FA Cup Final 1960
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| Event | 1959–60 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 7 May 1960 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Kevin Howley (Billingham) | ||||||
| Attendance | 98,954 | ||||||
The 1960 FA Cup Final was the 79th final of the world's oldest domestic football cup competition, the FA Cup. It took place on 7 May 1960 at Wembley Stadium in London. The match was contested by Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves won the game and the cup after a 3–0 victory, with a Norman Deeley double after Blackburn defender Mick McGrath had scored an own goal. This was Wolves' fourth and most recent FA Cup success.
This was the first time the FA Cup winners would be given a berth for European competition, into the newly-formed Cup Winners' Cup.
Wolverhampton Wanderers were clear favourites going into the match, having won the league title in the previous three seasons and only being denied a third successive championship during this season, after being pipped by just a single point by Burnley. Blackburn Rovers, on the other hand, had not had a great season, finishing in 17th place in only their second season back in top flight football. Both league games between the two during the season had been won by Wolves (3–1 and 1–0).
If current form favoured Wolves, Blackburn had the better FA Cup pedigree historically, with six triumphs already to their name, compared to Wolves' three. They had already displayed their cup strength by eliminating three of the top four clubs that season en route to the final – Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday.
The match was one of the warmest cup finals recorded, with many spectators having to be treated for fainting, leading to the game being played at a very sedate pace throughout. The opening 15 minutes set the tone for the contest in both pace and with both teams ruthlessly applying the offside trap to nullify their opponent (leading the TV commentator to eventually dub it 'The Offside Final').
As the half progressed Wolves began to gain control and seemed most likely to open the scoring, with Jimmy Murray mis-hitting with the goal before him. Despite this it was Blackburn who eventually had the most dangerous shot on target when Peter Dobing jinked through Wolves defence to fire at goal, but goalkeeper Malcolm Finlayson was able to block the shot.
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