Crystal Palace may never have won the FA Cup, but the 1990 final is best remembered for Ian Wright’s heroics.
Before becoming an Arsenal legend, Wright first made a name for himself when he scored twice off the bench for the Eagles against Manchester United in a thrilling showpiece 35 years ago.
As Oliver Glasner’s side prepare for their FA Cup final against Manchester City – their third appearance in the Wembley showpiece – fans will be hoping their current stars can take inspiration from one of their finest efforts in football’s oldest cup competition.
Back in 1990, Palace booked their spot at Wembley with a shock 4-3 win over an all-conquering Liverpool in the semi-finals.
The south Londoners stunned the reigning English champions with a line-up of players largely recruited from non-league and lower-league clubs, although Wright was a notable absentee.
Having been plucked from semi-professional Greenwich Borough in 1985, a broken leg meant the Gunners’ great was denied what would have been the biggest day of his career.
But the crowning moment of his six-year stint at Selhurst Park would soon come after he battled to get himself fit for the final.
As the Eagles walked out at Wembley against a Man United side managed by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson, and boasting stars like Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes, Wright was nowhere to be seen.
That is because the striker was named on the bench, having only just recovered from his injury in the nick of time for the showpiece event.
Reflecting on the game on the Match of the Day podcast in 2020, Wright revealed just how angry the decision had left him.
He said: “[I was] devastated because Crystal Palace got to the FA Cup finals, it’s a fairytale cup final as well because it’s against Manchester United, it’s Alex Ferguson.
“We went in as underdogs, and I was just devastated I wasn’t starting.
GettyBryan Robson levelled things up for Man United after Gary O’Reilly had given Palace an early lead[/caption]
GettyWright was forced to watch for long periods of a hotly-contested final[/caption]
“So when I did come on, I’ve got all that build up for the whole time, and we’re talking about weeks building up, the last week building up, and then you’re not playing.”
Despite the early disappointment, Wright got his chance in the 69th minute, when he was brought on to replace Phil Barber with Palace trailing 2-1 and in need of a goal.
Recalling his excitement at coming on, he continued: “I’m just sitting on the side, I thought I was going to burst into tears at one stage.
“When Phil Barber came off, I remember saying: ‘Nice one, Barbs’, to like say: ‘Come on Phil, get off!’, so I can get on.
“And all I thought in my mind was: ‘I don’t care where I am, where I get the ball, as soon as I get it, I’m having a shot. I’ve got to do something in the FA Cup final!’
But even Wright couldn’t have expected to make such an instant impact.
GettyAn eager Wright had just over 20 minutes to make an impact at Wembley[/caption]
GettyThe former England striker scored 13 goals in the 1989/90 season, including his FA Cup final brace[/caption]
Just three minutes after coming on, the striker weaved in between United defenders Mike Phelan and Gary Pallister before slotting past Jim Leighton in goal, before wheeling away in jubilation.
United were stunned and Wright admitted to being overcome with emotion, as he remembered: “Oh my god! My whole life was leading to this moment, I didn’t even realise it!
He went on: “When it went in, when I ran away, the emotion all just flooded up, from my boots right up to my face, it just went red-hot.
“And I ran away, contorted my face, and the only thing that snapped me out of the pure emotion and crying was because everybody bundled on top of me, and I don’t like bundles!”
And Wright’s joy didn’t stop there, as he then thought he had scored the winner when he volleyed home John Salako’s cross to put Palace 3-2 up in extra time.
On this, he admitted: “I just ran away, bewildered [like]: ‘What’s going on?’
GettyAfter losing the 1990 FA Cup Final, Wright would finally get his hands on the trophy three years later with Arsenal[/caption]
“I can’t lie to you, when we kicked off again, I was thinking: ‘Oh my God, I’ve got two goals in the FA Cup final, this is amazing! I can’t believe it, I’m going to be the hero’.”
Unfortunately for Wright, his goal wasn’t enough to secure an first-ever FA Cup triumph for the Eagles, who were seven minutes from glory when Mark Hughes equalised for United to force a replay.
A week later, the two sides met again at Wembley, with the Red Devils running out 1-0 winners to deny Palace a first-ever domestic trophy.
Despite the result however, Wright revealed just how life-changing the FA Cup final spectacle was for him, with his goalscoring exploits announcing him to the football world.
The 61-year-old recalled: “When I left the stadium after that first game, people knew me.
“They were coming up to me in the streets, I was kissing babies. It was unbelievable!”
He added: “It became so evident to me that something had changed in my life.”
And it wasn’t long before things changed even more dramatically for Wright, as he signed for Arsenal for a then club-record £2.5million fee the following year.
He went on to spent seven years at Highbury, where he won Premier League in 1998, as well as two FA Cups, scoring 185 times in the process to become the Gunners’ all-time leading goalscorer, a record which was later surpassed by Thierry Henry.
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace is on talkSPORT at 16:30 on Saturday 17 May
