Tottenham Defeat Leeds United On Way to 1982 FA Cup Final Win over QPR

FA Cup 4th Round draw

Tottenham’s FA Cup 4th Round tie with Leeds United at Elland Road revives memories of a 4th Round game in 1982 which Spurs won as they progressed to a Wembley victory over Queen’s Park Rangers. In January, 1982 entered the FA Cup as holders after their win over Manchester City in the Centenary Cup Final. They defeated Arsenal, Leeds United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Leicester City on their way to the Final.

As Tottenham entered 1982, they were still striving for trophies in four competitions. They were 6th in the 1st Division, only five points behind leaders, Manchester City, but with three matches in hand. They had reached the 5th Round of the League Cup and were in the 3rd Round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. The 3rd Round draw for the FA Cup had thrown up an extra special tie for the first game of the new year.

The Road to Wembley

3rd Round: v Arsenal (h) Won 1 – 0  Crooks

The 3rd Round game had so much extra importance with Spurs as Cup holders, given the tie of the round – at home to North London neighbours, Arsenal. The two clubs had only met on one previous occasion in the FA Cup, Arsenal having won 3-0 in a 3rd Round game at Highbury in 1949.

A crowd of 38,421 watched a match that was settled by a Garth Crooks goal which went under the body of former Spurs goalkeeper, Pat Jennings. That unusual mistake was only part of Jennings’ misery that day as an injury saw him substituted later in the game.

4th Round: v Leeds United (h) Won 1 – 0  Crooks

Spurs again faced 1st Division opposition in a home match with Leeds United. As in the previous round, it was a very tight game and it was Garth Crooks who again provided the goal which took Spurs through to the next round for their third game against 1st Division opposition.

5th Round: v Aston Villa (h) Won 1 – 0  Falco

The 5th Round game was Spurs’ third home tie against 1st Division opponents and their third single goal victory. Mark Falco provided the solitary strike that defeated Aston Villa.

6th Round: v Chelsea (a) Won 3 – 2  Hazard, Archibald, Hoddle

It was a memorable match as Spurs won at Stamford Bridge against 2nd Division Chelsea who had defeated European Champions, Liverpool, in the previous round. Tottenham were in an all white strip with yellow socks and as the game progressed everything clicked for them. Chelsea had taken the lead just before the interval but in the second half gradually Spurs started to show their superior class with Glenn Hoddle giving a master class of ball control. It was only a matter of time before Spurs would score and it came when Steve Archibald poked the ball home after the Chelsea goalkeeper failed to hold a Hoddle free-kick. Spurs immediately stepped up a gear and within ten minutes were 3-1 ahead. The second goal was a masterpiece. Hoddle and Micky Hazard cut through the Chelsea midfield with an exchange of passes and, after Hazard’s flick had left them wrong-footed, Hoddle crashed a 25-yard drive past the goalkeeper. Hazard then confirmed Tottenham’s superiority with a coolly taken drive and although Chelsea pulled a goal back Spurs coasted home on a wave of possession football. The performance was even greater as Spurs had display their passing ability on a bare pitch with a very uneven bounce.

Semi-Final: v Leicester City (Villa Park) Won 2 – 0  Crooks, opp. o.g.

The semi-final game was played at Villa Park where Spurs met 2nd Division, Leicester City. It was a difficult game for everyone as Ossie Ardiles played his last game of the season for Spurs before his return to Argentina in preparation for the World Cup. There was the additional problem, however, of the Falklands War and Ardiles was constantly booed by the Leicester fans. Spurs eventually wore Leicester down in the second half when after 56 minutes Ardiles centred for Crooks to score. Leicester lost a player to injury and their ten men battled gamely but in the 76th minute conceded a soft own goal. The defender with many options to clear lifted his back pass over the goalkeeper’s head. This was a very comfortable semi-final victory for Spurs who returned to Wembley for a second successive year to meet Queens Park Rangers.

Final: v Queen’s Park Rangers (Wembley) Draw 1 – 1 (aet) Hoddle

At one point in the season Spurs had been campaigning for silverware on four fronts. They reached the League (Milk) Cup Final losing to Liverpool after extra time, having been ahead until the final minutes of normal time. They were beaten by a robust Barcelona team in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup and they had finished fourth in the League when fixture congestion in the final weeks of the season took its toll.

The FA Cup Final against 2nd Division, Queen’s Park Rangers, managed by Terry Venables, was now their last chance of a trophy. The Spurs team was missing the influential Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa who had been omitted because of the on-going hostilities of the Falklands War.

Venables, the master tactician, set up his team to deny Spurs and the plan was carried out to perfection by his players but it was restricted when his leading goalscorer, Clive Allen, was injured in the opening minutes. QPR stifled Tottenham’s creative midfield with man to man marking but Spurs still had enough chances to have won with ease but tiredness and injury were telling on the players and they were unable to make them count. When they did get shots on target the goalkeeper kept them at bay with a number of outstanding saves, while Ray Clemence had been a virtual spectator in the Spurs’ goal.

The game headed into extra time and in the 109th minute Glenn Hoddle struck taking a return pass from Graham Roberts. Only now did Rangers show an inclination to attack and with five minutes remaining Terry Fenwick, another future Spurs player, headed the equaliser when a long throw was flicked on to him at the back post.

Replay: v Queen’s Park Rangers (Wembley) Won 1 – 0 Hoddle (pen)

Spurs were unchanged for the replay but whereas in the previous season the excitement and quality of the replay made up for the tedium of the first game, this was not the case in the first half of this replay. Spurs set out to gain an early advantage and achieved that aim with a goal after six minutes. Graham Roberts won the ball in midfield and set off on a powerful run towards the QPR penalty area where he was brought down. A penalty was awarded and Glenn Hoddle sent the ball into the left corner as the goalkeeper dived to his right.

1982 FA Cup Final Rosette [Photo: Alan Hill]Spurs were unable to add to their goal as the game descended into a tedious midfield battle with neither side looking capable of scoring.

In the second half, QPR showed their attacking intentions and Spurs defence was under constant pressure with Ray Clemence having to make a number of vital saves. Spurs attacking moments were restricted to the occasional breakaway as Rangers put everything into getting an equaliser.  There were many close calls but Spurs held out with last gasp defending and retained the FA Cup at the end of an extremely long and tiring season. The QPR players had been the heroes of the second half but with no reward. When the final whistle blew Spurs had completed their 66th match of the season and captain, Steve Perryman had led from the front for every single minute of those games which had included a sequence of 19 matches in under eight weeks from early April.

Team: Clemence; Perryman (Captain), Price, Miller, Hughton; Hazard (Brooke), Hoddle, Roberts, Galvin; Archibald, Crooks.

Hoddle ‘Double’

Every Cup winning team has an outstanding player who makes the difference during their Cup run. For Tottenham, it was Glenn Hoddle in a team of ‘star’ players. Crooks had scored the winning goals in the early rounds and the first in the semi-final, Perryman had played every minute of the season and Roberts was totally committed but it was Hoddle who was so important to the team, orchestrating the play from midfield.

Hoddle was outstanding in a tough ‘derby’ in difficult conditions at Stamford Bridge and ensured that class won through. He had an ‘assist’ for the first goal and was involved in the build-up to the second goal before finishing the move with a spectacular shot. Hoddle scored the two goals at Wembley, staying calm to score from the penalty spot in the replay as an exhausted Tottenham team limped to the end of the season having achieved Spurs’ seventh FA Cup Final win.

Over to You!

What are your memories of Tottenham’s 1982 FA Cup win?   We’d love to hear them. COYS!