In Cup finals, the general rule of thumb is to keep it tight, play smart and pick the right moment to create chances. But most importantly, don’t concede early on. It’s rare teams can overcome quick goals, with a fast strike a sucker punch to morale. It’s usually really hard to get going again, after conceding in the first ten minutes, but its even harder to pick yourself up after conceding in the first minute…
When it comes to the F.A Cup final, goals inside a minute occur more often than you’d expect, with many teams struggling to overcome handicapping themselves in the first minute. With the record broken once again in this year’s final, I present the 3 fastest in F.A Cup history, and boy are they belters.
Di Matteo 1997- 45 seconds
17 May 1997: Roberto Di Matteo of Chelsea shoots and scores in the first minute of the FA Cup Final against Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Chelsea won 2-0.
Photo by ROSS, KINNAIRD/Getty Images
This one pains me to mention, as a Middlesbrough fan, with the 3rd fastest F.A Cup Final goal in history coming against the Teesside club. It was a special goal as well, which can somehow feel worse when it’s against your side.
Boro lost possession in the Chelsea half, with Di Matteo receiving the ball from deep inside his own half and charging forward. Boro had committed a few too many forward as they looked to get on the front foot, which left Di Matteo unchallenged as he galloped over the halfway line, acres of space around him.
With every fan expecting Di Matteo to slip a team through or further drive into space, he instead looked up from 25 meters out, picking his spot and rifling an unstoppable shot, the ball crashing off the underside of the bar as it went in. The keeper had no chance.
Boro had suffered what was at the time, the fastest goal in FA Cup final history, and would fail to recover, losing 2-0 and the chance to take home the first F.A Cup trophy in their history.
Louis Saha 2009- 26 seconds
A goal that I was very happy to see go in, tired of the previous fastest goal being brought up every year for the final. When Louis Saha smashed home a typically powerful strike from inside the box just 26 seconds, Everton fans must have thought they were in dream land.
It’s safe to say that as Everton shaped up to face Chelsea in their first F.A Cup final since their 1995 win, they were certainly the underdogs. But after a hopeful ball was swung in and half-cleared by the Chelsea defence, man-mountain Marouane Fellaini would be first on to the second ball, easily outjumping Brazillian defender Alex, nodding the ball into the path of Louis Saha, who had peeled off his marker.
With space to try his luck, Saha swivelled and smashed the ball first time on the half-volley past a diving Petr Cech, sending the Evertonian half of Wembley into pandemonium. Chelsea’s own record had been broken against them, and personally, it was very satisfying to see Chelsea on the other end of it.
Sadly for Saha and Everton, Chelsea would prove to be one of the few teams capable of bouncing back after the worst possible start, doing what Middlesbrough couldn’t do against them 12 years earlier, turning the game on it’s head winning 2-1 with the iconic Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard providing the goals.
Ilkay Gundogan 2023- 13 seconds
As you may have heard a new sheriff is in town, with Gundogan firing quickest in this years F.A Cup final. Finishing off the top 3 with another beautiful goal. In a final doubling as a Manchester derby, the most experienced players have to step up and lead by example from the first second, and boy did Gundogan grab the bull by the horns from the get-go.
It wasn’t a typical Guardiola goal but the move started from the kick-off, with the man himself Gundogan, playing it all the way back to his keeper Ederson. The keeper stopped, assessing the field, and lumped a long ball up to Haaland, who knocked it down to De Bruyne.
The Belgian gave chase, challenging Victor Lindelof for the ball as both went in for a header.
The Swedish defenders attempted clearance, deflected off of De Bruyne’s head, sending the ball looping into the air, with Gundogan in the perfect position out side the box to strike. And what a strike it was, the volley flew past De Gea, leaving him rooted to the spot, watching as the ball sailed past his head.
The build-up play was something out of the Ton Pulis playbook, but the finish was nothing short of world-class firing the Citizens into the lead and smashing the previous record, with the German midfielder scoring twice as fast as Louis Saha.
City won 2-1 and as of yesterday at the time of writing, set a record that will likely stand for many years to come…
