Special Feature
Greg Downes recalls battle with England's finest

Buy photos » Greg Downes celebrates after the final whistle at Wembley (s)

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Coventry City's famous FA Cup triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, the Observer has teamed up with Coventry City's Former Players' Association (CCPFA) to re-capture the memories of players, managers and fans from the club's greatest day on May 16, 1987.

This week our sports reporter Steve Carpenter spoke with left back Greg Downes who was given the tough task of marking England international Chris Waddle on back of an admittedly disappointing semi-final performance.

"For me personally I was on a bit of a downer when I walked off the pitch after our semi-final win over Leeds," Downes said.

"I'd had a really bad game. I think I was marking Andy Ritchie and I hadn't got to grips with him throughout the whole match so when I came off I felt as though I couldn't celebrate like the other players.

"I remember John Sillett telling me not to worry about it but I was disappointed with the way I had played and I wanted to make up for that performance in the final at Wembley.

"I was up against Chris Waddle, one of the best players in England at the time. He was a fantastic right winger who had a reputation of destroying full-backs week-in-week-out.

"I believe I was playing in one of the key areas of the match, especially when you look at all the different battles taking place.

"Spurs were like a who's who of football, but we weren't intimidated by them in the slightest, myself included.

"There was one point where he caught me with a Cruyff turn in the corner. I thought he was going to go the other way but he somehow just pulled the ball back and I suppose sometimes you have just got to take your hat off.

"Before half time he had just about got the better of me, but with all due respect he seemed to get lazy in the second half and I saw more of the ball along with Benno (Dave Bennett).

"I remember thinking we were the fitter side in extra time. There was a moment when Waddle looked to run at me but he just didn't have anything to come at me with.

"When we scored the winner to make it 3-2 I looked at Peaky (Trevor Peake) and we were both very calm at the time and just agreed to keep it tight at our end. In truth we didn't feel they could come at us.

"At the whistle I remember comforting Waddle. At times like this you don't want to rub it into people's faces. I felt there was a time and a place to celebrate and enjoy it together."

After lifting the trophy, Downes recalled the celebrations with the players' families.

"The celebrations that followed were amazing," he said.

"The club invited all of our family down to Wembley that day to be part of the occasion. They looked after our family that day and I will never forget that."

Downes, who played into his 40s, signed for the Sky Blues at the start of the 1985/86 and had the task of replacing England international Stuart Pearce at left-back, which Downes admitted was a difficult.

"My first year at the club was very hard. The crowd didn't seem to like me and who can blame them in a way because I was replacing Stuart Pearce, one of the best left backs to play for the Sky Blues and that was a tough act to follow.

"I loved getting forward as much as possible but under the old management I would always get a call to drop back, which I didn't like.

"I wasn't enjoying my football at the club but all that changed when John Sillett and George Curtis came in.

"They changed the style of play and my form picked up as the season went on. We were a team that started to play with a bit of style and I really enjoyed it.

"We finished something like 10th in the league in the 1986/87 season and obviously won the FA Cup.

"We got admiration from people for our style of football, but I think the fact that it had been so tough the season before had helped shape us into the team we had."