Rebecca Lowe: I'll never get over Crystal Palace's FA Cup final triumph
It was everything.
Everything I had ever hoped for and dared to dream about. A feeling that I wasn't quite sure what to do with and, less than 24 hours on, still don't know. The day truly had it all: Wembley Stadium bathed in the kind of sunshine I remembered from FA Cup finals of my childhood, red and blue flags waving in a frenzy as kick off drew closer … 'Glad All Over' ringing out in desperate hope—not yet jubilation.
For me, this day was about the family and friends who I used to go to Palace with 20 and 30 years ago, but also about my husband, who might have played for Brentford and was a Bee through and through but on this day was all Palace … and about a 9-year-old boy—our son Teddy, who was the same age I was back in 1990, the first time Palace got to the FA Cup final. That day 35 years ago for me and this day for Teddy couldn't be more different, and for that I'll always be grateful.
My dad is 76 and has waited his entire life for this moment. We couldn't sit together, so we organized pre- and post-match meetups. Just sitting in his company at a Turkish restaurant on Wembley High Street four hours before the game, thinking about the hundreds of treks around the South Circular on Saturday mornings and Tuesday nights back in the day, I just had a strong feeling that the stars were aligning. This really felt like it was going to be our day. And every message I received said the same. But as a Palace fan—and actually as any football fan who's been through the mill—you dare not trust that feeling for fear of the potential pain that lies in wait. After all, this was Manchester City and the best manager in the world.
Walking out to our seats, Wembley looked beautiful. I'd watched Palace there in the 1990s a few times: at the Zenith Data Systems Cup final victory over Everton ('When Geoff goes up to lift the ZDS Cup, we'll be there…') and the First Division Play Off finals that ended both ways, and then in 2013 when once again Palace reached the Promised Land of the Premier League. And as much as being a member of the best league in the world means a great deal to me (not least because I get to talk about them every week at work), I have been in love with the FA Cup my whole life. It just means more than any record finish in the league.
This club is in my soul. It has permeated every part of my life. It has been as constant as my family; I've loved it longer than most of my dear friendships. I struggle really to explain why it means so much. I guess it's the community it represents. As a 9-year-old girl in 1990, Palace welcomed me in. As a teenager, it was the place I felt at my happiest. It's what has bonded my dad and I through the years … whether that was the regularity and rhythm of the home games for decades or the annual away trips to places like Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town when we'd leave at the crack of dawn and return way past my bedtime. I didn't realize it was happening at the time (does any young person?), but on reflection, Crystal Palace was seeping deeper and deeper into who I was. The club is in the very fibers of my identity. The people, the history, the narrative have remained a running accompaniment to every chapter of my life. Like everyone, there have been great chapters and tough chapters, but the constant has been Palace—a source of hope, love and now fulfilment.
There were tears during 'Abide With Me,' tears when the players came out and tears again when the referee blew his whistle after the agonizing 10 minutes of added time. I tried to ask myself why I was crying. I think if you're lucky enough to have one, it's one of those rarest of moments in your life where happiness simply peaks. A feeling so overwhelming, it is impossible not to crumble a little.
A post shared by Rebecca Lowe (@rebeccalowetv)
As for the game itself, what a final. I can rarely remember a Palace match where every single member of the team played to their maximum. Whether they started or came on, the level of concentration, selflessness and fitness was incredible. Oliver Glasner is special, and he is now our greatest ever manager. Sure, we rode our luck, big time. If the Dean Henderson handball had been against us, I would have been devastated—I admit to that—but this is the game we're all in. Strange decisions sometimes go your way. Henderson's performance all day will live long in the memory. As will his serenading of the Palace fans in the after party later that night. We were so lucky to be present to meet the players and witness their joy during the finest moment of their careers so far. Seeing Teddy wearing his Palace shirt with Eddie Nketiah on the back being hugged by the man himself and then watching as Nketiah placed his FA Cup winners medal over my son's neck for a photo was simply other-worldly. Ted will never forget his kindness, not for the rest of his life. I thank Eddie Nketiah and all the Palace players and staff for truly making 9-year-olds', 44-year-olds' and 76-year-olds' dreams come true. That takes some doing.
On the final whistle, the moment is hard to describe. Elation, jubilation and disbelief are about as close as I can manage. Pure overwhelming happiness. I said beforehand that supporting a team like Palace means you rarely get days like these, and if you do, it will make up for decades of pain. I can assure you that sentiment is true. I genuinely don't think I'll ever get over this day.
Right now, I don't care if we never win another trophy, I feel complete. May 17th, 2025, already feels too long ago and one I will revisit in my mind forever.
Thank you, Crystal Palace Football Club—my lifelong love.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
39 minutes ago
- New York Times
Jack Wilshere will not make Arsenal return as Under-21s head coach
Jack Wilshere is no longer in contention to return to the Arsenal academy in a coaching role, with Max Porter currently the front-runner to be appointed as the club's U21 head coach. Wilshere, 33, who had previously been head coach of Arsenal's U18s, had been in discussions with the club over a potential return to coaching in the academy. Those talks were initially centred around a return to lead the U21s — Arsenal's previous U21 manager, Mehmet Ali, left the club in July to take up a first-team coaching role at Brentford. Advertisement Former Arsenal and England midfielder Wilshere is highly-regarded for his role in helping develop talents such as Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman. Many at Arsenal recognised the value of bringing a celebrated graduate of Hale End back into the academy in a prominent role to help bridge the gap between the academy and the first-team. Naturally, Wilshere was a candidate in the process to determine Ali's replacement — even if there were some reservations over bringing back a coach who had left the club relatively recently. Wilshere — who made 197 appearances as a player for Arsenal while also earning 34 international caps for England — left the Arsenal academy to join Norwich City as a first-team coach in October 2024. He went on to become interim head coach there, before departing at the end of the 2024-25 season. The nature of the role on offer at Arsenal, however, has changed. As well as being U21 head coach, Ali also managed Arsenal's U19 team in the UEFA Youth League. Arsenal's plan was to divide the role, with Porter leading the U21s, and Wilshere taking responsibility for the U19s and EFL trophy, as well as supporting the U21 staff. Thus far, Arsenal have not been able to come to an agreement with Wilshere on that basis, and as things stand he is not expected to be part of the new-look academy set-up. With Wilshere seemingly out of contention for the U21 position, Porter appears set for the role. The 39-year-old has been with Arsenal's academy since 2017, working his way up through the age groups. Following Ali's departure, Porter and fellow coach Ken Gillard took interim charge of the U21s. Porter is now set to step up to take the role on a permanent basis. () Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
'No serious offers' made for Hutchinson
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says that there have not been any offers for attacker Omari Hutchinson that would change the club's position on a potential sale. The England Under-21 international, 21, has attracted interest from Premier League sides Nottingham Forest and Brentford but the Tractor Boys have not yet agreed a deal with either club. "[Hutchinson has] made his desire to continue to play Premier League if the opportunity is there," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk. "There hasn't been anything that has changed the club's position yet. "It's known that Omari had a buy-out clause in his contract that was active for a few months. "There was no serious or proper offers in that time so once that position is closed then it's the club's position to make the decision as they see fit." Hutchinson has not played for Ipswich so far this season after making 31 Premier League appearances last term. Listen to the full interview with McKenna and more on BBC Sounds.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
Zinchenko on the ‘worst season' of his career: ‘A player who doesn't play is nothing'
This time a year ago, Oleksandr Zinchenko started Arsenal's opening game of the 2024-25 season against Wolves. He was involved in the build-up to Kai Havertz's opener, playing in Bukayo Saka, who crossed for the German international to score. When Zinchenko was substituted in the 69th minute to warm applause, he had no idea he would be dropped from the team the following week. Zinchenko would not start another Premier League game until December. Advertisement 'Unlike the year before, injuries were not to blame,' Zinchenko writes in a new chapter for his updated autobiography, Believe. 'A small problem with my calf kept me out of action in the month of September. A knock here and there. But I was otherwise fit for most of the campaign.' Ahead of its publication on August 14, The Athletic is able to share extracts from the new chapter in which Zinchenko addresses his absence from the first team last season, the ongoing conflict in his native Ukraine, and Arsenal's failure to lift silverware in 2024-25. To overcome his previous injury issues, Zinchenko worked with a specialist who designed an exercise programme specifically to work on his troublesome calf. 'He did a couple of sessions with me and came up with a gym regime that really sorted it out,' writes the 28-year-old. 'It made a massive difference.' But, despite his improved fitness record, Zinchenko found himself regularly left on the sidelines, starting just five of Arsenal's Premier League fixtures last season. 'I was basically out of the starting XI altogether, bar a few isolated matches,' says Zinchenko. 'In pure personal terms, it was easily the worst season I ever experienced as a professional.' Having previously been an integral part of Mikel Arteta's plans, Zinchenko was forced to grapple with a diminishing status within the squad. 'A player who doesn't play is nothing,' he writes. 'It's one thing when your body lets you down. That can happen. 'But going from one of the established players of the side to unused sub is much harder to deal with. The sense of rejection you feel if your manager no longer believes in you can take the stuffing out of you, even if you're the most resilient guy on the planet. 'Sitting on the bench in the Premier League for a very generous wage packet is obviously still a privilege, the kind of problem that billions of people on this planet would swap their much tougher lives for in a heartbeat. Trust me, as a Ukrainian, I'm aware of that. Every single minute. Advertisement 'But every footballer started playing because they love to play the game. A big part of your life is missing without it. Imagine this little boy who's dedicated his entire existence to becoming good at one particular thing and then finds at 28 that he's essentially no longer needed, that there are others who can do the job for him. It's not a nice feeling.' Zinchenko's absence from the team affected those around him, too — including his wife, Vlada. 'She doesn't want to show that she's affected, for fear of upsetting me even more,' he writes. 'But every once in a while, the mask slips.' On one occasion, Vlada took Zinchenko's two young daughters to the Emirates Stadium for a game. 'Eva, the older one at three and a half, says to Leia, 'Look, there's Daddy!'. Leia looks all over the pitch but can't find me. And then Eva points and says, 'No, he's not playing. He's on the bench'. 'Hearing that pained me a lot. It made me feel ashamed. I'm quite grateful that the girls are not yet at an age where they're exposed to social media and don't have to read nasty stuff about their dad who can't get into the Arsenal team anymore.' The primary reason for Zinchenko's omission was the arrival of fresh competition: in the summer of 2024, Arsenal spent £42million ($54m) on Italy international Riccardo Calafiori. Perhaps even more significantly, academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly developed rapidly into a first-team full-back. 'He came in and made the left-back position his,' says Zinchenko of teenager Lewis-Skelly. 'He's a special talent. Such a good player. What he's done is unbelievable, really.' Despite his inevitable disappointment, Zinchenko looked to support Lewis-Skelly in any way he could, saying he congratulated the teenager when he was called up to the England senior side in March for the first time. 'And I told him, 'You've got everything. With your ability, you will be at the top level for the next 10 years or even more, you will be one of the best players in the world, not just in the club but also in the national team'. Advertisement 'I've heard stories of older players ganging up on youngsters to defend their territory, the sort of stuff you see in animal documentaries. I will never, ever undermine a team-mate of mine. That's not me.' That generosity is typical of the attitude Zinchenko has shown since losing his place. 'I'm a professional and it's my job to get on with it,' he writes. 'At Arsenal, we don't have many egos, everyone understands their role, their duties and responsibilities. I'm not the guy that comes in, shows a bad face and spreads bad vibes, I still try to lighten the mood with a few jokes and make people smile. I tried my very best to stay positive inside. 'I did everything asked of me and was happy to play in any position for the subs' XI who stand in for the next opponents in training. Maybe some players might react differently, they might feel slighted having to pretend they're centre-backs when they're wingers, or the other way around. 'But not me. It doesn't bother me at all. I see it as an opportunity to learn and to show that I will do whatever is necessary to play my part.' Zinchenko frames Lewis-Skelly's emergence as a challenge to be overcome. 'Yes, he plays in the same position as me,' says Zinchenko. 'But I still need to acknowledge his talent, applaud him and help him, if only in a little way, to achieve his potential. 'He pushes me to become a better version of myself and to improve further. These are the demands at this level. If someone's better than you, you will be dropped. There's no option but to keep your head straight and to look forward.' The Ukrainian playmaker has been linked with a move away from Arsenal this summer, but as yet no transfer has materialised. He has one year remaining on his contract in north London and is open to moving for the right opportunity — whether now, or in 12 months' time as a free transfer. Advertisement Despite his professionalism, Zinchenko will eventually have to put his career first. 'I've never been a player who runs to the manager, complains or asks tonnes of questions,' explains Zinchenko in his book. 'I can only blame myself. If I don't play, it means that I didn't work hard enough, didn't do enough, didn't play well enough. 'Let's see what time will bring. Because I still want to play football. I want to enjoy the game and come back with a smile on my face in the evening.' Extracted from Believe: The Autobiography by Oleksandr Zinchenko (Bloomsbury £10.99) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
