1962 FA Cup Final - Match Review

Match Review

Tottenham Hotspur took an early lead when Jimmy Greaves scored past the Burnley goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw. The score remained 1–0 until half time. Burnley equalised shortly after the interval through Jimmy Robson, who in doing so had scored the 100th FA Cup Final goal at Wembley. However, Bobby Smith quickly countered for Tottenham Hotspur to restore their one-goal lead. Smith had scored in the 1961 final, and remained the only player to score in successive finals for the next forty years, until Freddie Ljungberg of Arsenal repeated the feat with goals in the 2001 and 2002 finals.

With 10 minutes remaining, Burnley defender Tommy Cummings handled the ball on the goal-line and a penalty was awarded to Tottenham. Danny Blanchflower sealed victory for Tottenham with a penalty that sent Adam Blacklaw the wrong way, securing Tottenham Hotspur's fourth FA Cup win.

Despite the opinion of the final by the press the game itself actually produced more action in the penalty area then any previous post war final with the two keepers being forced into more saves from shots on target than any two keepers in any previous post war final.

The game also pivoted on two moments of controversy. The first, midway through the second half when Jimmy Robson was put through to score what looked like a second equaliser for Burnley. The linesman's flag ruled the goal out and while BBC television pictures are not conclusive the call was an extremely close one. The second centred around Tottenham's decisive penalty when the opposite linesman flagged for a foul, presumably on goalkeeper Adam Blacklaw seconds before the handball incident for which the penalty was awarded. The referee did not seem to see the linesman's flag and pointed to the spot while, to their credit, none of the Burnley players protested.