FA Cup Final 2002

Arsenal(2) v Chelsea(0)

On 4th May 2002 the Final of the Axa Sponsored FA Cup between Arsenal and Chelsea was held at The Millennium Stadium Cardiff. Having been mugged by Liverpool at the same venue for the 2001 FA Cup, we were all hoping that history would not repeat itself and that we would complete part one of our third double.

I travelled to Bristol with Matt on the Friday night to avoid the early start and potential motorway chaos as 70,000 fans travelled from London down the M4. I stayed with my good friends Gavin and Francis in their boat moored in Bristol Marina. They had the boat built and then completely fitted it out internally, they've made a really good job of it too.

You can play Spot Gavin with this Photo

Tilly does Cute Gav does breakfast

And so with a good belly full of lard we set off for Cardiff. We were pretty lucky as the road out of Bristol took us over the southern Severn Crossing which was free flowing, whereas the northern crossing was apparently already congested. Once in Cardiff we made use of mobile phones to meet up with Karl and Diane who'd driven down that morning and eventually Del and Amanda when they crawled out of bed having spent the previous night in Cardiff. Traditional beer drinking and pre match hypothesis (talking bollocks!) ensued.

Mmmm, Beer :-)

At last it was time to make our way to the Millennium Stadium

Karl & Diane, ahhh! :-) Fuzzy picture of the warmup

The Millennium Stadium is an impressive venue although when the roof is open the enclosed nature means that part of the pitch can be in bright sunshine while the other half is in deep shadow, as the photos show.

At last the referee strode out to the centre circle and the game got underway. The game wasn't exactly a classic but the two goals we scored were worthy of the occasion. I'd like to say that I got pictures of both of the goals but I was too busy celebrating. Ray Parlour scored with an absolute beauty well into the second half to give us a one goal lead and then nine minutes later, Freddy sealed it with an equally spectacular second. I've only got one shot from during the match and that's Freddy, Wiltord, Edu and Henry turning back after celebrating the goal.

The Referee blew his whistle and the ghosts of last years final were exorcised at last. We'd waited 12 months for the celebrations that followed. It was nice to see the camaraderie amongst the players. David Seaman and Richard Wright (looking a bit dodgey) running hand in hand despite Wrighty having played all but one of the previous FA cup rounds and Seaman only being brought back for the final.

FA Cup Winners 2002

Our keepers and goal scorers celebrate!

We celebrate!

For an occasional fan this lady seems to be very happy :-)

Dodgey picture of me by me...mine's a pint thanks!