1949 FA Cup final
Event | 1948–49 FA Cup | ||||||
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Date | 30 April 1949 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
Referee | Reg Mortimer (Huddersfield) | ||||||
Attendance | 98,920 | ||||||
The1949 FA Cup finalwas the 68th final of theFA Cup.It took place on 30 April 1949 atWembley Stadiumand was contested betweenWolverhampton WanderersandLeicester City.Wolves had finished sixth in theFirst Divisionthat seasonand had several England internationals among their ranks, while Leicester had narrowly avoided relegation from theSecond Divisionand were making their first Wembley appearance.
Wolves won the match 3–1, thus winning the FA Cup for the third time.Jesse Pye(2) andSammy Smythscored Wolves' goals, withMal Griffithsreplying for Leicester. CaptainBilly Wrightwas presented with the cup byPrincess Elizabeth.
Road to Wembley
[edit]Leicester City
[edit]3rd Round | Leicester City | 1–1 | Birmingham City | |
3rd Round (Replay) | Birmingham City | 1–1 | Leicester City | |
3rd Round (2nd Replay) | Leicester City | 2–1 | Birmingham City | |
4th Round | Leicester City | 2–0 | Preston North End | |
5th Round | Luton Town | 5–5 | Leicester City | |
5th Round (Replay) | Leicester City | 5–3 | Luton Town | |
6th Round | Brentford | 0–2 | Leicester City | |
Semi-final | Portsmouth | 1–3 | Leicester City[1] | |
(atHighbury) |
Wolverhampton Wanderers
[edit]3rd Round | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6–0 | Chesterfield | |
4th Round | Sheffield United | 0–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
5th Round | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–1 | Liverpool | |
6th Round | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | West Bromwich Albion | |
Semi-final | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Manchester United | |
(atHillsborough) | ||||
Semi-final (Replay) | Manchester United | 0–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | |
(atGoodison Park) |
Match summary
[edit]Wolves started determinedly and took a 13th-minute lead whenJesse Pye,who had been preferred toDennis Wilshaw,stooped to head in an inch-perfectHancockscross. Leicester kept Wolves at bay until almost half-time, when Pye collected the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, after the Foxes had struggled to clear a corner, and turned to slam it home for his second.
Leicester brought the game to life immediately after the interval courtesy ofMal Griffiths,who flicked the ball home after Williams parried Chisholm's initial effort. Within minutes, they believed they were level only for a narrow offside decision to rule out Chisholm's finish.Sammy Smythquickly turned the game around when he picked up the ball in the centre circle and drove through the Leicester defence before hitting the ball low into the far corner to make it 3–1 and clinch the cup forMolineuxmen for the third time in their history. It was the first of five major trophies that they would win under the management of Stan Cullis.
Leicester were without two of their key players for the game, both of them ruled out by injury. GoalkeeperIan McGrawwas unable to play due to a broken finger, whileDon Reviehad suffered a nose injury.
Match details
[edit]Leicester City | 1–3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
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Griffiths47' | Report | Pye13',42' Smyth64' |
Leicester City
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Wolverhampton Wanderers
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References
[edit]- ^"The Giant Killers".Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2020.Retrieved6 January2019.