Rumour had it that if he was to keep his job as manager of Manchester United, Alex Ferguson (pre-knighthood) needed to oversee success during 1990 FA Cup.
Ever since his appointment in November 1986, the Scot had struggled to deliver a return to the successful days of Sir Matt Busby. Even so, the club did manage to reach the final of the FA Cup - United's first since 1985 - where they would take on a Crystal Palace side that had surprisingly and dramatically disposed of Liverpool in the semi-finals.
The two sides met at Wembley 24 years ago today with United regarded as heavy favourites despite the fact that they had finished the Division One campaign 13th, just two places above their opponents.
However, even though they were appearing in their first ever FA Cup final, Palace, who were managed by former United winger Steve Coppell, showed little signs of nerves as they broke the deadlock in the 18th minute. Gary O'Reilly rose above his marker Gary Pallister to head Phil Barber's cross over an advancing Jim Leighton and into the net as Steve Bruce attempted to clear.
United's response to falling behind was a positive one and, with 35 minutes played, they were level. Brian McClair sent a cross from the right flank towards the back post for an unmarked Bryan Robson to head past Nigel Martyn, thanks in part to a deflection off an unfortunate John Pemberton.
That goal saw United start to dominate proceedings, but it wasn't until the 62nd minute that they made that domination count. Midfielder Neil Webb charged down Andy Thorn's clearance inside the Palace area and when the ball broke for Mark Hughes, the Welshman lashed his shot out of Martyn's reach from close range.
Having fallen behind, Coppell turned to Ian Wright, who many felt would not be fit to feature because of a broken leg that he had suffered earlier in the campaign. The striker's impact was instant, though, as he equalised during his first involvement, which saw him beat Mike Phelan and Pallister, before slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net in the 72nd minute.
It was a goal that sent the contest into extra-time, where Wright made another key contribution 120 seconds after the restart. United keeper Leighton misjudged the flight of Salako's cross from the left and Wright benefited to volley in at the back post.
It seemed for a while that Wright's second goal was going to be a winning one, but with seven minutes left to play, Hughes, like the Palace substitute, completed his brace. He burst on to Danny Wallace's stabbed through pass and, with Martyn approaching, the striker was able to squeeze the ball inside the far post.
The goal forced a replay five days later, which United won thanks to a second-half strike from full-back Lee Martin.
MAN UNITED: Leighton; Martin (Blackmore), Bruce, Pallister (Robins), Phelan; Ince, Robson, Webb, McClair, Wallace; Hughes
PALACE: Martyn; Thorn, Pardew, O'Reilly, Shaw, Pemberton; Salako, Gray (Madden), Barber (Wright), Thomas, Bright
Liam Apicella
