1978 WFA Cup Final (lost footage of football match; 1978)

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1978wfacupfinal1.jpg

Newspaper clipping reporting on the Final.

Status: Lost

The 1978 WFA Cup Final (also known as the 1978 WFA Pony Wine Cup Final) culminated the 1977-78 WFA Cup season. Occurring on 30th April 1978 at Slough Town's Wexham Park Stadium, it was the conclusion of a trilogy of Finals between Southampton and Queens Park Rangers (QPR). The match would ultimately be won by the former 8-2, which is the largest WFA Cup Final win as of the present day.

Background

Heading into the Final, Queens Park Rangers were the defending champions.[1][2] Their road to the Final from the Second Round onwards consisted of beating East Herts College, Kensure, Newport, Lowestoft Town, Warminster Wanderers, and Willesden.[3] Meanwhile, Southampton's campaign from the Second Round onwards saw it overcome Compton, Cope Chat, Maidstone, Kilnhurst Shooting Stars, Chelsea, and St Helens.[3] Southampton was already a five-time champion, but was seeking vengeance against a QPR side that defeated it for the Cup a year prior.[2][1] Additionally, Southampton had defeated QPR two years earlier, making this the third consecutive Final between the two sides.[2][1]

With Football League stadiums again inaccessible, the WFA forged an agreement with Isthmian League side Slough Town to stage the Final at its ground Wexham Park Stadium.[4][2] Around 2,000 attended the game, which was described by the Bush Gazette as "more like a cricket crowd."[2][4]

The Match

The Final itself commenced on 30th April 1978.[2][4] Pat Davies put Southampton in front after eight minutes via header into the top-right hand corner of the net, making this her fifth Cup Final where she scored at least one goal, having also scored at the 1971, 1974, 1975, and 1976 Finals.[2][4] Sue Lopez made it 2-0 after only 15 minutes of play, with Pat Chapman scoring a third at the 40 minute mark.[2][4] In the second-half, Chapman scored three more goals in quick succession to make it 6-0 by the hour mark.[2][4] While Sandra Choat pulled one back for QPR, Chapman swiftly scored her fifth goal to make it 7-1.[2][4]

While Carrie Staley scored a second for QPR at the 70-minute mark, Chapman again proved too much for the opposition completing her second hat-trick of the game to help Southampton achieve a 8-2 victory when the final whistle blew.[2][4] Post-match, Champman was awarded Player of the Match, with her stating in an interview with A History of the Women's FA Cup Final that "To get two hat-tricks, the Player of the Match award and the WFA Cup itself was just incredible. What meant the world to me was that after the game Portsmouth players Steve Foster and David Kemp - who had been watching in the crowd - came over and congratulated me. Despite playing for Southampton I am a big Portsmouth fan."[2] Meanwhile, Sue Lopez proclaimed the 1977-78 season as Southampton's peak, since the club had also won its League and the League Cup, thus earning a treble.[2]

Availability

It is unclear whether the match was broadcast on BBC television, although it is noted by A History of the Women's FA Cup Final that throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Final had been shown on BBC programs like Cup Final Grandstand, Saturday Morning Swap Shop and BBC Breakfast Time, making a small broadcast likely.[2] Perhaps more notably, Southern Television provided a report on the Final, with cameras capturing the Southampton side ahead of the match and likely footage of the game too.[5] This broadcast, along with other possible footage, have yet to surface, although photos and newspaper clippings can be viewed online.

Gallery

Image

  • Programme for the Final.

    Programme for the Final.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Women's FA Cup listing all the WFA Cup Finals. Retrieved 14th Jul '22
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 A History of the Women's FA Cup Final detailing the 1978 WFA Cup Final match and its broadcast on Cup Final Grandstand. Retrieved 14th Jul '22
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Women's FA Cup detailing the road to the Final. Retrieved 14th Jul '22
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Women's FA Cup detailing the result and statistics of the match. Retrieved 14th Jul '22
  5. ↑ Reading Evening Post reporting on the Southern Television news report (subscription required). Retrieved 14th Jul '22
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