Everton 1-2 West Ham, FA Cup Semi-Final Replay, 16th April 1980
West Ham United met Everton in an FA Cup semi-final replay at Elland Road in front of 40,720 exactly 40 years ago today, on Wednesday the 16th April 1980. The Detroit Spinners were number one with ‘Working My Way Back To You’, Kramer Vs. Kramer topped the UK box office and the Second Division Hammers emerged victorious against the First Division Toffees with a 2-1 win after extra-time. Everton, who went into the match fourth from bottom in the top flight, had beaten Aldershot, Wigan, Wrexham and Ipswich on their way to the semi-final, while West Ham’s league form since knocking out Aston Villa in the quarter-final had seen them pick up just three points from seven matches.
After a goalless 90 minutes West Ham drew first blood four minutes into the extra-time period, Alan Devonshire playing a one-two with Stuart Pearson before breaking into the penalty area and calmly slotting into the net. Bob Latchford equalised for Everton in the 113th minute with a near-post finish and the tie seemed destined for a second replay. With just two minutes to spare though, Trevor Brooking centred, David Cross nodded down and Frank Lampard popped up to send a perfectly-placed diving header wide of Everton goalkeeper Martin Hodge and just inside the post. Lampard raced off to dance round the corner flag, a celebration copied by Frank Junior when scoring on the same ground in 1997.
The Hammers progressed to the final, where they defeated Arsenal 1-0 to win the 1980 FA Cup.
West Ham United: Phil Parkes, Frank Lampard, Ray Stewart, Billy Bonds, Paul Brush, Paul Allen, Geoff Pike, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire, David Cross, Stuart Pearson.
The 15-minute video below contains the goals from the 1980 semi-final replay, along with interviews with goalscorers Alan Devonshire and Frank Lampard as well as manager John Lyall.
Happy 43rd Birthday Freddie Ljungberg
Freddie Ljungberg was born on 16th April 1977 in Vittsjo, Sweden. The Ljungbergs moved to Halmstad when Freddie was five; he would later attend Sannarpsgymnasiet, the same school fellow former Hammer Niclas Alexandersson attended. Ljungberg began his career with local club Halmstads in 1994 at the age of 17, winning the Swedish Cup in 1995 and the Swedish league title in 1997.
The 21-year-old Ljungberg moved to Arsenal in 1998 for £3m and scored 72 goals in 325 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners before moving across London to West Ham United. Alan Curbishley signed the 30-year-old Ljungberg on a four-year deal for a fee approaching £3m, although then-chairman Eggert Magnusson negotiated the fee and Ljungberg’s contract. Ljungberg made 28 appearances for the Hammers, making his debut as captain in a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City on 11th August 2007. He scored his first goal for the club on 9th February 2008 in a 1-1 home draw with Birmingham, with his second and final goal for the Hammers coming in a 2-1 defeat at Sunderland on 29th March 2008. His final game was a 2-2 home draw with Newcastle on 26th April 2008, a game which saw him break his ribs when Magpies defender Steven Taylor landed on him accidentally.
Ljungberg won 75 caps for Sweden, scoring 14 goals. He was a member of the Swedish squad at Euro 2004 and Euro 2008, as well as at two World Cups in 2002 and 2006. After Euro 2008, Ljungberg agreed to terminate his West Ham contract just a year into his four-year deal for a sum of £6m. Ljungberg stated, "I gave my all at West Ham and enjoyed my time there but the decision is the best for the both of us. Now, I will take my time to consider my football future”. His two goals for the Irons can be seen in my video below.
Ljungberg signed for Seattle Sounders in 2009 and joined Chicago Fire a year later. He signed for Celtic in 2011 before moving to Japan later that year to join Shimizu S-Pulse. He announced his retirement from football in August 2012 but announced a comeback in July 2014, signing for Mumbai City to promote the launch of the Indian Super League. He played just four matches before moving back to London where he became coach of Arsenal’s Under-15s in July 2016. He was named assistant manager of Wolfsburg’s first team in February 2017 but left the club six months later. 43 today, Ljungberg is back at Arsenal as the club’s assistant coach. He had been the club’s Under-23 coach since June 2018 before being promoted to the first-team set-up in 2019 and was caretaker manager for a spell earlier this season.