The 1987 Littlewoods Cup Final was a football match played on 5 April 1987 between Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 and Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

. The match, played in front of 96,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium, was won by Arsenal 2–1. Ian Rush

Ian Rush

Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...

 opened the scoring for Liverpool, before Charlie Nicholas equalised, turning in a cross in a crowded penalty area. Nicholas scored the winner in the second half from a Perry Groves

Perry Groves

Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...

 cross. His shot deflected off Ronnie Whelan

Ronnie Whelan

Ronald Andrew "Ronnie" Whelan is a former Irish football midfielder, and sometimes defender, who was an integral part of the dominant Liverpool side of the 1980s...

 and was diverted past Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobelaar's outstretched hand. It was the first match that Liverpool had ever lost in which Rush had scored.

Arsenal also finished fourth in the First Division, but were unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup as UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 voted for the ban in English clubs in European competitions to continue for a third season.

Ian Rush scores Liverpool's consolation goal - his 145th for the club and his first goal to be scored on the losing side any competition.

Match details

EWLINE| ARSENAL: GK 1   John Lukic John Lukic Jovan "John" Lukic is an English former football goalkeeper who was a member of Football League championship sides with two different clubs and played at the highest level of English football in four separate decades.-Childhood and early life:Lukic was born in Chesterfield to Yugoslavian parents;... RB 2   Viv Anderson Viv Anderson Vivian Alexander "Viv" Anderson MBE is an English football player and coach, who played for clubs including Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Manchester United and Sheffield Wednesday in the 1970s and 1980s... LB 3   Kenny Sansom Kenny Sansom Kenneth Graham Sansom is an English former footballer. Until overtaken by Ashley Cole in February 2011, he held the record for the number of caps for an England national football team full back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.- Crystal Palace :Sansom started out... CM 4   Steve Williams CB 5   David O'Leary David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai... CB 6   Tony Adams Tony Adams (footballer) Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends... RM 7   David Rocastle David Rocastle David Carlyle Rocastle, nicknamed Rocky, was an English football player, who spent the majority of his career at Arsenal... CM 8   Paul Davis Paul Davis (footballer) Paul Vincent Davis is an English former footballer.Born in Dulwich, London, Davis signed for Arsenal as an apprentice in 1977 and turned professional the following year... CF 9   Niall Quinn Niall Quinn Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...   CF 10   Charlie Nicholas LM 11   Martin Hayes Martin Hayes (footballer) Martin Hayes is an English former footballer.-Career:Born in Walthamstow, London, Hayes played youth football for Essex schoolboys before joining Arsenal as an apprentice in June 1982...   Substitutes: MF 12   Perry Groves Perry Groves Perry Groves is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker...   MF 14   Michael Thomas  Manager:   George Graham George Graham (footballer) George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...

EWLINE| LIVERPOOL: GK 1   Bruce Grobbelaar Bruce Grobbelaar Bruce David Grobbelaar is a former football goalkeeper and manager.He played for a number of clubs in a career which spanned for more than 20 years at professional level, most notably Liverpool during their dominant period in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Early years:In his teenage years, Grobbelaar... RB 2   Gary Gillespie Gary Gillespie Gary Thompson Gillespie was a defender who played football for Liverpool through much of their dominant period of the 1980s.-Early career:... LB 3   Barry Venison Barry Venison Barry Venison is a retired English footballer who enjoyed a successful playing career from 1981 to 1997. He later worked as an television pundit.-Sunderland:... CM 4   Nigel Spackman Nigel Spackman Nigel James Spackman is an English football manager and former player. He was formerly a midfield player who was an integral part of the much-admired Liverpool team of 1988... LM 5   Ronnie Whelan Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew "Ronnie" Whelan is a former Irish football midfielder, and sometimes defender, who was an integral part of the dominant Liverpool side of the 1980s... CB 6   Alan Hansen Alan Hansen Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...  (c) CF 7   Paul Walsh Paul Walsh Paul Anthony Walsh is a retired English footballer.Walsh was a diminutive and pacy centre forward who shot to fame in the 1980s during spells with Charlton, Luton, Liverpool and Tottenham.-Charlton Athletic:...   RM 8   Craig Johnston Craig Johnston Craig Johnston is a former football player who was one of the first Australians to make a major impact in the English game. He is remembered for his time spent with Liverpool throughout the 1980s... CF 9   Ian Rush Ian Rush Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield... CM 10   Jan Molby CM 11   Steve McMahon Steve McMahon Stephen Joseph McMahon is an English former football midfielder who most notably played for Liverpool in the late 1980s...   Substitutes: FW 12   Kenny Dalglish Kenny Dalglish Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...   MF 14   John Wark John Wark John Wark is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame...   Player/Manager:   Kenny Dalglish Kenny Dalglish Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...

External links

• LFC History Match Report