Let me fast forward now to the 1980 FA Cup semi-final replay against Everton. On the previous Saturday, the teams had fought a well-contested draw at Villa Park. Both goalkeepers had a fine game and played a significant part in keeping their team in the competition. Big Phil Parkes was our keeper that day. The replay was a mid-week game played under floodlights at Ellen Road. At the end of normal time it was goalless, which meant we had to play thirty minutes of extra time.
Devonshire opened the scoring and the time it looked as if we were going to hang on in there to scrape a one-goal victory. Then Bob Latchford popped up to score an equaliser for Everton. I was in the crowd that night and can recall the West Ham fans never lost heart; we kept singing and urging the team on to make one last effort. The fans were like the twelfth man and we easily out sung the opposition fans. What happened next went down in West Ham folk lore. Brooking picked up a half hearted Everton clearance out on the right. He caressed the ball as only Brooking could, into the eighteen yard box right on the head of David Psycho Cross who in turn, nodded the ball towards the penalty spot into the path of Frank Lampard who was uncharacteristically in the opposition’s area. Lampard dived to head the ball, which beat the keeper easily and it went in off the post for the winner. What happened next is legendary; Lampard ran out to the corner and did his famous jig round the corner post. The West Ham fans were ecstatic that night and we danced the conga in the stands. Our coach rolled into the Boleyn around 3.30AM but who cared, we had just seen one of the clubs favourite players score one of our most memorable goals to seal our place in our third final in the post war years.
The Lampard goal set the stage nicely for another of the club’s most famous goals scored by one of the clubs all-time greats, Sir Trevor Brooking. Sir Trev was never known for his heading prowess but in the 1980 FA Cup Final he rewrote history as he scored the only goal of the game against Arsenal with his head. West Ham started this game as the underdogs as we were the upstarts from Division 2 playing one of the elite teams from Division 1 – the Premier League did not exist at the time. In fact, I believe we are the last team from outside of the top flight to win a major trophy. Not only was this game famous for the Brooking headed goal, Paul Allen made history as being the youngest player at the time ever to play in an FA Cup Final.
It was during the first half when the ball broke kindly to Stuart Pearce out on the flank. Pearson started to cut in as best as his dodgy knees would let him and he hit a shot come cross that flew across the goalmouth. Sir Trev not usually known for his speed, was first to react and he stooped just in front of goal and headed the ball wide of Pat Jennings. We clung on dearly for the rest of the match to run out one nil winners. This goal made my all time greats list because firstly it was a Sir Trev’s headed goal which is unique in itself and secondly, because it helped us give Arsenal a bloody nose.