Top 5 FA Cup finals of all time

#3 1987: Coventry City vs Tottenham Hotspur (3-2)

Coventry City won the FA Cup thanks to an own goal from Tottenham

The 1987 FA Cup final was held between Tottenham Hotspur and Coventry City. Tottenham Hotspur who were the joint-most successful team in FA Cup history along with Aston Villa at the time reached their eighth final by thrashing Watford 4-1 in the semi-finals.

This was a time when Tottenham was among the silverware claimers in English football.

Coventry City was the surprise package of the competition as they defeated Manchester United in the fourth round.

The Sky Blues reached the final after defeating 1972 champions Leeds United 3-2 in an exciting semi-final clash.

The final was held at Wembley and 98,000 people gathered to witness it. Tottenham were the favorites coming into the match and it took them only two minutes to score the opener through a Clive Allen header. It was Allen's 49th goal of the season across all competitions.

However, Coventry equalised just seven minutes later through Dave Bennett who was a part of the Manchester City squad that was beaten by Tottenham in the 1981 FA Cup final. Spurs regained the lead five minutes before half-time thanks to defender Gary Mabbutt.

Midway in the second half, Coventry were level once again thanks to Keith Houchen's diving header from a Bennett cross.

Both teams had the FA Cup trophy flashing in front of their eyes and were playing tremendously well with neither willing to end up on the losing side.

The passing was brilliant from both sides and it was also the main reason why quite a number of goals were scored and numerous scoring chances were accumulated.

However, there was no deviation in the scoreline for the remainder of regular time and the match went into extra time.

During the 96th minute, Coventry midfielder Lloyd McGrath sent in a cross which took a deflection from Mabbutt and went in.

Coventry City scripted one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup by beating Tottenham to clinch their only FA Cup title. This remains to be the only FA Cup final that Tottenham have lost.

The 1987 FA Cup final will always be remembered for the high-quality football played by both teams.

Renowned commentator John Motson claims that this was the finest FA Cup final he ever commentated, stating that the match was a clean, good-willed yet well-contested final, with no bookings and high-quality football being produced by both sides.