The five players who have missed FA Cup final penalties - Aldridge, Lineker…

Paul Okey
12 May 2022

Kevin Prince-Boateng Portsmouth penalty miss Wembley 2010

The FA Cup final has featured surprisingly few penalties in normal time - so those that have actually failed from the spot are a rare breed indeed.

Albert Shepherd slotted home the first FA Cup final penalty in 1910 as Newcastle beat Barnsley 2-0 in a replay. However, his name is far less recognised than that of Charlie Wallace, who three years later suffered the ignominy of missing the first ever FA Cup final penalty.

Such a rarity was it that we had to wait another 78 years for someone to pass up an opportunity from the spot, with John Aldridge, and thanks to his save, Dave Beasant writing their names into FA Cup final folklore.

Here, Planet Sport looks back on the select band of players who have run into a spot of bother in the world's oldest national football competition.

Charlie Wallace (Aston Villa) 1910

Wallace won the league title with Villa in 1910 and two FA Cups with the West Midlands side. He also gained three England caps.

However, his achievements in the game have always been overshadowed by what he did from the penalty spot on April 19, 1913.

It doesn't matter that it didn't end up costing his side - Villa went on to beat Sunderland 1-0 - or that he actually set up the winner, with his corner headed home by Tommy Barber.

Because, by putting the ball wide of the target from 12 yards, Wallace had written his name into history as the answer to the trivia question: Who was the first player to miss a penalty in an FA Cup final?

John Aldridge (Liverpool) 1988

#OTD in 1988 Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 and caused one of the greatest FA Cup Final shocks of all time. Dave Beasant saved a John Aldridge penalty to become the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in a FA Cup Final. 'The Crazy Gang have beaten the Culture Club' pic.twitter.com/wbo9WoD95S
— 80s&90sfootball ⚽ 🇺🇦 (@80s90sfootball) May 14, 2021

When Wallace died in 1970 he was still the only player to have missed a penalty in an FA Cup final.

But in 1988 that was all to change thanks to John Aldridge, Dave Beasant and maybe Andy Thorn.

Back when the FA Cup final was still the highlight of the season, the upstarts of Wimbledon had already given Liverpool a bloody nose by taking the lead at Wembley through Lawrie Sanchez.

A major shock looked on the cards only for normal service to be resumed in the 60th minute when Clive Goodyear was adjudged to have felled Aldridge in the box.

Deadly from the spot, Aldridge scored 17 of his 18 penalties during his Reds career. However, this was his only failure, with Beasant diving to his left to push away his effort.

Beasant later said he had been able to study Aldridge's penalties on the TV season and had practised with John Fashanu in the run-up to the game.

He also said Andy Thorn was standing behind the penalty-taker saying "miss, miss, miss".

Whatever was behind the save, it served to drain the belief from Liverpool and Wimbledon's Crazy Gang held on for a remarkable victory.

Gary Lineker (Tottenham) 1991

Tottenham's victory over Nottingham Forest in 1991 has long been overshadowed by the reckless tackle by Paul Gascoigne on Gary Charles which saw Gazza rupture his own cruciate ligaments.

But for Forest keeper Mark Crossley, even a 2-1 defeat in the final or his role in the awarding of a penalty can't take the shine off his own piece of FA Cup final magic.

With 30 minutes played and Forest a goal to the good, Lineker was put through on goal only to be sent tumbling by Crossley. Referee Roger Milford pointed to the spot but the prolific Lineker - who had scored twice in the semi-final - saw his spot-kick saved by Crossley.

Tottenham did eventually get back on level terms before winning the tie in extra-time but that hasn't stopped Crossley reliving his moment of glory again and again.

Mark Crossley (@bignorms) saves Gary Lineker’s penalty in the 1991 FA Cup Final 🧤 pic.twitter.com/NMhnM51qsW
— Football Remind (@FootballRemind) February 6, 2022

"I love watching it and sitting down with dad and the kids," he said.

"Okay it may have been on the losing team, but I still watch it every week."

Crossley has a further spot-kick claim to fame, with a save from Matt Le Tissier providing the former Southampton man with his only failure from the penalty spot in 48 attempts.

Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth) and Frank Lampard (Chelsea) 2010

FA Cup final penalty misses are a rare event so to get two in a game is quite something.

This one saw Petr Cech join Beasant and Crossley in the keepers to save FA Cup final penalties list and Lampard to the England players who missed the target completely, finally giving Wallace some company after 97 years.

Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince Boateng was the unfortunate player denied by Cech. Boateng had scored from the spot in the semi-final win over Tottenham but on this occasion his tame penalty down the centre of the goal was kept out by the legs of the Blues keeper who had dived to his right.

Didier Drogba then went on to compound Boateng's misery by putting Chelsea ahead three minutes later.

Lampard had the chance to wrap up proceedings in the 88th minute, only to drag his effort wide of the left-hand post.

It mattered little as Chelsea held on to win 1-0.

Nevertheless, with the 1913 final played at London's Crystal Palace, Lampard had written his own little bit of history by becoming the first Wembley finalist to shoot wide from the spot.