The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 28

SPORTS GUARDIAN 28 Monday May 18 1987 Coventry bring home the FA Cup for the first time in their 104-year history while Tottenham nurse their bruised pride and injured limbs England ii lose Mabbutt Pictures left and centre by Frank Baron OVERTHROWN Clive Allen's high point came in the second minute, but thereafter he could not put one over Peake. blue crew the earned by An unhappy weekend for Gary Mabbutt ended with the Tottenham player, who is a diabetic, being forced out of the England squad for tomorrow's near sell-out against Brazil at Wembley and Saturday's game against Scotland at Hamden Park. Mabbutt, whose own goal sent the FA Cup to Coventry, has been suffering from a circulation problem in his left foot for several weeks. He wanted to play for England, but had to drop out on medical advice, and now faces a minor operation. Bobby Robson still has five other Spurs players in his squad Waddle, Hoddle, Clive Allen, Hodge and Mitchell Thomas and will want to play the first two against Brazil to maintain the shape and substance of an England team already missing the two Arsenal full backs, Anderson and Sansom.

At Wembley on Saturday, David Pleat, the Spurs manager, felt that his England contingent would be in a poor frame of mind for a big international, so soon after the final. Robson agreed In principle it's not a good idea to play on Tuesday after a two-hour cup final on Saturday." Nevertheless Robson will not decide on the Spurs players until he has watched them practise today. Beardsley, who was out for a month with a hamstring injury and Butcher, who has had a pelvic problem, came through yesterday's training session unscathed. The England manager was confident that Beardsley would be fit for selection. Bryan Robson, the England captain, did not train because he was still feeling tired after playing for Manchester United Malta on Saturday.

Bobby Robson was none too pleased to hear that his namesalce had had to play the full 90 minutes of a game that Manchester United won 9-0. England will want to field as strong a side as possible against Brazil, who have brought only four of last year's World Cup squad, but on past evidence will still have enough talent in their side to achieve a result. Although the match is being televised live nearly all the 92,000 tickets have gone. David Lacey On this basis Mabbutt has now joined Bert Turner of Charlton Athletic (1946) and Tommy Hutchison of Manchester City (1981) among that rare breed of footballers who have scored for both teams in FA Cup finals. His own own goal was indisputable, Rodger, who had replaced the injured Kilcline in the last minute of normal time, cleverly released McGrath on the right and Mabbutt, trying to intercept a low centre, deflected the ball high over Clemence into the far corner of the net.

Kilcline had injured a thigh fouling Mabbutt in the 84th minute. So coolly did Rodger replace him in Coventry's back four that his departure probably helped their cause. Certainly Coventry's one substitution made more difference than Tottenham's two Stevens and Claesen for Ardiles and Hughton, Ardiles, making some good tackles and consistently taking pressure off his defence, was one of Spurs' best players until he was overtaken by cramp and exhaustion. Sillett noticed that Tottenham were tiring. Just before extra time I could see some heads dropping.

They didn't relish the prospect of the extra half-hour. I felt that if we continued to do the simple things and make the ball do the work then this, plus our character and stamina, would make the Cup ours." As for the Thatchers and the Kinnocks in the royal box, well it was as clean a contest as they are likely to see over the next three weeks honest, too. precautions remained inadequate. At half-time we talked about stopping the crosses coming in because these, along with the aerial power of Regis and Houchen, had caused us problems in the first 20 minutes," Pleat explained. Coventry's second goal came out of precisely the situation Pleat wanted to avoid.

Regis used his height and muscle to win a challenge for a long clearance from Ogrizovic and Houchen laid the ball out to Bennett on the right. Gough came off him to cover the goalmouth but not once did he glance round to see where Houchen went next. Bennett squeezed a good cross past Thomas and Houchen dived in behind Gough to head a marvellous goal. The second goal was absolutely vital for them," said Pleat. They were more convinced than ever that their name was on the Cup.

In the end I thought they deserved to finish in front. We were stretched and they might have scored After the game at Highfield Road we knew what we had to do but we didn't do it well enough." A match packed with attacking football and exciting incident deserved a less bizarre climax and certainly poor Gary Mabbutt was an undeserving victim. At half-time the Spurs centre-back had every reason to feel buoyant. He had made some important tackles and restored Tottenham's lead when Ogrizovic, having got away with a somnambulant stroll outside the penalty a little earlier, misread Hoddle's free kick. Mabbutt and Kilcline went for the ball together and while contrasting TV angles suggested that the goal might have been scored by either player the Spurs man's claim was upheld by his opponent.

It would have been hard, looking at the battered features of George Curtis or listening to John Sillett's Hampshire version of a cockney rasp, to assert that the 1987 FA Cup final was won on the playing fields of Eton. Hard to do so, anyway, and keep a straight face. Furthermore, military historians do not record that when Maitland's guards repulsed Napoleon's finest on the evening of Waterloo their tunics bore the legend Granada Bingo." Yet Coventry City's theme tune still owes much to the Eton Boating Song and when Brian Kilcline limped up to the royal box on Saturday to collect the trophy for the first time in the club's 104-year history the idea of swinging together against all adversity to see the thing through seemed especially apt. There was even a parallel with 1815 since it was the refusal of Coventry's mid-field and central defenders to give way amid injuries and fatigue that lay at the heart of a famous victory. Of course neither Etonian playing fields nor Belgian battlefields had that much to do with it.

The teamwork and team spirit which overcame Tottenham Hotspur in one of the best Wembley finals of recent years were born at Highfield Road in the Sixties. We heard a lot about Coventry's character after the match, that and their superior stamina. These elements are always important but will only take a team so far. Principally Coventry beat Spurs because on the day, over two hours, they were the better footballing side. They had the strength where it mattered most when it mattered most.

Steve Ogrizovic made two uncharacteristic errors and one of these cost Coventry a goal CUP FINAL COMMENT David Lacey turn a match their way only to find that he could not employ his talent when it was most needed. The close marking of McGrath had a lot to do with this. Glenn Hoddle now knows Lloyd McGrath," said Sillett evenly when it was all over. Yes, the boy McGrath had a very strong marking game," agreed Pleat, and as the game wbre on used his fitness to break off and attack." But there were times when McGrath gave Hoddle more room than he should have done and the Tottenham player's failure to capitalise on this was one of Spurs' biggest let-downs. During a recent press lunch Pleat spoke of Hoddle wanting to seek a less violent theatre for his talents.

At the time, remembering how well Hoddle has played this season for both club and country, it did not seem necessary to ask Pleat if he was thinking of Sadlers Wells. But Saturday's game encapsulated the best and worst of Hoddle and he departed, bitterly disapointed, from the scene knowing that potential foreign employers would not have been impressed. was not enough. Gillingham now face Swindon, who eliminated Wigan on aggregate despite being held to a goalless draw at home. Bolton Wanderers were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time in their 110-year history by a goal from Aldershot's Glen Burvill in the 13th minute of the first period of extra time.

Tony Caldwell scored from the penalty spot to level the aggregate at 1-1, and added another goal in the 81st minute to take the game into extra time after substitute Darren Anderson hit his first goal for Aldershot in the 76th minute. The Bolton goal PLAY-OFFS: SUNDERLAND DOWN AGONY FOR OLDHAM CHARLTON STILL ALIVE Sunderland and Bolton are sunk but in the end his was the expertise that stopped Clive Allen snatching the Cup back for Tottenham. Trevor Peake, probably fouled by Allen seconds before the prolific Spurs striker stretched in front of him to head Tottenham into a two-minute lead, recovered to give a masterful performance at centre-back. Micky Gynn, banishing all doubts about his stamina, proved the game's most effective launcher of counterattacks and Lloyd McGrath turned Glenn Hoddle's last appearance for Spurs into the season's biggest anticlimax. This did not go for Tottenham's performance as a whole.

At times, and particularly in the first half, they played some delightful football. Chris Waddle reconfirmed his new status as one of the most imaginative attackers in the country and as David Pleat, the Spurs manager, said later We were in a lovely position at half-time, leading 2-1. A third goal for us would have killed it." Maybe, maybe not with Coventry you could never have been that sure. The fact is that failing to finish opponents off is one of the prime reasons why Tottenham, after playing some of the most attractive football, have ended the season without a prize. They should have put their Littlewoods Cup semifinal beyond the reach of Arsenal in the away leg but eventually went out after leading in both the return match and the replay.

Against Coventry, when they needed to recapture their earlier rhythm, it was not there. The main reason for this was the failure of Hoddle to impose himself on the game as he knows he should have done. Not for the first time Spurs looked to their most talented player to further behind after only three minutes when Howard Pritchard headed home from close range. But then Eric Gates struck twice in five minutes. Iain Hesford saved Colin Greenall's penalty in the 52nd minute but Tony Cascarino was on hand to score from the rebound.

Gary Bennett headed home to level the scores on aggregate and force the tie into extra time with two minutes to spare. But three minutes into extra, time Cascarino scored again, his fifth goal in the two matches between the teams. Bertschin again levelled the scores on aggregate after 109 minutes, but it through the gap and Edwards, it had to be Edwards, scored. One or two United players, like many of the fans unsure of the play-off rules, thought that was it. It was not.

Extra time brought only one certainty penalties would not be needed. Oldham had to score, Leeds to hold, and this they did, much to the relief of Mervyn Day, who had looked at fault with both Oldham's goals. In the first half he came for Irwin's cross but lost out to Ormondroyd's challenge and Williams headed in. When Cecere scored, nudging a header just inside, the post, Day had hesitated. So Leeds go on to meet Charlton.

They are wonderfully adept at cup football, and this is what the play-offs are. Despite the excitement, and despite the public's obvious initial approval, there still seems to be something terribly wrong about a system that mocks league form and allows one club to drop out of the Fourth Division without even the chance of a play-off. Oldhtm Irwin. Barlow. Henry.

Llnlnghan. Moore. Palmer, Ormondroyd (lecore, SOmln). Wright, Mllllgan. Williams.

leads United. Day: Aspln. Mcdonald. Alzlewood. Ashurst.

Ormaby, Shies (Edwards. 70), Sheridan. Pearson, Baud, Adams. Referee: 0. Courtney (Spennymoor).

COVENTRY (1) 3 Bennett (9min) Houchen (63) Mabbutt (off, 96) TOTTENHAM (2) 2 C. Allen (2) Mabbutt (41) After extra time score after 90 minutes 2-2. 98,000 at Wembley. Receipts 1,286,737. A couple of our players did not do what they have been doing or are capable of Pleat.

Certain players didn't quite get to grips with it today." Hoddle fitted this description and so did the unfortunate Richard Gough, who repeated most of the errors he had made at Highfield Road at Christmas when Spurs had been beaten 4-3. Coventry's first equaliser, after nine minutes, followed Gough's failure, given two attempts, to clear the ball properly on the Tottenham right. And when Downs crossed Houchen was only challenged by little Ardiles as he headed the ball on. Yet Ray Clemence and Mitchell Thomas were at fault for the actual goal. Clemence, on his heels when Houchen got the touch, realised too late that Thomas was not going for the knock-down and the swift reflexes of Bennett did the rest.

He took the goal superbly, whipping the ball out of the goalkeeper's reach and scoring in the same movement. Clemence later made an excellent ground save to thwart Gynn but Spurs' air raid keeper, Dave Felgate, struggled from the 46th minute with a leg injury. Phil Neal the Bolton manager and former England full-back, announced after the game that it would be his last as a plsycr. Aldershot now meet Wolves, who eliminated Colchester despite being held to a goalless draw at Molineux in front of 16,330, their biggest attendance since they were in the First Division for a place in the Third Division. The Today League play-off finals Friday May 22: GWlngnam v.

Swindon: Aldershot Wolverhamoton. Saturday May 23: Charlton v. Leeds. First named team at home in first leg. Second legs on Monday May 25.

concentration. The poor understanding between Cooper and his defenders could easily have presented Gritt with a third goal for Charlton midway through the second half. Melrose put Charlton into the lead after 17 minutes with a powerful 15-yard header from a right-wing cross by Humphrey, had come back into the team after a two-game suspension. A minute later Walsh floated a free kick from the right, Miller flicked the ball on, and Melrose was again on hand to head a fine goal from a few yards. Five minutes from time and shortly after an announcement unwisely gave details of Charlton's next play-off game feswich pulled a goal Tack when D'Avray headed a cross from Yallop against the foot of tne post ana Mcuau aartea forward to prod home the rebound.

It was Ipswich's last hurrah. SCORERS. Charlton: Melrose (17. IB) Ipswich: McCall (63) Chartton: Bolder; Humphrey, Beld. Peake, Thompson.

Millar. Grttt, Stuart Melrose. Walsh (Leaburn. 32). Crooks.

Ipswich Town: Cooper. Yallop, McCall Atkins. DozzelL ODonnell. Zondervan, Bren-nan. Humes, Wilson (D'Avray, 49), Gleghom.

Referee: c. Shapter (Torquay) The first leg of the Charlton-Leeds playoff final has been switched from next Friday night to Saturday afternoon to avoid late-night shopping at Salnibury's at Selhurst Park. SCOTTISH CUP FINAL Brian Wilson St Mirren 1, Dundee United 0 (aet) Ferguson provides a fillip for Paisley FRANK KEATING Coventry's streets of fame AN ESTIMATED quarter of', a million people, undoubtedly the old City's largest street party since Lady Godiva's sidesaddle trip, thronged Coventry to greet their team. On Saturday night the players partied at Rugby and yesterday afternoon an ancient open-topped relic from the local transport museum took over three hours to travel the six miles from the motorway turn-off to Town Hall Square. It was an ideal pace for a large busload of hangover.

The weather was grey and damp, every street was drenched in powder-blue. The players were decked in sky-blue anoraks, the still delirous totem, John Sillett, wore his famous wig that makes him look like the daftest of The Three Stooges, and some in the vast congregation wore false schnozzle. noses in tribute to the engaging coach who had, overnight, become a household word. The only unblue specks in the whole parade seemed to be the redcoated bandsmen of the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, who led the parade with Go For It, City and, of course, You'll Never Walk Alone. Probably the only man cowering at home in Coventry with the blinds drawn was the bookmaker who gave one of the club's directors, Ted Stocker, odds of 50-1 on Coventry's winning the Cup.

He is not sure yet what he will do with his 50,000 and yesterday he doffed unquestionably the biggest and bluest sombrero ever made outside Mexico, I just had a gut feeling that our name was on the Cup," he said. If you heard that sentence once in Coventry last week you heard it a hundred times. It was as if the gods decreed it, and so it came to pass however many times Ardiles made the sign of the cross on Saturday. Or as Jimmy Hill put it all of seven unequivocal times on the television, "There's no question about it." Poor Spurs. As Brian Moore sighed nicely on the other side, They'll always remember this day as something they'll want to But the link of the day was Motson's cerebral wall-pass, "This is a semi-classic and talking of semis, Coventry's semi-final was quite a game too." Broadcasters, of course, are easy mear in hectic and heroic outside broadcasts such as Saturday's, and on the whole they do a grand iod.

ad lib tedium and all But the way they labour so much their self-ap-pomtd public-relations office tor the game does get wearisome, and what they call the build-up could surely do with an overhaul, if not a total rethink. Sunderland were the first Cup final team to allow a camera on their team but remember Bobbv Kerr's whoopee cushion making a farting Barry Davies blush and it has taken all the years until Coventry for any team to have the nerve refuse the television intrusion. So ITV's cameras had exclusive rights on Tottenham's coach and the result was as lamentably humiliating to in-terviewere and interviewees as was the abysmal and insultingly bad Lord's Taverners six-a-side which ITV staged before the final. When Ted Croker marched off the ingratiating "over the moon" David Frost and his potbelly at the end one hopes it was to charge him with bringing the game into disrepute and no question about SUNDERLAND will play in the Third Division next season for the first time in their history. Despite beating Gillingham in a gruelling match in front of the biggest Roker Park crowd for more than two years, they were eliminated from the play-offs after extra time on the rule that rewards the team scoring more goals away from home.

Mark Proctor, who had missed a vital penalty kick in the final League match against Barnsley, failed again from the spot in the 33rd minute. Phil Kite dived the wrong way, but saved with his legs. Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, Sunderland fell Dark days for the all-whites Long before the final whistle, those placards held proudly aloft by the Tottenham supporters looked sad and a little out of place. Chris Waddle sells more dummies than Mothercare." Not in extra time he didn't. Gough puts the 'ouch' in Houchen.

In fact, the reverse was true, notably when Roy of the Rovers as Coventry fondly call Houchen grabbed the second equaliser with a bullet header. It should have been Glenn Hoddle's showpiece farewell, but the Spurs playmaker sparkled only in fits and. starts. It is a lot harder to' paint a picture than to destroy one," said Hoddle plaintively, after losing his private battle with the terrier-like Lloyd McGrath. Asked about Hoddle's mediocre form, manager David Pleat remarked darkly The players who did not quite get to grips with it know who they are." The Spurs captain, Richard Gough, was close to tears as he collected his loser's medal, while his team-mates trooping along behind looked dazed by the realisation that they had finished the season with nothing.

Spurs were unable to achieve uniformity even in their all-white strip, with five players failing to don a shirt marked Holsten, because those available were too tight-fitting, or too large. We contributed to a fair game," said Pleat. We needed to win something at the end of a season in which we have scored a lot of goals, and played a lot of games, but it did not work out that way. We have used a total of 30 players in the first team which is more than any other successful club. Now we'll go and try to keep our heads high.

Some of our younger players will be back here." At least the Spurs fans who welcomed their team back to Tottenham yesterday were in a forgiving mood. We don't blame Mabbutt," proclaimed one placard, referring to the own goal that presented the Sky Blues with the cup. In fact, Spurs have probably given the fans and the press more pleasure than any other club this season. Clive Allen's club record total of 49 goals helped them to reach the Lituewoods Cup semi-finals and finish third in the League, in which they achieved a rare double over the runners-up, Liverpool. A shade perversely, Spurs blew their chances in both knock-out competitions after twice taking the lead at critical stages.

They led Arsenal 2-0 in the Littlewood's Cup semi-final, and 1-0 in the replay; at Wembley they led Coventry 1-0 and 2-1. But each time they came unstuck in the home straight. Saturday's defeat was Tottenham's first in a total of eight FA Cup Finals. Robert Armstrong Coventry City. Ogrizovic: Phillips, jr, 89min).

Peake. Downs. Kilcline (Rodger. Gvnn. McGrath.

Pickering. Bennett. Regis. Houchen. Tottenham Hotspur.

Clemence: Hughton (Claesen. 97). Gough. Mabbutt. M.

Thomas. Waddle. P. Allen. Hoddle.

Ardiles (Stevens. 90). Hodge. C. Allen.

Referee: N. Midley (Salford). from just inside the penalty area. I hit it with my head down, and when I looked up it was in the net," said Ferguson afterwards. Ian Cameron appearance as a substitute for McDowall after 74 minutes introduced some originality into St Mirren's attack, and the underdogs seemed to summon up a higher level of commitment to the task than United seemed capable of mustering.

After 28 years in the honours wilderness, the Paisley club knew that this was their big chdncc. Their manager, Alex Smith, said afterwards I'm really, pleased for the whole Paisley area, which badly needed a boost like this. These were two well-organised sides, and it was only when players began to tire that the game opened up. It was a magnificent goal from Ian Ferguson The Dundee United manager, Jim McLean, described the disallowed goal as "controversial," but made no excuses. My disappointment is with our own players.

We did not deserve to lose it, but there were too many below-standard performances." Now he must lift morale in time for the oothenbure match. sCOBEB. St Mirren: Ian Ferguson (lllmln). Dundee United: Thomson: Holt. Malpas.

Mclnally, Narey. Bowman, Bannon. Iain Ferguson, Sturrock, Redford, Clark. st Hlrren; Money: Wilson. D.

Hamilton. Abercrombv. Winnie. Cooper. B.

Hamilton, McDowall. Ian Ferguson, McGarvey, Lambert. Referee: K. Hope (Glasgow). Cup captain and three times yesterday announced he was ago.

He said he would dedicate Robert Armstrong Charlton 2, Ipswich 1 Stephen Bierley Oldham 2, Leeds 1 (aet) This 102nd Scottish Cup final will be remembered for a splendid goal by Ian Ferguson, the delirium it gave rise to in Paisley, and very little else. Until the second period of extra time this was a game of very modest attainment. A more-than-respectable crowd of 51,782 at Hampden Park, had to endure a cat-and-mouse performance, with St Mirren and Dundee United, who meet Gothenburg in the second leg of the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday, preoccupied with containment and disinclined to risk much in attack. All the betting was on a replay until those final 15 minutes. As players tired, gaps began to appear in both defences.

Momentarily it seemed as if St Mirren were to pay the price of caution, when United's Iain Ferguson shot past Campbell Money from Redford's cross. But the referee. Ken Hope, rightly disallowed the goal for offside against Kevin Gallacher, who was on the goal line. Six minutes later United were left to rue another anti-climactic Hampden performance. Billy Abercromby started the move with a pass to Brian Hamilton, who sent a to urian Mammon, wno sent a nne DaU nttO tne traCKS OI lan Ferguson on the left.

united John Holt se attendance, but year-old striker i shook was the 20- him off. touched the ball forward, and struck a left-foot shot into the roof of Billy Thomson's net Michel Platini, France's World European Footballer of the Year Melrose's garland Charlton kept a hold on their First Division place with a more comfortable victory than the scoreline suggests at Selhurst Park yesterday. A goal by Steve McCall came far too late to rescue the Ipswich cause after Jim Melrose had taken his tally for the season to 16 with two goals midway through the first half. Charlton now meet Leeds in a two-leg play-off final next weexena. It was an edgy, violent clash, wit tJM13 Wilson of Ipswich and Walsh of Charlton receiving leg injuries that put them out ot tne game oeiore nau-ume.

Walsh was carried off on a stretcher after half an hour, forcing Crooks to drop back into midfield to accommodate the substitute, Leaburn, in attack. Charlton were more resolute and usually a yard or more quicker to the ball, mixing skill and muscle shrewdly against a less experienced Ipswich team that often lacked Edwards' away day There are many little kindnesses which help ease the pain of life, and this morning one of them would be not to let any Oldham Athletic supporter see the end-of-sea-son Second Division table. For it shows Oldham seven points clear of Leeds United, and that Leeds scored a mere 15 away goals, fewer than all but Millwall and the same total as Brighton who finished bottom. Yet it was United who reached the finals of the playoffs on, of all things, the away goal rule a goal that robbed Ahletic of the chance to pursue their First Division ambition by no more than 30 seconds. When Cecere put Oldham 2-1 ahead on aggregate in the 89th minute at Boundary Park yesterday morning the jubilation was Pennine high.

Perhaps Oldham were already convinced they had won, for a defence that had been as tight as tight for 89-and-a-half minutes suddenly opened with such charity that Leeds barged breathlessly retiring because he said he no longer enjoyed the game. Platini, 32. was due to nlav his last match yesterday for Juventus. the Italian club he joined five years himself to helping young drug addicts, television and his business interests, est nni oniy inree urae woras, dot ior me iney mean the end of an era. Today I have decided to leave football but I can't hide my sadness," Platini said in a statement.

"The competition, the team, the public, the game, the emotion before going onto the field I will miss it all but I can't go on because I don't enjoy it any more.".