1897–98 FA Cup


The 1897-1898 FA Cup was the 27th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. The cup was won by Nottingham Forest, who defeated Derby County 3-1 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

Calendar

The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, five qualifying rounds, three proper rounds, and the semi finals and final.
RoundDate
Preliminary RoundSaturday 18 September 1897
First Round QualifyingSaturday 25 September 1897
Second Round QualifyingSaturday 16 October 1897
Third Round QualifyingSaturday 30 October 1897
Fourth Round QualifyingSaturday 20 November 1897
Fifth Round QualifyingSaturday 11 December 1898
First Round ProperSaturday 29 January 1898
Second Round ProperSaturday 12 February 1898
Third Round ProperSaturday 26 February 1898
Semi-FinalsSaturday 19 March 1898
FinalSaturday 16 April 1898

First round proper

The First Round Proper contained sixteen ties between 32 teams. The 16 First Division sides were given a bye to this round, as were Newton Heath, Burnley, Leicester Fosse, Grimsby Town, Walsall and Manchester City from the Second Division. The other Second Division sides were entered into the Third Qualifying Round. Of those sides, only Newcastle United, Woolwich Arsenal, Luton Town and Gainsborough Trinity qualified to the FA Cup Proper. Six non-league sides also qualified.
The matches were played on Saturday, 29 January 1898. One match was drawn, with the replay taking place in the following midweek fixture.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Burnley3-1Woolwich Arsenal29 January 1898
2Bury1-2Stoke29 January 1898
3Liverpool2-0Hucknall St Johns29 January 1898
4Preston North End1-2Newcastle United29 January 1898
5Southampton2-1Leicester Fosse29 January 1898
6Notts County0-1Wolverhampton Wanderers29 January 1898
7Nottingham Forest4-0Grimsby Town29 January 1898
8Long Eaton Rangers0-1Gainsborough Trinity29 January 1898
9West Bromwich Albion2-0New Brighton Tower29 January 1898
10Sunderland0-1The Wednesday29 January 1898
11Derby County1-0Aston Villa29 January 1898
12Luton Town0-1Bolton Wanderers29 January 1898
13Everton1-0Blackburn Rovers29 January 1898
14Newton Heath1-0Walsall29 January 1898
15Sheffield United1-1Burslem Port Vale29 January 1898
ReplayBurslem Port Vale2-1Sheffield United2 February 1898
16Manchester City1-0Wigan County29 January 1898

Second Round Proper

The eight Second Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 12 February 1898. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Burnley3-0Burslem Port Vale12 February 1898
2Southampton1-0Newcastle United12 February 1898
3Stoke0-0Everton12 February 1898
ReplayEverton5-1Stoke17 February 1898
4Nottingham Forest4-0Gainsborough Trinity12 February 1898
5Bolton Wanderers1-0Manchester City12 February 1898
6Wolverhampton Wanderers0-1Derby County12 February 1898
7West Bromwich Albion1-0The Wednesday12 February 1898
8Newton Heath0-0Liverpool12 February 1898
ReplayLiverpool2-1Newton Heath16 February 1898

Third round proper

The four Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 26 February 1898. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Burnley1-3Everton26 February 1898
2Bolton Wanderers0-0Southampton26 February 1898
ReplaySouthampton4-0Bolton Wanderers2 March 1898
3West Bromwich Albion2-3Nottingham Forest26 February 1898
4Derby County1-1Liverpool26 February 1898
ReplayLiverpool1-5Derby County2 March 1898

Semi-Finals

The semi-final matches were both played on Saturday, 19 March 1898. The Nottingham Forest-Southampton match went to a replay, played the following Wednesday, when Nottingham Forest managed a 2-0 win. They went on to meet Derby County in the final at Crystal Palace.
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Final

The final took place on Saturday, 16 April 1898 at Crystal Palace. Just over 62,000 supporters attended the match. Arthur Capes opened the scoring for Nottingham Forest after 19 minutes. Forest's lead was maintained for only twelve minutes before Derby County equalised, through a goal from Steve Bloomer. Capes hit his second just before half-time, and Forest preserved the lead until the 86th minute, when McPherson scored a third Forest goal, to hand them their first ever FA Cup Victory.

Match details