When United met League Champions
Liverpool in the 1977 Final, it was deemed a formality that Liverpool would
win - by most pundits. However, favourites and predictability went out the
window as United went on to stop Liverpool from completing a League, European
Cup and FA Cup "Treble", as United themselves did successfully in 1999. We
must be eternally grateful to the men of 1977 for stopping Liverpool and
allowing us to forever say to Liverpool fans "We did the treble and you
didn't, ha,ha ha ha". United had been beaten 1-0 the previous year in the final
by lowly Southampton. Such was the disappointment that manager Tommy Docherty
promised they would be back the next year to win it, and he was true to
his word.
Docherty's United team had a reputation for being cavalier, sometimes suicidal, but the game was tight as both teams shut each other out. The cruical moments all came within a chaotic ten minute spell in the second Half. The 50th minute saw Stuart
Pearson demonstrate why he was considered to be one of the game's great
opportunists when he took a pass from Jimmy Greenhoff and smashed the ball
past Liverpool keeper Clemence from 20 yards to make it 1-0. Two minutes later Liverpool
fans were cheering when the equaliser was scored by Jimmy Case after turning
on the edge of the penalty area and hitting a cross from Joey Jones into
the left hand corner of the net.
Three minutes later the goal
which won United the game was scored by Lou Macari. After Jimmy Greenhoff
acted upon a mistake made by Tommy Smith, Macari's deflected shot somehow
found its way past Clemence to make it 2-1. Throughout the match United
captain Martin Buchan did a superb job in keeping danger-man Kevin Keegan out of the
game. Liverpool fought hard to equalise but lacked a real cutting edge to their passing and movement.
The victory seemed destined for the Old Trafford players and it was fitting that 'man of the match' Buchan went up the famous steps and lifted the cup. A Daily Mail journalist wrote "Other sides have lost a game, a chance, a bonus, Liverpool have lost their place in history. One day some side may do this impossible treble, maybe even a side from Liverpool. But not these men".
MANCHESTER UNITED: Stepney,
Nicholl, Albiston, B Greenhoff, Buchan, McILroy, J Greenhoff, Coppell,
Pearson,
Hill (McCreery), Macari
