1997–98 FA Cup

The 1997–98 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by Littlewoods for sponsorship reasons) was the 117th staging of the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 2–0 victory against Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium.

Calendar

Qualifying rounds

Most participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.

The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Gainsborough Trinity, Lincoln United, Colwyn Bay, Blyth Spartans, Northwich Victoria, Winsford United, Ilkeston Town, Emley, Solihull Borough, Morecambe, Southport, Boston United, Hereford United, Wisbech Town, Billericay Town, Tiverton Town, Boreham Wood, Margate, Basingstoke Town, Hendon, Farnborough Town, King's Lynn, Heybridge Swifts, Bromsgrove Rovers, Cheltenham Town, Hayes, Carshalton Athletic and Slough Town.

Billericay Town was appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Basingstoke Town had last featured at this stage in 1989–90, King's Lynn had last done so in 1984-85, Gainsborough Trinity had last done so in 1983-84, Margate had last done so in 1972-73 and Ilkeston Town had last done so in 1956-57.

Northern Premier League side Emley made national headlines when, after defeating Workington, Durham City, Belper Town and Nuneaton Borough in the qualifying rounds and then seeing off Morecambe and Lincoln City in the first two rounds of the competition proper, they only lost narrowly to a West Ham United team containing the likes of Rio Ferdinand, David Unsworth, Eyal Berkovic, John Hartson and Frank Lampard in the third round.

First round proper

The 48 teams from the Football League Second and Third Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league qualifiers and Woking, Dagenham & Redbridge, Stevenage Borough and Hednesford Town who were given byes. Tiverton Town, from the Western League Premier Division at Step 8 of the football pyramid, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw - with the club going on to win this year's FA Vase and be crowned undefeated champions of their league, their first-round Cup tie against Football Conference (Step 5) outfit Cheltenham Town represented their only senior-level competitive loss of the season.

The matches were played on 14 November 1997. There were fourteen replays, with four ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle the results.

Second round proper

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday 6 December 1997, with nine replays and three penalty shootouts required, each of which featured a team who won on penalties in the previous round. Wisbech Town and Ilkeston Town, from the Southern League Midland Division at Step 7 of English football, were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.

Third round proper

The third round was scheduled for Saturday 3 January 1998, although six matches were postponed until later dates. This round marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premiership and the Football League First Division, entered the competition. There were eight replays, with two of those games requiring a penalty shootout to settle the results. Emley, from Step 6, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.

Fourth round proper

The fourth round ties were played with the 32 winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday 24 January 1998. There were five replays, with one penalty shootout. Stevenage Borough, from the Football Conference at Step 5, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw and the last non-league club left in the competition.

Fifth round proper

The fifth-round matches were scheduled for Saturday 14 February 1998. There were four replays, with one penalty shootout.

The biggest surprise of the round was arguably Barnsley's 3–2 win (in the replay that followed a 1–1 draw) over Manchester United. Barnsley were in their first season as a top division side (and ended it with relegation), while United were defending league champions and were also in contention for the league title and the European Cup at this time, although they ended the season trophyless.

Sixth round proper

The sixth round ties were scheduled for the weekend of 7 and 8 March 1998. Two replays were played on the 17th, both of which went to penalties.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United, Division One sides, both progressed to the semi-finals at the expense of Premier League sides. Wolverhampton Wanderers were particularly impressive in doing this, as the side they eliminated from the cup (Leeds United) went on to finish fifth in the Premier League.

Replays

''Sheffield United won 3–1 on penalties''.

''Arsenal won 4–3 on penalties''.

Semi-finals

The two semi-final matches were played on Sunday 5 April 1998. Both ties were played at neutral venues and resulted in victories for Arsenal and Newcastle United, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley. The losing sides were both Division One teams, who endured further disappointment over the next few weeks by being pipped to promotion.

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Final

The 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley on 16 May 1998. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league title/FA Cup double. They joined Manchester United as only the second English team to achieve this, although Arsenal did so with an entirely different set of players (their first double was in 1971, whereas United's doubles were in 1994 and 1996).

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom, ITV were the free to air broadcasters, taking over from the BBC, while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the tenth consecutive season. with the BBC retaining free to air highlights. The 1998 FA Cup Final was Brian Moore's last domestic football commentary for ITV before his retirement after the World Cup

The matches shown live on ITV Sport were:

• Everton 0-1 Newcastle United (R3)

• Manchester City 1-2 West Ham United (R4)

• Arsenal 0-0 Crystal Palace (R5)

• Arsenal 1-1 West Ham United (QF)

• Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Arsenal (SF)

• Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United (Final)

The matches shown live on Sky Sports were:

• Swansea City 1-4 Peterborough United (R1)

• Margate 1-2 Fulham (R1)

• Burnley 0-3 Rotherham United (R1 Replay)

• Chester City 0-2 Wrexham (R2)

• AFC Bournemouth 3-1 Bristol City (R2)

• Basingstoke Town 0-0 Northampton Town (R2 Replay)

• Chelsea 3-5 Manchester United (R3)

• Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Fulham (R3)

• Port Vale 1-1 Arsenal (R3 Replay)

• Stevenage Borough 1-1 Newcastle United (R4)

• Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 Blackburn Rovers (R4)

• Newcastle United 2-1 Stevenage Borough (R4 Replay)

• Manchester United 1-1 Barnsley (R5)

• Barnsley 3-2 Manchester United (R5 Replay)

• Newcastle United 3-1 Barnsley (QF)

• West Ham United 1-1 Arsenal (QF Replay)

• Newcastle United 1-0 Sheffield United (SF)

• Arsenal 2-0 Newcastle United (Final)

References

External links

The FA website

BBC Sport FA Cup page

Results at Soccerbase

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 FA Cup

FA Cup seasons
FA Cup