1985 FA Cup Final - Manchester United v Everton

The 1985 FA Cup Final saw two big teams face each other. Everton had been in the doldrums for a few years, but under Howard Kendall he created a side who became a powerhouse in the mid 1980's and who in 1985 were attempting to win a treble of trophies, after winning the League (by a then record 13pts of nearest challengers Liverpool) and the European Cup Winners' Cup, and were in their 2nd successive FA Cup Final hoping to complete the treble. Their opponents in the final were Ron Atkinson's Manchester United, who were in their 'fallow' period, but still a decent cup side, although they had been beaten 5-0 by Everton in the League. However, the last time a team was on for the treble it was Everton's rivals Liverpool in 1977, and it was United who ended that dream in the FA Cup Final. Both teams had big players for the game: Everton had Peter Reid, Andy Grey, Kevin Ratcliffe, Neville Southall, Graeme Sharp and Paul Bracewell, to name a few. United had Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Gordon Strachan, Paul McGrath, Frank Stapleton and Norman Whiteside. Expectations for the Final between two powerhouses was huge, and the match itself was evenly and fiercely contested. It wasn't the thriller that pundits had hoped for, but it was a fascinating contest to see just who would prevail. Then, with 10 minutes to go referee Peter Willis decided to send United's Kevin Moran off for a last man tackle on Everton's Peter Reid (a first in the FA Cup), and that spurred United on to pound the Everton goal. However, the game went into extra time, and it was Everton who then dominated the match. But then one moment of magic settled the game late on, and wrote their name into the record books... This is from my own collection, so apologies in advance for any picture quality issues there may be. It is also the first FA Cup Final I remember seeing on the TV, so holds some fondness for me, even if it didn't prove the usual classic that the FA Cup could produce. It is, however, a fascinating time capsule of how great a club Everton were in that era - something that is hard to imagine of late, but this is proof that in the mid 1980's they were as good a club as their legendary Merseyside rivals Liverpool.