's lead after Bennett had cancelled out Clive Allen's opener.[3][9]

What is not settled

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

• Goal minutes vary by a minute between sources. The Football Wiki and Coventry City's own 'On this day' retrospective give Bennett 8, Houchen 62, Mabbutt 40 and the own goal 95; we follow the detailed minute-by-minute account and the BBC classic finals page: 2, 9, 41, 63, 96.
• The attendance is recorded as 96,000 in the standard match records, but a Guardian retrospective and Coventry City's official 'On this day' feature both give 98,000. We record the official 96,000.
• Tottenham's formation is listed as 4-4-2 in the match records, but contemporary praise of David Pleat's switch to 4-5-1, with Clive Allen as the lone forward, fits the team sheet better. We draw 4-5-1 and record the disagreement here.
• Tottenham's second goal was announced live as a Brian Kilcline own goal and officially credited to Gary Mabbutt only after the match; a few retrospective accounts still repeat the original attribution.
• Whether Coventry's George Curtis and John Sillett should be styled joint managers or manager and first-team coach varies between sources; contemporary accounts describe them as effectively joint managers.
• One Tottenham Hotspur feature captions the 1987 semi-final against Watford as a 4-0 win; the club's own interview with Clive Allen and the standard records give 4-1, which we use.

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's official results archive, 1986-87 season · The Football Association

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

Sources

1. 1987 FA Cup final · Wikipedia
2. 1986-87 FA Cup · Wikipedia
3. 1987 - FA Cup classics · BBC Sport
4. How Coventry City shocked Tottenham Hotspur to win the 1987 FA Cup final · The Guardian (That 1980s Sports Blog)
5. Coventry City 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur: 1987 FA Cup final - as it happened · The Guardian
6. 1987 FA Cup Final · Fandom
7. Results Archive - Emirates FA Cup · The Football Association
8. Club History · Coventry City FC
9. ON THIS DAY: Sky Blues lift the FA Cup in 1987 at Wembley! · Coventry City FC
10. ON THIS DAY: Coventry City win the 1987 FA Cup Final! · Coventry City FC
11. FA CUP 1987: The Road to Wembley · Coventry City FC
12. FA CUP 1987: A look at the Sky Blues squad · Coventry City FC
13. My Spurs life in pictures - Clive Allen · Tottenham Hotspur FC
14. 5Q | Clive Allen - Villa Park 1986 and 2026, hat-tricks, 49 goals and Spurs · Tottenham Hotspur FC
15. Five... strikers who played for Spurs and Chelsea · Tottenham Hotspur FC
16. Spurs' Ultimate Team - final line-up revealed! · Tottenham Hotspur FC
17. FA Cup Final classic goals: Houchen's diving header · The Football Association
18. The FA Cup Finalists 1980-1989 · Historical Football Kits
19. Official Singles Chart on 24/5/1987 · Official Charts Company
20. Sky Blues Bus · Coventry Transport Museum
21. Former transport museum worker recalls driving Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup winning squad on victory · Coventry Transport Museum
22. John Sillett: Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup-winning manager dies aged 85 · BBC Sport
23. Your Life: The day Coventry City ruled Wembley · Coventry Telegraph
24. Coventry City legendary FA Cup duo to be immortalised with new CBS Arena statue · Coventry Telegraph
25. Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur 32 years on · Coventry Telegraph
26. Coventry City: Is Keith Houchen's header the best FA Cup final goal ever? · Coventry Telegraph
27. Obituary: John Sillett, former Coventry City manager who guided side to 1987 FA Cup win · iNews
28. Enterprise Initiative, HC Deb 04 March 1988 vol 128 cc1296-329 · UK Parliament (Historic Hansard)

Elsewhere in the encyclopedia

Other finals involving these clubs

• 1991 Tottenham Hotspur: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Other finals at Wembley Stadium

• 1923 Bolton Wanderers 2-0 West Ham United
• 1953 Blackpool 4-3 Bolton Wanderers
• 1971 Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
• 1973 Sunderland 1-0 Leeds United
• 1979 Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
• 1988 Wimbledon 1-0 Liverpool

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