MX23RW : Friday, November 8 07:26:53| >> :120:24246:24246:

Ryan Giggs, Paul Gascoigne and the greatest FA Cup semi-finals

Manchester City, Brighton, Watford and Wolves will battle it out at Wembley.

The FA Cup reaches the semi-final stage this weekend with Brighton facing the daunting task of dumping red-hot favourites Manchester City out of the competition to meet either Watford or Wolves in the final.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look back at some of the key moments which have helped to decide classic last-four encounters in the past.

Manchester United 2 Arsenal 1, 1999

Ryan Giggs left Manchester United fans with a treasure trove of memories when he finally hung up his boots, but few more sensational than the goal which secured the club's place in the 1999 FA Cup final. With Dennis Bergkamp, who later missed a penalty, having cancelled out David Beckham's opener in a replay at Villa Park, Giggs set off on an extra-time run which saw him skip away from four defenders before smashing an unstoppable shot past David Seaman.

Chesterfield 3 Middlesbrough 3, 1997

Chesterfield's Jamie Hewitt is swamped by overjoyed team-mates after his extra-time equalizer against Middlesbrough
Chesterfield's Jamie Hewitt is swamped by overjoyed team-mates after his extra-time equaliser against Middlesbrough (Laurence Griffiths/PA)

Then third-tier Chesterfield looked to be heading for a fairytale trip to Wembley when, with Middlesbrough's Vladimir Kinder having been sent off, they took a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford through Andy Morris and Sean Dyche's penalty with an hour played. However, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Craig Hignett's spot-kick levelled the scores, although the Spireites' Jonathan Howard had seen a legitimate goal disallowed in the meantime. Gianluca Festa looked to have won it for Boro in extra time, but Jamie Hewitt's last-gasp equaliser secured a replay in which the Teessiders triumphed 3-0.

Sheffield Wednesday 2 Sheffield United 1, 1993

Sheffield Wednesday's Mark Bright (right) after scoring the winner against Sheffield United
Sheffield Wednesday's Mark Bright (right) after scoring the winner against Sheffield United (Rebecca Naden/PA)

The Steel City decamped en masse to Wembley on April 3, 1993 and it was the Owls' fans who were celebrating when Chris Waddle opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick. Alan Cork's equaliser dented their joy only briefly before Mark Bright snatched an extra-time winner. Wednesday returned to Wembley on three occasions that season, losing the League Cup final and drawing the FA Cup final before succumbing in the replay, all to Arsenal.

Tottenham 3 Arsenal 1, 1991

Paul Gascoigne's thunderous free-kick lit up another Wembley semi-final and his strike and two more from Gary Lineker eclipsed Alan Smith's effort. Gascoigne drilled the ball beyond astonished England team-mate David Seaman and into the top corner to set Spurs on their way, although his final would end in agony after he suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Nottingham Forest.

Crystal Palace 4 Liverpool 3, 1990

Alan Pardew (right) celebrates after scoring Crystal Palace's extra-time winner against Liverpool
Alan Pardew (right) celebrates after scoring Crystal Palace's extra-time winner against Liverpool (John Stillwell/PA)

Few gave Crystal Palace, who had lost 9-0 at Liverpool in the league seven months earlier, much chance of getting past them in the cup, but goals from Mark Bright and Gary O'Reilly had cancelled out Ian Rush's opener before Steve McMahon and John Barnes from the penalty spot seemingly restored order. However, Andy Gray's 88th-minute equaliser took the tie into extra time, during which Alan Pardew fired the Eagles to a shock victory.

Coventry 3 Leeds 2, 1987

Coventry's Keith Houchen celebrates with Micky Gynn (right) after scoring against Leeds
Coventry's Keith Houchen celebrates with Micky Gynn (right) after scoring against Leeds (PA)

When David Rennie gave Leeds an early lead at Hillsborough, there was little warning of the drama which was to follow. Goals from substitute Micky Gynn and Keith Houchen turned the game around only for Keith Edwards to level and set the stage for Dave Bennett to send Coventry through with an extra-time winner.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Damian Spellman, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '610c64d1-8ffa-4f53-830a-fa6011509fa8');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'That Giggs goal and a Gazza classic \u2013 Memorable FA Cup semi-finals'});

ID:355360: cacheID:355360:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:12348:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Roberto Pereyra celebrates scoring during the Premier League game between Watford and Crystal Palace on August 26, 2018
Read Next:
Roberto Pereyra doubtful for FA Cup semi-final
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!