1987 FA Cup: Leeds

The 1980s had not been a kind decade for supporters of Leeds United. Relegated from the top flight in the 1981/82 season, the glory days of the recent past were fading. But come the 1986/87 campaign, there was a glimmer of light. 

Challenging for promotion via the new play-off system, there was also a welcome distraction with an FA Cup run that saw Billy Bremner's side march on to the semi-finals for the first time in ten years. Whereas club legends Allan Clarke and Eddie Gray had tried and failed before him, Bremner appeared to have found a recipe for success during a thrilling season.

"I try to tell the players that every man and boy among our supporters in the crowd would love to pull on that Leeds shirt and go out there prepared to die for the club," Bremner revealed prior to Leeds' semi-final meeting with Coventry. "You must have pride and passion. There must be something under your left breast."

Bremner tapped into his experiences learned under Don Revie's tutelage, gaining experience in management at Doncaster before returning to Elland Road in 1985. Nearly two years later, Leeds were within touching distance of a return to Division One and a trip to Wembley. 

Just as with Leeds' run to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2026, the club played three cup ties on a Sunday before reaching the last four in 1987. But the circumstances behind this coincidence are indicative of the state of football at the time. As is often the case in the modern era, television schedules dictate when matches are played, regardless of the hassle it causes supporters. But in 1987, it was the followers of the sport creating headaches.

The reputation of Leeds fans and the hooligan element at the club in the 1980s led to the first Sunday fixture in their 1987 FA Cup run. Incidents at Barnsley, Huddersfield, Birmingham and Bradford resulted in local police moving Leeds' trip to Vauxhall Conference side Telford due to safety concerns. The only issue was finding an alternative location.

"It's the game nobody wants," Telford secretary Michael Ferriday said, as both Stoke and West Brom turned down requests from the FA to host the fixture. Eventually the FA forced West Brom into holding the match at the Hawthorns, much to the annoyance of chairman Sid Lucas. "If the match had been with anybody but Leeds we wouldn't have had any qualms, but some Leeds fans have shown themselves on the last two visits to be not very friendly."

Kicking off at noon on a Sunday, the match was played in icy conditions, Telford manager Stan Storton claiming that the tie would have been called off had there not been issues surrounding the game. Ian Baird headed Leeds in front in the first half, before Colin Williams looped a header over Mervyn Day for an equaliser in the 53rd minute. But a late winner from Baird saw Leeds scrape through.

Another away draw and another switch to Sunday awaited Leeds in the next round. Division Three promotion-chasing Swindon, managed by Lou Macari, would provide a stern test. The match would be postponed twice - on the Sunday due to weather, and on the Monday because of a lack of police resources - but come Tuesday a crowd of 14,031 would see Leeds progress.

Andy Ritchie may have missed an early chance, yet Leeds would be indebted to a fine display from Day on a night where they rode their luck. Dave Bamber headed Swindon in front after 12 minutes and a combination of Day and and a desperate goal line clearance from John Stiles (Nobby's son) prevented Swindon doubling their lead. It proved a crucial moment.

Jimmy Quinn headed a corner into his own net just after the half hour, and a deflected Baird header in the 57th minute saw Leeds into the last 16 for the first time since 1977. "It was a game we should have won, we should have scored four or five in the first half alone," Macari noted. Yet Day, who won the FA Cup with West Ham in 1975, was in fine form.

Another man impressing during the season was Leeds' graceful midfielder John Sheridan. Rated at £1 million, Sheridan's stock was rising, with rumours growing of a big money move. "I sometimes think that nobody should be allowed to have such gifts because it isn't fair to all the rest when it comes so naturally," Bremner stated. 

Sheridan would play his part in the fifth round win over Division One team QPR. Played in front of a crowd of 31,324, Baird scored once again but the home fans were stunned when David Rennie scored an unfortunate own goal. Yet with five minutes remaining, Leeds avoided an unwanted replay on QPR's plastic pitch, as a Sheridan corner was flicked on by John Pearson, allowing Brendan Ormsby to head home a winner.

"Only if we win something now will they stop talking about the past," Ormsby said as the cup run continued. Unfortunately, both goal scorers would be banned for the next round - Leeds did rearrange a league match against Portsmouth to try and get around this, but the FA blocked the pair from playing in the sixth round - as once again Leeds' presence in the FA Cup caused concerns for the police.

Originally the away match at Third Division Wigan's Springfield Park looked like being relocated due to safety concerns. "We are the giant-killers," complained Wigan chairman Bill Kenyon. "We are the little 'uns who have battled through for the right to stage a quarter final - and I don't see why we should let the hooligans force us to give up our biggest day."

Fortunately the tie would remain at Springfield Park, Greater Manchester Chief Constable James Anderton managing to secure a 12,500 capacity all-ticket affair on the Sunday at noon. Leeds were allocated 2,287 tickets, with the match being shown in the Leeds Town Hall and Queen's Hall to try and prevent ticketless fans from travelling. Despite this, numerous cars and mini buses were turned away in Wigan.

Played in high winds, the match was the very definition of frenetic, the hard playing surface adding to the mad pace of the game. The match turned after Wigan's Bobby Campbell hit the post in the 52nd minute. Shortly after, Stiles scored from outside the box and when full-back Micky Adams scored with his weaker foot from long range, Leeds were now one step from Wembley.

The semi-final against Coventry was (this may surprise you) moved to Sunday April 12, played at Hillsborough in glorious sunshine. Many Leeds fans who made the trip recall just how dangerously overcrowded the Leppings Lane end of the ground was, with chilling implications for the future. After a 15 minute delay due to traffic congestion, the match kicked off at 12.30pm.

ITV showed the tie in full, an hour after the scheduled finish, a rare treat for armchair football fans back in the 1980s. Without the cup-tied Bobby McDonald and Mark Aizlewood, Leeds pushed Coventry all the way. It would take extra time to separate the two teams.

Leeds dominated the opening 20 minutes, Ogrizovic called upon to pull off some vital saves. "Leeds, resembling a roaring bush fire, burned alarming holes in Coventry's security," wrote Stuart Jones in The Times, and when Rennie scored after 12 minutes, no one could argue that the underdogs were not deserving of their lead.

Ogrizovic was called on again to thwart Baird, before Coventry finally started to get their act together. Prompted by Dave Bennett, the Sky Blues should have been level before the break, Cyrille Regis guilty of missing three chances, and Keith Houchen temporarily losing his magic touch in the FA Cup.

Eventually the pressure told, as Bennett pickpocketed Ormsby to set up substitute Micky Gynn for the equaliser on 68 minutes, and Houchen then put Coventry in front with 12 minutes remaining. However, Leeds' own substitute Keith Edwards was not be outdone by Gynn, heading home on 83 minutes, to send the pulsating match into extra time. 

Fittingly, Bennett and Ogrizovic would again play a significant role in the extra half an hour. Bennett's goal after 98 minutes finally separated the teams, although Ogrizovic pulled off a fine late save to deny Edwards. "A marvellously exciting semi-final," as the Guardian's Stephen Bierley described it, had seen Leeds play a full part in the entertainment.

"Going up, going up, going up," came the defiant cry from the Leeds fans as the Wembley dream ended. But sadly it was not to be. Unfortunately there would be more extra-time agony to endure as two late Peter Shirtliff goals saw Charlton edge out Leeds in a play-off final replay at St Andrew's. A season that had given so much would ultimately end with a slap in the face.

Admittedly there was heartbreak and things would never be this good again under Bremner. But after the lows of the decade, at least there was some hope for Leeds fans during the 1986/87 season. One step from both Wembley and a return to the top flight, but huge strides taken in lifting the darkness of the 1980s from Elland Road.