The 1990 FA Cup Final was a football match contested by Manchester United and Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, London, England. The match finished 3–3 after extra time. Bryan Robson and Mark Hughes (2) scored for United; Gary O’Reilly and Ian Wright (2) for Palace. Ian Wright had only recently returned from a broken leg that kept him out of the semi-final.

In the replay, United won 1-0 with a goal from Lee Martin – only the second goal he would score for the club. It saw them match Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur’s record of seven FA Cup triumphs. Crystal Palace, in contrast, had never played in either an FA Cup or Football League Cup final before.

The first game on the Saturday was an open attacking affair. Both teams had been involved in dramatic high-scoring semi-finals and the final started the same way. On 17 minutes, Crystal Palace took the lead when Gary O’Reilly headed in from a free-kick, via Gary Pallister’s head, despite the attempt of Jim Leighton to save the ball on the line.

Manchester United hit back on 35 minutes. Brian McClair made a run down the right wing and floated a cross to the back post, where captain Bryan Robson was waiting to head goalwards. His header flicked off John Pemberton’s shin and evaded Palace goalkeeper Nigel Martyn. It was 1-1 at half-time.

In the second half, United went ahead for the first time in the game, when a cross shot from Neil Webb found its way to Mark Hughes who fired low into the corner. Palace manager, Steve Coppell made a game-changing substitution when he brought on Ian Wright, who had an immediate impact when he went on a mazy run past two United defenders and slotted a calm shot past Leighton. 2-2. Extra time loomed but not before Mike Phelan saw his clever chip hit the crossbar.

Extra time was needed for the second final in a row, and it was Palace who scored first, when John Salako floated a cross to the back post. Leighton hesitated for a second, which allowed Wright to volley home for his second goal of the game. 3-2 to Crystal Palace. However, the scoring was not over, and in the second period of extra time, Wallace provided the through ball for Hughes to chase, and he calmly angled the ball past the onrushing Martyn to make it 3-3.

The main story of the replay was that Alex Ferguson decided to replace Jim Leighton in goal, with Les Sealey. Leighton never played for Manchester United again. Sealey made three important saves to keep Palace at bay, in a tough-tackling match.

The match itself was not as eventful as the first game, finishing 1-0. United won by through single goal scored by defender Lee Martin. He chested down a Neil Webb pass and fired high into the net, past Martyn in goal. Bryan Robson held aloft the Cup for the third time as captain.

It was Manchester United’s first major trophy under the management of Alex Ferguson.

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