Football’s Greatest Goals No.45
This week’s ‘Greatest Goal’ comes from Sheffield Wednesday in the 1993 FA Cup Semi Final.
Both of the 1993 FA Cup Semi Finals were derby matches. Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday played each other on Saturday 3rd April and Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur played the following day.
Due to the level of interest that these games attracted, the Football Association decided that both ties should be played at Wembley. The national stadium was usually reserved for only the Final, but as Arsenal and Tottenham had both played there two years before in the Semi Final, it seemed the only logical step.
In the ‘Steel City Derby’ played by both Sheffield clubs, the game was less than a minute old when Wednesday won a free kick over 30 yards from goal.
Wednesday sent players up into the United penalty area as it looked like try to score from an indirect free kick would be the better option. Chris Waddle thought otherwise…
United were so certain that whoever would take the free kick for Wednesday would try and cross the ball in, that they decided to only put one man in the wall. This job was given to midfielder Mitch Ward and he could do nothing to stop the free kick.
When the referee’s whistle was blown to signal that the free kick could be taken, Chris Waddle came running in from the right and thumped the ball hard with his left foot. It flew past Mitch Ward and inside the near post, giving Alan Kelly absolutely no chance in the Sheffield United goal.
Alan Cork equalised for United a minute before half time and the score remained 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.
Mark Bright headed in from a corner in Extra Time to give Wednesday a 2-1 win and a place in their second Cup Final of the season.
Wednesday had lost the Coca Cola Cup Final to Arsenal at Wembley earlier in the season and found out the next day that they would again play Arsenal at Wembley.
Wednesday lost 2-1 to Arsenal in the FA Cup Final in a replay after the first match ended in a 1-1 draw. Chris Waddle’s special free kick in the Semi against their bitter rivals was one of the highlights of their Cup run and is still talked about to this day.
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