LONDON: Former Aston Villa and Northern Ireland forward Peter McParland has died at the age of 91. McParland scored 121 goals in 341 appearances for Villa and got both goals in their 2-1 win over Manchester United in the 1957 FA Cup final.

He also scored in the 1961 League Cup final as Villa beat Rotherham 3-2 over two legs and helped the club win the Second Division title in the 1959-60 season.

Capped 34 times by Northern Ireland, McParland scored five goals at the 1958 World Cup and holds the national record for most goals in World Cup finals. He scored eight goals in all for his country.

“Aston Villa Football Club is profoundly saddened to learn that Peter McParland, the last surviving member of the club’s 1957 FA Cup-winning team, has passed away,” the club said in a statement. “The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Peter’s family and loved ones at this extremely difficult time.”

McParland is Northern Ireland’s World Cup finals top scorer after his five goals in their debut run to the quarter-finals in Sweden in 1958. This came only weeks after he was a controversial figure in Villa’s FA Cup win since United were reduced to 10 men after his earlier charge into goalkeeper Ray Wood – in a very different refereeing era.

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