THE WOMBLES AT WEMBLEY-WONDERFUL

May 14th 1988.

Liverpool had just been crowned, once again, Champions of the English First Division ( as the top division was known then) and were the all-conquering giants of English football throughout the 1980s. Wimbledon had just finished seventh in the First Division that season, only their second year in the top tier. Liverpool, with a team full of international star players, were strongly expected and favoured to win the 1988 FA Cup by all the experts, as the Merseysiders had secured their 17th league title, by playing in an exciting and flamboyant style. Wimbledon, who had been playing in the semi-professional Southern Football League, just eleven years earlier, were derided by many pundits as being technically limited and dismissed as relying only on their strength, and were expected to have almost no chance of beating their illustrious opponents. However, there was to be a major upset. 

In a tantilising  FA Cup Final, Wimbledon survived massive pressure from Liverpool to secure their only major trophy,  notably upsetting the "history books". Lawrie Sanchez scored the only goal of the game after 37 minutes. The Dons', Captain, David Beasant, became only the second goalkeeper to lift the FA Cup as a result. The first was The Royal Engineers' goalkeeper, captain Major William Merriman, who lifted the Cup in 1875.

Having lived in the top flight of the English Football League for 14 years, on the same day as their cup triumph 12 years earlier, their stay in the Premier League came to an end when in 2000, Wimbledon lost a League match to Southampton at The Dell and Bradford City managed a surprise victory over Liverpool, which meant The Dons were relegated.  Remember the success brought by manager Bobby Gould

1988 FA Cup final

Event	1987–88 FA Cup
Liverpool Wimbledon 0 1
Date	14 May 1988
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Dave Beasant (Wimbledon)
Referee	Brian Hill (Northants)
Attendance	98,203
Weather	Sunny 23 °C