'I had no idea what it meant'
Mark Robins
Then: Scorer of 'the goal that saved Fergie’ in 1990
I had no idea that goal against Nottingham Forest would become so important in the history of Manchester United. How could I at the time? Nobody knew it was a pivotal moment for Sir Alex Ferguson.
If the manager was under intense pressure at the time, we had no idea. If he was, he kept it away from the players. He hid it really well, there was no sign he was feeling any strain or that we were under any extra pressure going into the game. He protected us. He was a terrific manager and thank God we got through.
I was just a young lad, there were a lot of injuries and I’d scored my first league goal the week before so I kept my place in the team.
We knew it was a big game because it was live on television, but you are not too aware of anything else going on.
After Mark Robins' goal, United went on to win the FA Cup that season
There was always a big thing about Brian Clough never winning the FA Cup and they were probably a lot more fancied than we were. It was a long time ago, but the memories are still very vivid. It has followed me around for the last 26 years and I suspect it is something that always will.
I read what Sir Alex Ferguson said about it and it made laugh. I remember the ball being on the touchline and Lee Martin playing the ball to Mark Hughes. They thought the ball had crossed the line for a throw-in, but it hadn’t. Mark Hughes put in a sublime pass, with the outside of his foot, and it sat up nicely for me to run on to and hit into the far corner.
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I’d always been told to hit the ball back in the direction it had come but Sir Alex wrote in his book that normally I would have run on to the ball and flicked it into the other corner and missed. But, because Stuart Pearce pushed me in the back, he made me put it into the far corner. It was the goal that began my journey in professional football.
After the game, all we knew was that beating Forest was a big, big boost. We could not have known that win would set us on our way to winning the FA Cup.
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When you are 20, as I was at the time, all you are worried about is keeping your place in the side and I knew that goal would help me do that.
Although, my goal in the Third Round is the one everybody keeps asking me about, for me, the winner I scored against Oldham in the semi-final, was far more significant because it got us to the final at Wembley.
Now: Manager of Scunthorpe United, who take on Chelsea in the Cup on Sunday.
'I was 37... what a way to go out’
Mickey Thomas
Then: Scorer of heroic equaliser against Arsenal in 1992
I could never forget what happened on Jan 4, 1992, even if I wanted to. Every single day of the week, someone will remind me of it. And I love it . When Wrexham beat Arsenal, it was the biggest FA Cup third-round upset ever.
We had come bottom of the Football League the previous season. We had stayed out of the Conference only by default, after Aldershot got kicked out for financial reasons. And Arsenal had won the league. We were 91 places apart. I remember thinking when the draw was made: “Oh well, at least we’ll get a nice pay-off for being thrashed.” And how the club needed the money. They had stopped ordering milk at the training ground, so you had to have your tea black, that was how serious it was.
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We had got a bit of a run going and, as the game with Arsenal drew closer, the more you thought: you never know, shocks do happen. And we had a stroke of luck on the day when it turned out Ian Wright was not playing. Mind, they still had seven current England internationals in their team.
Before kick-off, as captain I had to go to the referee’s room for a briefing. George Graham and Tony Adams were standing there, absolutely immaculate. And there was me, holes in my socks, holes in my shorts.
Mickey Thomas (right) smiles after his famous goal
In the dressing room, Gordon Davies and I, the senior pros, tried to have a bit of fun. Davies stood up and said: “Nothing to worry about here, guys.” And he had a whole roll of toilet paper coming out of his shorts. So, we all went out on the pitch laughing. That stopped pretty quickly as they battered us in the first half. Paul Merson on the wing was tearing us apart. They only scored once, right at the end of the half, but they must have gone into their dressing room thinking they would win by eight. To be fair, we thought the same. But the longer it went on without them getting another, the more we began to believe we had a chance. Then we got the free-kick with not long left.
I’m not saying I watch it on YouTube every day (maybe just once a week) but I can remember every detail. I had practised a free-kick in training on the Thursday and wellied it – although it did go over the crossbar. But I said: “I’m taking this.” We had two players in the wall and I just aimed for them. Luckily they got out the way. Even now, I will never know how I got that power. But, wow, I have to admit, it was a blockbuster. I feel sorry for Steve Watkin, who got the winning goal, because it is mine that everyone remembers.
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It was a massive goal for me. I was 37, what a way to go out. I had been in the Man United side who had lost at the death in the Cup final to Arsenal in 1979, so it was payback. I looked at the clock after I had scored. It said eight minutes to go, and my first thought was: “Great, I’ll be in the bar in 10.”
That didn’t happen. It took me an age to get off the pitch. It was incredible what it meant to the fans. But what has really stuck with me was the reaction of the Arsenal team. I had made a deal with David Seaman before the game that he would give me his gloves. I thought it would be the only thing I would be getting out of the game. And he waited for me in the tunnel to give them to me. That is real class.
Now: Thomas lives in North Wales and works for local radio in Manchester as an analyst for United matches.
'I’ve never had a feeling like it’
Sergio Torres
Then: Scored the 92nd-minute winner when Crawley, then of the Conference, beat Derby, of the Championship, 2-1 in 2011.
Half an hour before kick off I got the terrible news that Richard Butcher, an ex-team mate of mine at Lincoln, had passed away. Awful. And I don’t know if it was that, but I went on the pitch with this feeling inside that I was going to score. I’ve never had it before or since. Derby were in the Championship, we were in the Conference, there was no reason for such confidence. But I just had this feeling I’d score.
The weather was terrible, it never stopped raining. It was really tough going. With about ten minutes left, I saw my number go up on the substitution board and I was ready to come off. But one of the other lads went down with cramp and the gaffer decided he should go off instead of me. So I stayed on. And then, in added time, I had a shot at goal. I thought it was going in, but a defender cleared it off the line, out for a corner. I thought, that was it, my chance to score had gone. But from the corner, the ball dropped to me and I just hit it. When it went in the net, I went crazy, lost myself in celebration. That feeling was the best I’ve ever had in football.
Craig McAllister, Sergio Torres and Dean Howell celebrate Crawley's giantkilling
Seconds later the final whistle went and the pitch was invaded by supporters. Everyone was so happy, because we knew in next round it was Torquay from League Two, and we thought we had a chance. We did beat them and then came the dream draw in the fifth round, away at Man United. So that goal was so important. And it’s never been forgotten. I had an email just yesterday from one of Crawley’s supporters, inviting me to a five year anniversary dinner celebrating that victory. That will be fun.
Now: Torres plays for Whitehawk in the National League South.
'I’m still living it 27 years on’
Matt Hanlan
Then: Striker for non-League Sutton United in 1989 when they beat First Division Coventry City 2-1
It was a taste of the big time for us. Most of my family were there. There were 8,000 or 9,000 people in the ground. It was rocking. As the game went on, the more confidence we got. I looked around and thought: “We are holding our own. They’re not battering us.”
Mickey Stephens took a corner, there was a near-post flick-on and Tony [Rains] managed to get in front of his defender and scored a header which put us 1-0 up. Even after they equalised, we pushed on.
Mickey pulled the ball back to the edge of the penalty area. Phil Dawson ghosted in unmarked and clipped a lovely ball into the box. I arrived in front of the goal at the same time the ball did and the rest is history. I remember thinking, 'Don’t miss, don’t miss’. I remember it bouncing up at knee height or so, and thinking, 'Oh my God, don’t miss’. I just shot off on a curved run towards the stand… where my parents were sitting.
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We were bombarded for the last 15 minutes. They hit the bar, they hit the post, we could have carried on for another half-hour and maybe they still would not have got one in. The final whistle went and all hell broke loose. By the time Tony and I had got back into the dressing room, everyone else had gone, they were all in the bar so we sort of got changed in a rather subdued, quiet atmosphere.
I am thankful that I am remembered and the club are remembered and the game is still up there with the best. I have still got my shirt, still unwashed.
Would I have swapped these memories and that goal for a career as a professional? It is a tough choice. I am still living it [27] years on, so I’d probably go with this.
Now: Commercial director of a property company, RI Building Services, in Bromley.
'It was a game made for TV’
Ronnie Radford
Then: Scored one of the most famous Cup goals of all for non-League Hereford United in their 2-1 giantkilling of Newcastle United in 1972
For me, it is still like yesterday. When the FA Cup comes around, I look at the fixtures and I imagine how it is going to be for the lads at the non-League clubs. I will be looking out for Eastleigh this weekend, willing them on. I love the way the television coverage of the FA Cup now gives an insight into the non-League clubs. Because it does not just affect the players, or the team, the whole community gets a lift from a result like ours. It is a brilliant demonstration of the football pyramid working: on the day anyone can beat anyone.
The thing about the Newcastle game, I cannot remember any of us in the Hereford side being nervous. We were just full of adrenalin. We had a good team and were playing with plenty of confidence. We had had three games with Northampton in the previous round and we were relishing going up there. Really, there was no pressure on us.
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I had been with Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, so I knew how much League clubs hate playing against non-League. In fact, the year before, I had been at Newport and we had been turned over 6-1 by Barnet in the Cup. Funnily enough, Ricky George scored a hat-trick for Barnet that day and a year later, there was me and him turning out for Hereford.
In the first game at St James’ Park, what I will always remember was the reception by the Newcastle fans. I had never experienced anything like that, the generosity. But once the game got under way, all the hype, the build-up, everything just disappeared.
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When we got a replay, we honestly thought we would win it. And what a game that was, made for television. I was a carpenter at the time and I do not think some of my workmates realised I played football. Next thing they knew, I had scored that goal, all over national television.
And it has given me a memory no amount of money could buy. That is what I got out of football. Not money, but the fact people are still talking about it 44 years on. I have been blessed.
Now: Lives in Wakefield and enjoys watching football on TV with his grandchildren.
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