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Six forgotten FA Cup final goalscorers from the Premier League era - Linighan, Newton, Ramires…

Steven Gerrard, Roberto Di Matteo and Eric Cantona instantly spring to mind when you think of FA Cup goalscorers from the Premier League era. These six, not so much.

Some of the recent FA Cup finals have been so dull you'd be forgiven for having forgotten who scored four years ago let alone back to the start of the Premier League in 1992/93.
However, a troll through the history books, going all the way back to the days when the FA Cup final was still an occasion and not something shoehorned between a Championship play-off semi-final and Norwich's trip to Wolves, has thrown up a few players who provoked a 'did he really?'. And there's even one whose own family has probably forgotten his contribution.
We'll go all the way back to 1993 for our first…

Andy Linighan (Arsenal) 1993

The FA Cup final may have diminished over the years as the riches of the Champions League and finishing 14th in the Premier League take priority but one change for the better has been the scrapping of FA Cup final replays.

FA Cup Saturdays were wall-to-wall coverage from the moment you woke up, it was glamour, it was glitz, it was Keith Chegwin. You gorged yourself on this rare day when football took centre stage and it was wonderful.

We were full up on football, same again next year.
No one needed a replay. You still tucked in because it was there, but you'd lost your appetite. Night games were for Europe and England, the FA Cup needed to be paraded around in the May sunshine.

It's perhaps why many have no recollection of Linighan's extra-time winner for Arsenal in their final replay against Sheffield Wednesday.

It's a terrible goal as well, a header from a corner that Chris Woods makes a real hash of.

Eddie Newton (Chelsea) 1997

When your side opens the scoring 42 seconds in with a wonder strike from 30 yards everything that comes after is going to be a bit of an anti-climax.

Chelsea were expected to beat Middlesbrough so when Roberto Di Matteo put them 1-0 up so early that was that, the headlines were written: Record-breaking wonder goal seals FA Cup for Chelsea.

Already something of an unsung hero at Stamford Bridge, Newton's contribution to that FA Cup final success will forever be 'and Eddie Newton scored late on to make it 2-0'.

Paul Konchesky (West Ham) 2006

You remember the Paul Konchesky Final, right?

The West Ham defender's cross sailed over Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and into the net to give the Irons a 3-2 lead in the 2006 showpiece.

Then with seconds remaining of normal time, Lionel Scaloni smashed the ball into touch near the Liverpool dead-ball line so Djibril Cisse could receive treatment for cramp. There was hardly time to restart play and with Liverpool penned in their own half the final whistle blew handing West Ham lifted the cup for only the fourth time in their history.

Except, Scaloni didn't pump the ball upfield, he rolled it into touch inside his own half, Liverpool regained possession and Steven Gerrard produced one of the most memorable of FA Cup final goals.

And just like that, Konchesky went from West Ham icon to just another player in the Steven Gerrard Final.

Ramires (Chelsea) 2012

Chelsea have been in ten FA Cup finals since the turn of the century and there have never been more than three goals in any of them.

In fact five have finished 1-0, including four in favour of the Blues. So you'd think it'd be much easier to remember the Chelsea scorers.

It's not.
Ramires scored with a "low right-footed finish at the near post from six yards after a pacy dribble", apparently.
Even his celebration has been overshadowed by that of Liverpool's Andy Carroll who wheeled away in delight only to see Petr Cech produce a stunning reflex save to keep out his close-range header.
Chelsea won the game 2-1. Didier Drogba probably scored their other goal.

James Chester (Hull City) 2014

Arsene Wenger has since said he might have called time on his Arsenal tenure had the Gunners failed to beat Hull in the 2013/14 final.

His side entered the game on the back of a nine-year trophy drought and that looked like being extended when rank outsiders Hull romped into a two-goal lead inside the first ten minutes at Wembley.
Chester scored the first for Steve Bruce's side, diverting Tom Huddlestone's miscued shot past Lukasz Fabianski.
Curtis Davies powered home a second and Arsenal were in danger of being mauled by the Tigers, with Alex Bruce seeing a header cleared off the line.
However, Santi Cazorla's free-kick gave Arsenal a foothold in the game. By the time Arsenal pulled level in the 71st minute through Laurent Koscielny, Chester's goal already felt a long time ago.
Aaron Ramsey then popped up with an extra-time winner and Wenger was going nowhere.

Jason Puncheon (Crystal Palace) 2016

It's a decent finish and it's probably been watched a million times over on YouTube.
But let's be honest, no one is searching for 'Puncheon FA Cup final goal', they're all looking for Alan Pardew's cringe-inducing dance afterwards.
Made all the better by the fact Manchester United were level before Pardew even had a chance to whip out his gold medallion.

READ MORE: The five players who have missed FA Cup final penalties - Aldridge, Lineker…

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