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Great FA Cup derbies

ESPN staff
April 13, 2012
Mark Bright's extra-time winner earned Sheffield Wednesday a place in the 1993 FA Cup final © Getty Images
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In what is a huge weekend for Merseyside, Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final with Everton is live on ESPN this Saturday. Click here for details on how you can tune in to the exclusive coverage

Ahead of Liverpool v Everton this weekend, we look at some great FA Cup clashes between rival clubs...

Sheffield United 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday, semi-final, 1993
Sheffield United, playing at Wembley for the first time since 1936 after fan demand forced the fixture to be moved from Elland Road, were undone by some vintage Chris Waddle. Wednesday legend Waddle, out of favour with the England management at the time, offered a reminder of his talents with a 20-yard free kick to open the scoring, only for Alan Cork - who, sporting the always-flattering combover-and-beard look, looked a good 20 years older than he was (34) - to equalise. Extra time ensued, and Mark Bright won it for the Owls in the 107th minute. In a cruel twist, Wednesday would go on to lose the final replay in extra time, courtesy of a header from Arsenal's Andy Linighan, who outjumped Bright to score.

Everton 4-4 Liverpool, fifth round, 1991
A terrific match which was given extra resonance by the fact it was Kenny Dalglish's last in charge (of that spell) before stepping down a couple of days later on health grounds. A host of legends on the scoresheet - Peter Beardsley, Graeme Sharp, Tony Cottee, Ian Rush, John Barnes - as not even extra-time could separate the clubs. The second replay ended with Everton triumphing 1-0 - but it was Tottenham who went on to win the cup in that season by beating Nottingham Forest.

Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Arsenal, semi-final, 1991
Before beating Forest, Spurs came through a classic against their North London rivals. It was a game that featured all of Paul Gascoigne, the bizarre and the brilliant, as he unleashed a 30-yard howitzer to open the scoring, just 34 days after an abdominal operation threatened his involvement. Predictably enough, Gascoigne was withdrawn, out on his feet, after an hour - but he had done his damage with a goal that would echo throughout history. Gary Lineker grabbed a couple, and Arsenal's dreams of the Double were in tatters.

Wayne Rooney's header put Manchester United on course for victory at the Etihad Stadium © Getty Images
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Chelsea 1-0 Fulham, semi-final, 2002
Shortly after Claudio Ranieri signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea in 2002 - that didn't work out very well, did it? - he led the Blues past Fulham in a semi-final at Villa Park. Newly-promoted Cottagers - who had the likes of Louis Saha and Edwin van der Sar in their team - went in as underdogs against the pre-Roman Abramovich Chelsea outfit. But it was one of their durable stars - John Terry - who scored the goal that separated the teams. The Cottagers, a fine footballing side under Jean Tigana, had plenty of the ball - yet never managed to force a way through. In the final, Arsenal were too good for Ranieri's men, many of whom left the club not long afterwards.

Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United, third round, 2012
Beware a wounded Manchester United side. Still sore from the 6-1 thumping City had inflicted on them early in the season at Old Trafford, a United team (that surprisingly featured the 'retired' Paul Scholes on the bench) stormed into a 3-0 lead at half-time against their ten-man opponents, who had skipper Vincent Kompany sent off. But this was a City outfit who looked like they were destined for the Premier League title, and they showed real resolve in the second period, with Sergio Aguero and Aleksandar Kolarov pulling it back to 3-2. A nervy finish ensued, but United held on - and didn't look back as they stormed to the top of the league.

QPR 2-4 Chelsea, quarter-final, 1970
An always-lively rivalry that was given extra spice because QPR featured two former Chelsea players - Terry Venables and Barr Bridges - in the starting XI. On what was a poor playing surface, the Blues raced into a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes, before Venables got one back against his former side. The Hoops looked like they may have enough about them to force an equaliser, until a quick one-two punch from Peter Osgood, who completed his hat-trick, put the result beyond doubt - although QPR managed a late consolation. Chelsea went on to beat Leeds in a final replay.

Liverpool 3-2 Everton, final, 1989
Coming just five weeks after the horrors of Hillsborough, nobody would have argued with Liverpool or Everton had they decided not to play the match. The show did go on, in what was dubbed the 'friendly final', where Merseyside unity was the name of the day. Liverpool, who led through John Aldridge, seemed destined for victory until an 89th-minute equaliser from Stuart McCall. McCall scored again in extra time - but Ian Rush netted twice to send the cup to Anfield.

AFC Wimbledon gave it their all against Millwall, but came up short in the end © Getty Images
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Norwich City 1-1 Ipswich Town, fourth round, 1962
This match, which took place at Carrow Road, featured the highest attendance in an East Anglian derby: 39,890 cramming in to watch the 1-1 draw. Terry Allcock's fine header handed the Canaries an advantage, before Jimmy Leadbetter grabbed a dramatic equaliser. Norwich won the replay at Portman Road 2-1, before losing 3-1 away to Sheffield United in the fifth round.

Millwall 4-1 AFC Wimbledon, first round, 2009
AFC Wimbledon, a club so intrinsically linked to the Wimbledon team that famously won the FA Cup 1988, had their first competitive South London derby when they lined up against Millwall in 2009. Where the Wimbledon side of Dave Beasant et al performed a remarkable feat of giant-killing, their less-illustrious counterparts fell short - although they battled hard against a side ranked 51 places higher in the league tables, only to fold late on as Danny Schofield and Jason Price struck to give the scoreline a flattering look for Millwall.

Burnley 3-3 Blackburn Rovers, sixth round, 1960
Burnley, third in the first division, took on their East Lancashire rivals, who were ten places lower in the table. Rovers produced a remarkable comeback, scoring three times after the 70th minute to earn themselves a replay. Rovers would complete their fightback at Ewood Park on the following Wednesday when they ran out 2-0 winners - however, Burnley had the last laugh, winning the league title with a final-day win over Manchester City.

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