1988 Full Members' Cup final explained

1988 Simod Cup final
Event:1987–88 Full Members' Cup
Team1:Luton Town
Team1score:1
Team2:Reading
Team2score:4
Date:27 March 1988
Stadium:Wembley Stadium
City:London
Attendance:61,740
Previous:1987
Next:1989

The 1988 Full Members' Cup final was the third Full Members' Cup final, contested by First Division side Luton Town and Second Division team Reading at Wembley Stadium on 27 March 1988. It was the first, and only, Full Members' Cup final for both teams. Reading were making their first appearance at the national stadium, while Luton had not played at the ground since 1959.

Background

English teams had been banned from Europe following the Heysel Stadium disaster at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. The Football League started a new tournament for sides in the top two leagues to increase revenues, particularly for sides who had lost revenue through the lack of European football.[1] The 1987–88 Full Members' Cup saw Reading start in the first round of the competition, while Luton were given a bye to the third round following their high league position in the previous season.[2] Reading defeated a top division side in all rounds, excluding the quarter-finals.[3]

Reading's semi-final victory against Coventry City became the latest finish to a football match in Britain at the time, finishing at 22:38. The record stood until 2002.

Route to the final

Reading

Match summary

England international Mick Harford put Luton 1–0 up after fourteen minutes, although he admitted after the game that he handled the ball into the net.[4] On twenty minutes, Michael Gilkes levelled the game for Reading. Gilkes was fouled five minutes later and Reading were awarded a penalty. Stuart Beavon dispatched it, despite Les Sealey, in the Luton goal, guessing the right direction. Mick Tait doubled Reading's lead on 55 minutes, while Neil Smillie finished the game off with the Royals' fourth.[4]

Aftermath

Reading became the second non-top flight side in a row to win the competition, after Blackburn Rovers, but were unable to defend the trophy due to relegation to the Third Division later on in the season.[2] The club never played a Full Members' Cup match again, before the competition was abolished at the end of the 1991–92 season.[5] The victory remains the only major trophy that the club has won, with two semi-final appearances in the FA Cup being the next best cup results for Reading.

Victory for Luton would've been their first major trophy, as well, but they only had to wait a month after the Full Members' Cup final before they defeated Arsenal in the League Cup final to do so. They subsequently finished their First Division season in ninth position.[6] Luton didn't appear in another Full Members' Cup final; a southern semi-final appearance in the 1990–91 season being their best performance following their defeat.

Match details

GK 1 Les Sealey
RB 2 Tim Breacker
CB 5 Steve Foster
CB 6 Mal Donaghy
LB 3 Ashley Grimes
RM 7 Danny Wilson
CM 4 Darron McDonough
CM 8 Brian Stein
LM 11 Ian Allinson
CF 9 Mick Harford
CF 10 Mark Stein
Substitutes:
GK
DF
MF
MF
FW
Manager:
Ray Harford
GK 1 Steve Francis
RB 2 Colin Bailie
CB 5 Martin Hicks
CB 6 Keith Curle
LB 3 Steve Richardson
RM 7 Linden Jones
CM 4 Stuart Beavon
CM 8 Les Taylor
LM 11 Neil Smillie
CF 9 Mick Tait
CF 10 Michael Gilkes
Substitutes:
GK
DF
MF
MF
FW
Manager:
Ian Branfoot
width=50% valign=topMatch rules
  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Penalty shootout if scores still level
  • Five named substitutes
  • Maximum of two substitutions

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Full Members Cup: the anti-European Cup that nobody wanted. fourfourtwo.com. 23 March 2016. 19 March 2018.
  2. Web site: 1987-88 Football League Full Members Cup. fchd.info. 19 March 2018.
  3. Web site: Giant Killing. Royals Record. 19 March 2018.
  4. Web site: Memories of the Wembley Simod Cup win. Get Reading. 9 April 2015. 19 March 2018.
  5. Web site: Full Members' Cup Records. Royals Record. 23 March 2018.
  6. Web site: 1987-88 Football League. fchd.info. 23 March 2018.