TOMORROW’S clash at St Mary’s is the first time Saints have met Crystal Palace in an FA Cup tie since beating them en route to final glory in 1976.
Lawrie McMenemy’s Second Division side beat Malcolm Allison’s Third Division underdogs 2-0 in the semi final at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Saints had to wait until 74 minutes before Paul Gilchrist fired them in front.
David Peach sealed Saints’ Wembley place with a penalty five minutes later.
It was the first spot-kick Peach had taken for Saints, after Mick Channon and Jim McCalliog had both recently missed from 12 yards.
The last time Saints hosted Palace in the FA Cup was almost exactly half a century ago.
It was on January 30, 1965, that Ted Bates’ men welcomed Palace to The Dell for a fourth round encounter.
The tie was played on the same day as Winston Churchill’s state funeral, and resulted in Palace beating their Second Division rivals 2-1.
It was the third time that season that Saints had lost to Palace.
They had previously been dumped out of the League Cup, and had also lost at The Dell 1-0 in the league.
Saints got revenge two months later when they won 2-0 at Selhurst Park in the league return.
