Bootham Crescent, York on January 26, 1985, was about as far removed from Houchen's Wembley exploits as you can imagine. A tight ground, a rock hard playing surface, and freezing conditions greeted Arsenal's players and supporters as third division York City awaited in the FA Cup fourth round. All the ingredients required for a giantkilling were lined up.
With the UK experiencing a cold snap, there had been doubts as to whether the match would go ahead. York City manager Denis Smith sent out an appeal for supporters to arrive with spades so that the playing surface could be cleared of snow. After 150 volunteers answered Smith's SOS, and straw was added to the pitch, referee Don Shaw stated at 9am that the match would be played.
Undoubtedly Arsenal's players would have been far from happy at what faced them. A crowd of 10,840 packed into the ground, the majority hoping for a shock, with those of an Arsenal persuasion fearing the worst. When the BBC cameras arrived to cover the action for Match of the Day, alarm bells would have been ringing for the visiting fans.
Don Howe's Arsenal were an infuriating team to follow. Topping the table for a brief period at the start of the 1984/85 campaign, they were still in fifth place at the time of the York match. Yet the only consistent thing about Howe's team was their inconsistency. And their last three cup exits had seen them lose to lower division Oxford United, Middlesbrough and Walsall.
So it was safe to say that Arsenal were vulnerable at York. Their starting XI contained eight internationals, and had cost the club over £4.5 million in transfer fees. Conversely, York's line-up contained nine players who did not cost the club a penny. But it would be the player who Smith had spent £15,000 on who proved to be the matchwinner.
Houchen had enjoyed a fruitful start to his career at Hartlepool, but his spell at Orient had not been so enjoyable. Signed by Smith in March 1984, Houchen featured mainly as a substitute as York passed 100 points in winning Division Four. Yet after John Byrne's departure to QPR in October 1984, Houchen began to find his feet.
Top scorer at the club with 14 goals prior to Arsenal's visit, Houchen helped York to establish themselves in Division Three, the Minstermen eventually finishing in eighth place. York fans, already delighted with the progress made under Smith. were about to experience an unforgettable afternoon during a prosperous time for the club.
In truth, the whole occasion appeared to be a case of the hype exceeding the reality. Understandably both sides struggled to string together any passes on an ice rink of a pitch, players finding it hard simply to stay on their feet. York keeper Mike Astbury thwarted Paul Mariner, and Tommy Caton had to head a Keith Walwyn effort off the line. But as the clock ticked down it looked like Arsenal had weathered the storm.
Just four days earlier, Arsenal had hammered fourth division Hereford 7-2 in a third round replay at Highbury, and as the match remained goalless it looked a case of job done for Howe's men. But then came the incident that would write all the headlines over the next few days.
With the ball breaking down York's right, Martin Butler broke away looking to put a cross into Arsenal's box as York hunted for a winner. Houchen moved towards the edge of the area, pursued by Arsenal midfielder Steve Williams. Recently signed from Southampton for £550,000, Williams had let Houchen get the wrong side of him and instinctively pulled back York's forward.
The initial contact came yards outside the penalty area, but as the two moved into the box, the pair tangled clumsily, with Houchen falling to the solid floor. Shaw had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. "He was brought down four yards inside the box," Shaw later revealed. "I had the best possible view, I was five yards behind them."
"I made a run and Steve Williams came with me pulling my shirt," Houchen said in the aftermath. "He was still pulling it as we got into the penalty box. Then his foot caught my ankle and I went down." Getting to his feet, the realisation hit Houchen that he now had a chance to write another chapter in FA Cup history.
"You couldn't ask for a more dramatic finale," an excited John Motson proclaimed during his commentary. As Houchen put the ball down, the tension mounted. "He could put York City in dreamland here," Motson added. "It's all down to Lukic, from the Arsenal point of view."
"I'd only taken one penalty before for City...and I missed it," Houchen admitted later. Indeed, Houchen was only on penalty duties as John MacPhail had recently missed from the spot. Moving back to the edge of the box, Houchen turned to face Lukic. In the background it appears as if Arsenal's Stewart Robson offers his keeper a tip on which way to dive. If so, sadly for Arsenal fans, Lukic ignored this.
Lukic dived to his left as Houchen rolled the ball into the opposite corner. Briefly the crowd held their collective breath before letting out a roar in relief and ecstasy. "And he's done it," Motson shrieked. "The third division side score in the 90th minute." A mini pitch invasion followed, as Houchen personally navigated York's fans to dreamland.
The BBC cameras focussed on Howe. Sat frozen in a dugout due to the temperature and the horror of the situation, Arsenal's manager looks like a condemned man. Thirty years before, York had beaten Tottenham at the same ground on their way to the FA Cup semi-finals. Another north London scalp was minutes away.
Arsenal huffed and puffed, but there was no time left for an equaliser. "And there it is," Motson announced on the final whistle. "York City of the third division have put out The Arsenal." Jubilant fans streamed on to the frozen pitch to revel in the moment. Houchen and Arsenal were about to feature on many back pages in the days that followed.
"On a pitch which tested character and resolve more than footballing skill, Arsenal were found wanting in the most dramatic fashion," Peter Ball wrote in the Observer. Smith declared the match as "the greatest day in the club's history." York backed up this display with a 1-1 draw at Bootham Crescent against Liverpool in the next round. They may have lost the replay 7-0, but what a cup run.
"Who would want to take a penalty in the last minute of a cup tie?" Motson asked after Houchen slotted home his winner. Keith Houchen, obviously. "The goal was my greatest moment in soccer," Houchen declared a few days after the event. This view may have been adjusted after his goal at Wembley, but Houchen's penalty for York was just the start of his beautiful relationship with the FA Cup.
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