Liverpool legend Ian St John, the man who scored the winning goal in their 1965 FA Cup win over Leeds United, has died aged 82.
St John scored 118 goals in 425 appearances for Liverpool over a 10-year spell with the club and helped the side transform from second division strugglers to one of the best teams in the country.
His crowning glory came in the 1965 FA Cup final, when his header saw Bill Shankly’s Liverpool beat Don Revie’s Leeds 2-1 in extra-time in front of 100,000 fans inside Wembley Stadium.
The match was 0-0 after normal time, but came to life in extra time as Roger Hunt and Billy Bremner traded goals. That set the stage for St John to head in a dramatic winner in the 117th minute.
“I can remember the game as if it was played the day before yesterday,” St John recalled to the Liverpool Echo in 2015.
“How we failed to wrap the game up in the first 90 minutes remains a mystery to me.
“It would have been a travesty if we had left Wembley without a victory over a Leeds side that was exceptionally skilful but nasty too.
“Some of their tackling would have landed their players in the Tower in today’s sanitised game when you cannot breathe on opponents without getting booked.
“My unorthodox headed goal that won the match was the most satisfying of my career. Hardly a day goes by without somebody reminding me of it.
“Our supporters were just awesome. Wembley had never heard anything like it. It sounded as if we were playing in front of the Kop.”
St John’s goal gave Liverpool their first ever FA Cup win, having lost in the final in 1914 and 1950, while it handed Leeds defeat in their first-ever final in the competition.
It was Leeds’ second disappointment of the year, having finished as runners-up in the First Division behind Manchester United.
The Whites finished as runners-up in the 1970 FA Cup final, after suffering defeat by Chelsea in a replay.
However, Leeds did get their hands on the trophy in 1972, when Allan Clarke’s goal was enough to beat Arsenal and give manager Revie and players Bremner, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter and Johnny Giles retribution for the previous two defeats at Wembley.
