On this day (May 4) in 1974, Newcastle United lost 3-0 to Liverpool in the FA Cup final and were left embarrassed after a lacklustre performance in front of 100,000 supporters at Wembley Stadium.
A number of players were red-faced for pre-match comments made coupled with the manner of their defeat, so Newcastle fans won’t remember this game in a hurry.
The Magpies reached the final after beating Hendon 4-0 in their third-round replay, Scunthorpe United 3-0 in their fourth-round replay, West Bromwich Albion 3-0 in the fifth round, Nottingham Forest in the quarter-final replay and Burnley 2-0 in the semi-final.
Against Liverpool, however, they fell short due to a Kevin Keegan brace and Steve Heighway effort. Keegan netted before the hour mark with a fierce volley on the edge of the box. Heighway converted John Toshack’s cross midway through the second half to double Liverpool’s advantage.
Keegan then put the game to bed in the last few minutes of normal time, latching onto a flick-on from Tommy Smith to bury an effort past Willie McFaul.
Malcolm Macdonald promised to punish the Reds but didn’t deliver and Jackie Milburn declared himself embarrassed too.
In other news, Newcastle win FA Cup for the second consecutive season on this day in 1952
