1896–97 FA Cup

September 2023 1896–97 FA Cup EnglandWales Aston Villa (3rd title) Everton 1895–96 1897–98 The 1896–97 FA Cup was the 26th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). The cup was won by Aston Villa, who defeated Everton 3–2 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London. In doing so, Aston Villa became only the second team to have won the Double, as they won the league on the same day as their cup victory (and the only team to do this). 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 (for the first time), three proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final. Each of the Rounds Proper were played on a set date, whereas the Preliminary and Qualifying Round matches were played on several dates over a given period of time. Round Start date End date Preliminary round Saturday 10 October 1896 First round qualifying Saturday 10 October 189631 October Second round qualifying Saturday 31 October 189621 November Third round qualifying Saturday 21 November 189612 December Fourth round qualifying Saturday 12 December 18962 January Fifth round Qualifying Saturday 2 January 189716 January First round proper Saturday 30 January 1897 Second round proper Saturday 13 February 1897 Third round proper Saturday 27 February 1897 Semi-finals Saturday 20 March 1897 Final Saturday 10 April 1897 Qualifying rounds The 16 First Division sides were given byes to the first round, as were Notts County, Small Heath, Burton Wanderers, Grimsby Town, Newcastle United and Manchester City from the Second Division. The other Second Division sides were entered into the third qualifying round. Of those sides, only Newton Heath and Burton Swifts qualified for the main competition. Non-league sides Stockton, Barnsley St Peter's, Heanor Town, Glossop North End, Kettering, Luton Town, Millwall Athletic and Southampton St Mary's also qualified, with only Glossop North End appearing at this stage for the first time. First round proper The first round proper contained 16 ties between 32 teams. The matches were played on Saturday, 30 January 1897. One match was drawn, with the replay taking place in the following midweek fixture. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Liverpool4–3Burton Swifts30 January 1897 2Preston North End6–0Manchester City30 January 1897 3Stoke5–2Glossop North End30 January 1897 4Blackburn Rovers2–1Sheffield United30 January 1897 5Aston Villa5–0Newcastle United30 January 1897 6The Wednesday0–1Nottingham Forest30 January 1897 7Grimsby Town0–0Bolton Wanderers30 January 1897 ReplayBolton Wanderers3–3Grimsby Town8 February 1897 ReplayBolton Wanderers3–2Grimsby Town11 February 1897 8Sunderland1–0Burnley30 January 1897 9Derby County8–1Barnsley St Peter's30 January 1897 10Luton Town0–1West Bromwich Albion30 January 1897 11Everton5–2Burton Wanderers30 January 1897 12Newton Heath5–1Kettering30 January 1897 13Stockton0–0Bury30 January 1897 ReplayBury12–1Stockton2 February 1897 14Small Heath1–2Notts County30 January 1897 15Millwall Athletic1–2Wolverhampton Wanderers30 January 1897 16Southampton St Mary's1–1Heanor Town30 January 1897 ReplayHeanor Town0–1Southampton St Mary's3 February 1897 Second round proper The eight Second Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 13 February 1897. There was one replay, played in the following midweek fixture. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Preston North End2–1Stoke13 February 1897 2Blackburn Rovers2–1Wolverhampton Wanderers13 February 1897 3Aston Villa2–1Notts County13 February 1897 4West Bromwich Albion1–2Liverpool13 February 1897 5Sunderland1–3Nottingham Forest13 February 1897 6Derby County4–1Bolton Wanderers13 February 1897 7Everton3–0Bury13 February 1897 8Southampton St Mary's1–1Newton Heath13 February 1897 ReplayNewton Heath3–1Southampton St Mary's17 February 1897 Third round proper The four Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 27 February 1897. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture, of which the Preston North End – Aston Villa match went to a second replay the following week. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Liverpool1–1Nottingham Forest27 February 1897 ReplayNottingham Forest0–1Liverpool3 March 1897 2Preston North End1–1Aston Villa27 February 1897 ReplayAston Villa0–0Preston North End3 March 1897 ReplayAston Villa3–2Preston North End8 March 1897 3Derby County2–0Newton Heath27 February 1897 4Everton2–0Blackburn Rovers27 February 1897 Semi-finals The semi-final matches were both played on Saturday, 20 March 1897. Aston Villa and Everton went on to meet in the final at Crystal Palace. 20 March 1897 Aston Villa 3–0 Liverpool Bramall Lane, Sheffield 20 March 1897 Everton 3–2 Derby County Victoria Ground, Stoke Final 1897 FA Cup Final The final took place on Saturday, 10 April 1897 at Crystal Palace. Just under 66,000 supporters attended the match. John Campbell opened the scoring for Villa after 18 minutes. Villa's lead was maintained for only five minutes before Everton equalised, through a goal from Jack Bell. Everton then went in front after Dickie Boyle scored five minutes later, but that lead only lasted seven minutes, when Fred Wheldon got an equaliser. Jimmy Crabtree put Villa back in front just before half-time, and Villa managed to come through the second half without conceding, meaning they had become only the second team ever to win the Double in England. Match details 10 April 1897 15:00 GMT Aston Villa 3–2 Everton http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1897.html Match report at fa-cupfinals.co.uk 11 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20070311075311/http://www.fa-cupfinals.co.uk/1897.html 11 March 2007 dead Campbell 18 Wheldon 35 Crabtree 44 Bell 23 Dickie Boyle 28 Crystal Palace, London 65,891http://www.sportingchronicle.com/FACUP/1897.html Sporting Chronicle – 1897 FA Cup Final 11 December 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081030001603/http://www.sportingchronicle.com/FACUP/1897.html 30 October 2008 dead J. Lewis _claretborder _lightblue_neck_loop _claretborder 33CCFF 990033 33CCFF FFFFFF 990033 Aston Villa 00BBEE 00BBEE 00BBEE FFFFFF 002277 EvertonFA Cup Final kits, 1890–1899 See also FA Cup Final Results 1872– References General Official site; fixtures and results service at TheFA.com 1896–1897 FA Cup at rsssf.com 1896–1897 FA Cup at soccerbase.com Specific Association football 1896–97 Category:1896–97 in English men's football cups