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1995 FA Cup Final
Event1994–95 FA Cup
DateMay 20, 1995 (1995-05-20)
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Player of the MatchDave Watson (Everton)
RefereeGerald Ashby (Worcestershire)
Attendance79,592
1994
1996

The 1995 FA Cup Final – the 50th Wembley FA Cup Final to be held since the Second World War – was contested between Everton and Manchester United on Saturday, 20 May 1995. Everton won the match 1–0 via a headed goal by Paul Rideout, after Graham Stuart's shot rebounded off the crossbar. The rest of the game from this point onwards saw Manchester United dominating the attack, only for Welsh international goalkeeper Neville Southall, to make a series of saves, including a double block, the second of which was performed with his foot.

Everton had secured Premier League safety two weeks earlier, and Manchester United, double-winners the previous season, had lost their league crown the previous Sunday to Blackburn Rovers. United had to play the final without three of their most important players: Eric Cantona (suspended), Andrei Kanchelskis (injured), and Andy Cole (cup-tied). Between them, those three players had scored 41 goals during the season. Kanchelskis was signed by Everton later in 1995, meaning that he never played for United again. The final was also the last game that Paul Ince and Mark Hughes (who had contributed greatly to United's successes under the management of Alex Ferguson) played for United, as they both moved to new clubs within weeks of the final. However, the game saw some promising performances from breakthrough players Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes, who would all go on to win numerous major honours for the club. Neville and Scholes (along with Ryan Giggs) were the United players who featured in the final and were still with the club 15 years on.

Everton also had their weaknesses, they played most of the match without Duncan Ferguson (injured). It had been a Ferguson header which sunk Man Utd at Goodison three months earlier. Also they were missing Jason Kearton in goal. In his only match in the 1994/95 season against Aston Villa, he kept a clean sheet. Also, defender Earl Barrett was cuptied.

Everton, meanwhile, had escaped from a relegation dogfight which had seen them make their worst start to a league campaign (8 points from a possible 42 after 14 games), with a superbly successful cup run which saw them reach Wembley having conceded only one goal (a penalty for Jürgen Klinsmann of Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final, which Everton won 4–1).

It was Everton's first major trophy since they won the league championship eight years earlier, and is their most recent major trophy to date.

In contrast, Manchester United (who had been beaten to the Premier League title by Blackburn Rovers a week earlier) were left without a major trophy for the first time since the 1988–89 season and were denied the opportunity to become the first club to win the FA Cup nine times.

This was the last time that an English manager had won the FA Cup, as well as the last time a club outside of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United had won the FA Cup until 2008, when Harry Redknapp managed Portsmouth to victory.

The trophy was presented to Everton captain Dave Watson by The Prince of Wales, whose sons Princes William and Harry were attending their first FA Cup Final.

Road to Wembley[]

Everton[]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Everton 1–0 Derby County

Round 4: Bristol City 0–1 Everton

Round 5: Everton 5–0 Norwich City

Round 6: Everton 1–0 Newcastle United

Semi-final: Everton 4–1 Tottenham Hotspur (at Elland Road, Leeds)

Manchester United[]

Home teams listed first.

Round 3: Sheffield United 0–2 Manchester United

Round 4: Manchester United 5–2 Wrexham

Round 5: Manchester United 3–1 Leeds United

Round 6: Manchester United 2–0 Queens Park Rangers

Semi-final Manchester United 2–2 Crystal Palace (at Villa Park, Birmingham)

(replay) Manchester United 2–0 Crystal Palace

Match details[]

20 May 1995
15:00 BST
Everton 1–0 Manchester United Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 79,592
Referee: Gerald Ashby (Worcestershire)
Rideout Goal 30' Report
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Everton
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Manchester United
GK 1 Flag of Wales Neville Southall
RB 2 Flag of England Matt Jackson
CB 5 Flag of England Dave Watson (c)
CB 26 Flag of England David Unsworth
LB 6 Flag of England Gary Ablett
RM 17 Flag of Sweden Anders Limpar Substituted off in the 69th minute 69'
CM 18 Flag of England Joe Parkinson
CM 10 Flag of Wales Barry Horne
LM 3 Flag of England Andy Hinchcliffe
SS 8 Flag of England Graham Stuart
CF 15 Flag of England Paul Rideout Substituted off in the 51st minute 51'
Substitutes:
GK 13 Flag of Australia Jason Kearton
FW 9 Flag of Scotland Duncan Ferguson Substituted on in the 51st minute 51'
FW 11 Flag of Nigeria Daniel Amokachi Substituted on in the 69th minute 69'
Manager:
Flag of England Joe Royle
Everton vs Man Utd 1995-05-20.svg
GK 1 Flag of Denmark Peter Schmeichel
RB 27 Flag of England Gary Neville
CB 4 Flag of England Steve Bruce (c) Substituted off in the 45th minute 45'
CB 6 Flag of England Gary Pallister
LB 3 Flag of Republic of Ireland Denis Irwin
RM 16 Flag of Republic of Ireland Roy Keane
CM 8 Flag of England Paul Ince
CM 9 Flag of Scotland Brian McClair
LM 5 Flag of England Lee Sharpe Substituted off in the 72nd minute 72'
CF 10 Flag of Wales Mark Hughes
CF 19 Flag of England Nicky Butt
Substitutes:
GK 13 Flag of England Gary Walsh
MF 11 Flag of Wales Ryan Giggs Substituted on in the 45th minute 45'
FW 24 Flag of England Paul Scholes Substituted on in the 72nd minute 72'
Manager:
Flag of Scotland Alex Ferguson

Match officials

  • Assistant referees:
    • Steve Bennett (Kent)
    • Mark Warren (Birmingham)
  • Fourth official: Steve Lodge (South Yorkshire)

Man of the match

  • Flag of England Dave Watson (Everton)

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Replay required if scores still level
  • Three named substitutes
  • Maximum of two substitutions

External links[]

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