19-05-2025
A 'just once before I die' achievement
Hidden in YouTube's archives is a Darren Ambrose goal of the year video from the 2011-12 season. Set to The Cinematic Orchestra's 'To Build a Home', it shows Ambrose scoring from range at Old Trafford in the League Cup quarter final. The camera cuts to a father and his two boys celebrating in disbelief.
I'm not sure how many times I've looked back on that video, but I did once more on the morning of the FA Cup Final – a failed attempt to distract myself and temper the nerves before heading to Wembley Stadium.
That image of the dad and his sons made me emotional 13 years ago, long before we all knew their story that followed.
For that moment to be unveiled as the tifo display at an FA Cup final encapsulated what this match and event meant to the club, the fans in the stadium and those watching elsewhere.
We all have different versions of a similar Palace experience. I have many people and connections in my life whom I'd have never met had my own father not grown up a few roads away from a particular football stadium in south London.
This wasn't a game that a club like Crystal Palace are meant to win. For many, it was a 'just once before I die' achievement, and in the aftermath, we are collectively unsure about what comes next now that we have reached our mountain top.
The semi-final was a party atmosphere, a spectacle of footballing brilliance. The final was the antithesis, a nervy defensive affair that needed a counterattack to spark the fans to life - we didn't expect the first foray to result in the winning goal.
It wasn't until 90 seconds before the end of stoppage time that I realised it was over. The Kevin de Bruyne overhit pass that Dean Henderson ushered out for a goal kick. It seemed the other shoe wouldn't drop like it did in 1990 and 2016.
A wave of emotion followed: euphoria, shock, tears of joy, and a sense of loss for the friends and family who didn't make it to see this finally happen with us.
Crystal Palace are now the 45th team to lift the FA Cup, and that can never be taken away.
Find more from Alex Pewter at FYP podcast
