1-0

Portsmouth vs Cardiff City

The Match

Cardiff would have been the first club outside the top division in English League Football to win the FA Cup since West Ham United in 1980, if it wasn’t for Kanu’s goal in the 37^th minute, which proved enough for Portsmouth to win their second FA Cup trophy. Portsmouth endured an extraordinary campaign on route to the final as they overcame several of the country’s biggest clubs to play in front of nearly 90,000 fans at the new Wembley Stadium. The match was lacking quality throughout but as the final whistle blew, Portsmouth not only won the Cup and the £1m prize money it accompanied, they also achieved European qualification for the first time in the clubs history. In recent years, Portsmouth have found themselves dropping to the 3^rd tier of the English Football League, however, this victory remains (along with Wigan Athletic in 2013) one of the few instances where one of the so-called big clubs hasn’t inevitably won the FA Cup.

The Writer

Charles Dickens

Born

Landport, Portsmouth

7th February 1812 (died 9th June 1870)

Connection to Club

Birthplace

Known to all as a literary figurehead, Charles Dicken was born in Landport, Portsmouth in 1812. A creator of world-renowned fiction including A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield and Great Expectations, Dickens lacked any kind of formal education. Most of his works were published in serial format, which was the normal means in which Victorian literature was published. Oliver Twist is perhaps his most famous work and is still being adapted for the stage and screen. Dickens’ up rise from the working-class background of Portsmouth to literary great is similar to Portsmouth FC’s 2008 FA Cup campaign, where against odds they became the best in the land (for that year at least). Smaller towns often don’t produce writers worthy of note, however, Dickens stands as one of the greatest authors of all time, all emanating from his modest beginnings in Portsmouth.

Find Oliver Twist here