“Somebody told me I’m the answer to a quiz question…” laughs Steve Morrow.
And the question Morrow is referring to? “Who was the first player to collect a winners’ medal before an FA Cup final?”
Morrow scored the winning goal against Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup final in April 1993, clinching our second League Cup following our 1987 success.
However in the post-match celebrations, Tony Adams attempted to pick up the Belfast-born player and parade him on his shoulders. But Morrow fell and landed awkwardly, which resulted in him breaking his arm and being rushed straight to hospital, unable to soak in the celebrations.
He – and Arsenal – returned to Wembley in May that year for the FA Cup final, ironically also against Sheffield Wednesday. Prior to kick-off, Morrow climbed the iconic 39 Wembley steps to collect the League Cup winners’ medal he was unable to receive a month earlier.
Morrow joined us as a schoolboy back in 1984 and went on to make 85 first-team appearances between 1994 and 1997, and while he is exonerably linked to this final, it was another Gunner who starred sufficiently to be awarded the man of the match trophy.
After John Harkes had given Wednesday an early lead after a clever free-kick routine fell to him on the edge of the area to drill past David Seaman, Paul Merson came the fore. The magic man equalised with 20 minutes played, hitting a half-volley into the net via a deflection off Andy Linighan, and then he would feature heavily in our winner.
After darting to the byline, his cross cannoned off Carlton Palmer into the path of Morrow, who finished clinically from close range.
“The main memory is scoring the winning goal,” Morrow reflected with us earlier this year. “It feels like so long ago now but everyone who bumps into me reminds me of that day because it was so infamous.
“Even though it was memorable for other reasons, my main memory is scoring the winning goal in a cup final and how amazing that felt for a young kid from Belfast to get to that stage. It was what dreams are made of.”
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Quiz: Name the XI from our last League Cup success
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