15th March 1987, a Sunday afternoon and live TV cameras were at Plough Lane for the FA Cup Quarter Final – whilst live TV might seem obvious to our younger readers, at the time there were minimal games on live TV.
Wimbledon would host Tottenham for a place in the FA Cup Semi Finals – with the press proclaiming it to be a clash of cultures ahead of the game.
Prior to the big match, John Fashanu, in an attempt to intimidate Tottenham players announced: “We are going for Spurs’ most vulnerable point – their lack of aggression. They are going to be scared”.
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If this comment was meant to intimidate Tottenham, then it backfired. Superbly led by the defensive duo of Richard Gough and Gary Mabbutt, Tottenham coped with all that Wimbledon threw at them, and even when Vinny Jones did finally manage to get a shot on target for the home team, Ray Clemence was more than equal to the task.
As the second half developed, Spurs began to exert pressure of their own, and it was no surprise when they finally took the lead in the 83rd minute after Chris Waddle shimmied past Nigel Winterburn and hammered a shot past Beasant through a small gap at his near post. Just to make sure, Hoddle then sealed the tie, scoring a fantastic, but trademark free-kick after Waddle had been poleaxed by Andy Thorn. Wimbledon knocked out by Hoddle and Waddle, who could celebrate with a Top of the Pops appearance with their Diamond Lights single!