History of the FA Cup in the FA's lawbook. The 1981 final contained what many consider to be the greatest ever final goal, scored by Tottenham's Ricky Villa who beat several players in a mazy run before slotting the ball home. In 1999, Ryan Giggs of Manchester United scored in extra time to defeat Arsenal 2–1 in FA Cup semi-final replay. The goal was voted the greatest in FA Cup history in 2003. History of the FA Cup The history of the FA Cup in association football dates back to 1871–72. Aside from suspensions during the First and Second World Wars, the competition has been
1954 FA Cup Final Port Vale were the opposition in the semi-final, which was played at the neutral venue of Villa Park in front of a near 70,000 crowd. Vale's Albert Leake opened the scoring before the break, but Albion equalised just after the hour when Jimmy Dudley's cross evaded the Vale goalkeeper Ray King and ended up in the net. Ronnie Allen, playing against his former team, scored the winning goal for Albion from a penalty kick, following a foul on George Lee. leading to scenes of wild celebration from the Albion supporters. 1954 FA Cup Final The 1954 FA Cup Final was