back for Millwall after a Barry Kitchener effort was saved by Cooper, but Ipswich then scored three times in as many minutes. Wark, Talbot and Mariner (completing his hat-trick) added to the scoreline which ended 6–1 and Ipswich progressed. The semi-final, against West Bromwich Albion, was played at Arsenal's Highbury as a neutral venue. The opening goal came from a diving header: Talbot displayed "outrageous bravery" to score at the near post from a Mills cross. Injured in doing so, Talbot was forced to withdraw from the match and sustained three stitches and concussion. Ipswich extended their lead in the 21st minute after Cyrille Regis failed to clear a Mick Lambert corner which was turned in by Mills. Hunter gave away a penalty with less than thirteen minutes to go which was duly converted by Tony Brown but Wark restored the two-goal lead with a late header from a Woods corner. The match ended 3–1 and Ipswich had qualified for their first ever FA Cup final and first visit to Wembley Stadium. Pre-match Arsenal were appearing in the final of the FA Cup for the first time since their defeat to Leeds United in the 1972 final. They had won the cup on four other occasions (in 1930, 1936, 1950 and 1971) and were making their ninth appearance in the FA Cup final overall. Ipswich were considered underdogs: bookmaker William Hill offered odds of 9/4 on an Ipswich win and evens on an Arsenal win the day before the match. David Lacey, writing in The Guardian, suggested that Arsenal were favourites to win because of doubts over the fitness of Ipswich defender Allan Hunter and the mediocre league form of the East Anglian club during the 1977–78 season which saw Ipswich finish eighteenth, while Arsenal ended in fifth position. The Reading Evening Post also considered Ipswich to be underdogs, noting that Arsenal had won three of their last four matches, while Ipswich were "bludgeoned by injury" and had lost 6–1 in their last match against Aston Villa. Bobby Robson was content with the underdog label: "Being the underdogs helps ease the tension and that suits us fine ... Arsenal seem to be most people's choice this time, but that does not worry us in the least." The final was televised by the BBC as part of their Grandstand show. David Coleman was the main commentator for the BBC with punditry