Tony Green was forced to retire at just 26 because of constant knee injuries and Harvey used the compensation money Newcastle got to sign his replacement Terry McDermott from Bury. 1973–74 was a big season for Newcastle United. The new attacking team put together by Harvey was being tipped to take one of the major honours come the season's end. By November Newcastle were second in the league, but they fell away to finish 15th, and in the League Cup they were knocked out in the third round. It was down to the FA Cup. Hendon were first up in the third round and a shock 2–2 draw at home meant that Newcastle had to go through a replay at Vicarage Road to see off the non-league side 4–0. Scunthorpe United were next up in the fourth round, and another shock 1–1 draw at St James' meant another replay against lower league opposition. Macdonald scored twice in the replay to crush Scunthorpe's hopes in a 3–0 win. The fifth round saw a difficult away draw to West Bromwich Albion, on a quagmire of a pitch and in front of the TV cameras. Newcastle were majestic, winning 3–0 with Macdonald scoring again. In the 6th round they were 3.0 down at home to Nottingham Forest when their fans invaded the pitch causing the players to return to the dressing room and play was delayed. When the game did restart Newcastle staged a comeback and won 4.3. The FA ordered the game to be replayed and after an initial 0.0 draw Newcastle won through 1.0 thanks to a McDonald goal. Newcastle faced Burnley at Hillsborough in the semi final. Macdonald scored two and Newcastle won 2–0; Harvey would sign Burnley defender Geoff Nulty for the next season after impressing in this game. Newcastle United were through to their first FA Cup final since 1955, where they would play Bill Shankly's Liverpool. Newcastle had a poor build up to final with preparations not going to plan: the tracksuit tops the players were meant to be wearing did not turn up, and they wore purple as they walked out at Wembley Stadium. Macdonald was the key man for Newcastle, having scored in every round for a total of eight goals in the competition. Liverpool played well and coasted to a 3–0 win with Kevin Keegan scoring twice. It was the end of an era