Crystal Palace’s run to the 1990 FA Cup final remains one of the standout moments in the club’s history, and Alan Pardew played a central role in one of its most memorable matches.
Alan Pardew scored the winning goal in extra time as Crystal Palace beat Liverpool 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final at Villa Park. The victory was even more remarkable given what had happened between the two sides only months earlier.
Liverpool had inflicted an embarrassing 9-0 defeat on Palace at Anfield, but the Eagles refused to let that result define their season. Instead, they produced one of the most memorable wins in the club’s history when it mattered most.
Alan Pardew reflects on Palace’s incredible comeback
Looking back on that period, Alan Pardew remembers both matches and the huge contrast between them.
“I played in that not-so-iconic 9-0 league defeat against Liverpool a few months earlier,” Pardew told FourFourTwo.
For the former Palace midfielder, the painful defeat made the semi-final victory even more special.
“But I suppose that’s what made the cup win so remarkable,” he said. “Humiliation one moment, sheer elation the next.”
Pardew believes the turnaround showed the strength within the Palace squad and their ability to respond after such a heavy setback.
“It was testimony to the resilience we had within the group,” he added.
His own decisive contribution came in the 109th minute, when Pardew found the winning goal to send Palace into the FA Cup final at Wembley.
The moment also changed his own career. Suddenly, he had become the centre of attention after producing one of the biggest moments of Palace’s cup run.
“That goal shot me into the spotlight for probably the first time in my career,” Pardew recalled. “Suddenly, every newspaper, radio station and TV channel wanted to talk to me.”
