 Stoke reached the FA Cup semi @-@ final for a second successive season in 1971 – 72 , again being knocked out by Arsenal in a replay . He had scored in the quarter @-@ final victory over Manchester United and pressured Arsenal 's Peter Simpson into scoring an own goal in the original semi @-@ final game . However , John Radford was the hero of the tie as he played as an emergency goalkeeper in the first game following an injury to Bob Wilson , and then scored the winning goal in the replay . Stoke found greater success in the League Cup , beating Southport , Oxford United ( after a replay ) , Manchester United ( after two replays ) , Bristol Rovers and West Ham United ( after three replays ) to reach the 1972 League Cup Final against Chelsea . He scored two goals during the run , but was knocked out whilst scoring against Bristol Rovers in the quarter @-@ final , and missed some weeks with concussion . He returned to play in the final , man @-@ marking Peter Osgood in a game which Stoke won 2 – 1 to win their first major trophy . 
