Jesse Lingard celebrates scoring the winner in the 2016 FA Cup final

Match Rewind: Choose your favourite FA Cup final

Friday 20 March 2020 08:30

We hope you’ve been enjoying our ‘Match Rewind’ feature so far.

In the absence of live football, we’re running a poll every 48 hours that asks you to select a match from Manchester United’s rich and storied past, which we’ll then stream in full and for free on ManUtd.com and in the Official App.

Match Rewind: Which cup final will you choose? Video

Match Rewind: Which cup final will you choose?

At 19:00 GMT on Saturday, we'll stream one of four FA Cup finals! Watch a goal from each before voting for your pick...

Each poll is based on a specific theme and, as we were set to face Norwich City in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday, this time we’re asking you to choose your favourite from four FA Cup final classics.

The winner is due to be shown on Saturday at 19:00 GMT.

With 12 successes in this competition, there were plenty of matches for us to offer to you, but we’ve narrowed it down to the following four wonderful Wembley occasions…

UNITED 1-0 CRYSTAL PALACE (1989/90 REPLAY)

Five days after a 3-3 draw which had more twists and turns than your average Formula 1 race track, United and Palace met again at Wembley on a balmy Thursday night in mid-May. Alex Ferguson had made the difficult decision to replace regular goalkeeper Jim Leighton with the on-loan Les Sealey and the 32-year-old repaid his manager’s faith, making good saves with his feet to deny Andy Gray and substitute Ian Wright, who had so bedevilled the Reds the preceding Saturday. Eventually, the replay was settled by the unlikeliest of scorers, left-back Lee Martin latching on to Neil Webb’s crossfield ball to fire past Nigel Martyn. It was the first, and still only, time a side had lifted the cup without playing a single match at home.

Lee Martin's 1990 winner was one of only two he scored for the club.

UNITED 4-0 CHELSEA (1993/94)

Alex Ferguson’s side had swept all before them in the Premier League, finishing eight points clear of Blackburn Rovers to clinch a second consecutive title. Now, Glenn Hoddle’s Chelsea stood between us and a first-ever Double and the Blues made the trip across London in ebullient mood, having been responsible for two of our four league defeats. The capital club had the best of the first half at a wet Wembley, with Gavin Peacock – the goalscorer in each of those 1-0 reverses – clattering the crossbar with a shot from distance early on. United took charge after the interval, though. Eric Cantona slotted home from the spot after Denis Irwin was felled on the hour and then repeated the trick six minutes later. Mark Hughes made it three, effectively while the BBC were still broadcasting the replay of Frank Sinclair’s penalty-area foul on Andrei Kanchelskis, before Paul Ince selflessly squared for Brian McClair to tuck home and cap off a historic campaign.

Cantona scored twice as we became only the sixth English club to win the Double.

UNITED 2-0 NEWCASTLE (1998/99)

The second leg of the Treble success may not have had the drama of Barcelona, or even some of the FA Cup rounds (Liverpool? Arsenal!) which preceded it, but United recovered from the early setback of losing captain Roy Keane to see off a dangerous Newcastle side still smarting from losing to Arsenal at Wembley 12 months previously. Keane’s replacement Teddy Sheringham played a cute one-two with Paul Scholes before dispatching past Steve Harper to put us a goal to the good with virtually his first involvement and then turned provider for Scholes to secure a fourth cup win in a decade shortly after half-time. Keane, who would, of course, have missed the forthcoming Champions League final through suspension anyway, limped up Wembley’s famous 39 steps to collect the trophy.

Roy Keane and Alex Ferguson jump for joy as we clinch the second leg of the Treble.

UNITED 2-1 CRYSTAL PALACE (2015/16)

It looked as if Palace would gain revenge for their 1990 heartbreak when Jason Puncheon beat the offside trap to open the scoring midway through the second-half. But captain Wayne Rooney had other ideas, weaving through virtually the entire Palace team before crossing for Juan Mata to equalise, via Marouane Fellaini’s hefty chest. Cue extra-time then, and another setback, when Chris Smalling was shown a second yellow card for dragging down Yannick Bolasie as the Eagles threatened to break. Not to worry, though: Academy graduate Jesse Lingard was on hand to spectacularly volley home and spark wild celebrations in the United end.

HOW TO VOTE

Now you’ve brought those memories back to the front of your mind, it’s time to vote in the Match Rewind live blog.

Don't hesitate! The poll will close at 16:00 GMT on Saturday, with the winner being streamed in full and for free, on ManUtd.com and in the Official App, from 19:00 GMT on the same day.

Reading this in our app? If not, you might miss some exclusive features not found on ManUtd.com. Download the Official App here.

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