1989–90 FA Cup
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The 1989–90 FA Cup was the 109th season of the world's oldest
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
for short. The competition started in September 1989 with the Preliminary Round and continued through to the Final Replay in May 1990 in which
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
defeated Crystal Palace.


Qualifying rounds

Most participating clubs that were not members of the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round. The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Northwich Victoria, Billingham Synthonia, Whitley Bay, Marine, Tow Law Town,
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
, Congleton Town,
Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...
, Stafford Rangers, Redditch United, Halesowen Town, Kidderminster Harriers, Welling United, Slough Town, Farnborough Town,
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
,
Matlock Town Matlock Town Football Club is a association football, football club based in Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Nicknamed 'the Gladiators', they are currently members of the and play at Causeway Lane. History The club was esta ...
, Barnet, Aylesbury United, Bromsgrove Rovers,
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
, Dorchester Town, Hayes, Basingstoke Town, Gloucester City,
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...
, Yeovil Town and Bath City. Appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Whitley Bay and Congleton Town. Of the others, Dorchester Town had last featured at this stage in 1981–82, Matlock Town had last done so in 1976-77, Marine had last done so in 1975-76, Redditch United and Basingstoke Town had last done so in 1971-72 and Gloucester City had not done so since 1950-51. Meanwhile, Darlington matched the achievements of Lincoln City two seasons previously in winning promotion back to the Football League at the first attempt after being relegated to the Football Conference. The Quakers managed to hold off a challenge from Barnet to take the Conference championship, and advanced to the third round of the FA Cup where Fourth Division
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...
needed a replay to end their run.


First round proper

The 48 teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds and Telford United, Macclesfield Town, Kettering Town and Sutton United who were given byes. The first round of games was played over the weekend 17–19 November 1989, with a first round of replays being played on the 21st–22nd. The Bristol Rovers–Reading match went to a second replay, on the 27th. Billingham Synthonia and Tow Law Town, from the Northern League at Step 8 of English football, were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.


Second round proper

The second round of games was played on 9 December 1989, with the first round of replays being played on the 12th–13th. Two games went to second replays and one of these went to a third replay. The round featured two teams from Step 7 of the English football system: Whitley Bay from the Northern Premier League First Division, and Woking from the Isthmian League First Division.


Third round proper

Teams from the Football League First and Second Division entered in this round. The third round of games in the FA Cup was played over the weekend 6–7 January 1990, with the first set of replays being played on the 9th–10th. Two games went to second replays, which were completed during the following week. Whitley Bay (Step 7) was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw, and they and Darlington were the last non-league clubs left in the competition.


Fourth round proper

The fourth round of games was played over the weekend 27–28 January 1990, with replays being played on the 30th–31st. Fourth Division sides Rochdale, Torquay United, Hereford United and Cambridge United were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.


Fifth round proper

The fifth set of games was played over the weekend 17–18 February 1990, with a first round of replays being played on the 21st. Each of these finished in a draw, meaning a second round of replays had to be completed. Rochdale and Cambridge United were again the lowest-ranked teams in the round.


Sixth round proper

Most of the sixth round of FA Cup games were played over the weekend 10–11 March 1990, with the Oldham Athletic – Aston Villa game and the Liverpool – QPR replay being played on the 14th. Alex Ferguson continued to defy the odds with a Manchester United side that was struggling in the league but performing wonders in the cup, as they defeated Sheffield United 1–0. Liverpool built up their hopes of a unique second
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
(which had eluded them in dramatic fashion during the previous two seasons) by beating QPR in a quarter-final replay. Aston Villa's double hopes were ended when they crashed 3–0 to an Oldham Athletic team that hadn't played top-division football since 1923. Cambridge United was the last club from the First Round left in the competition, but their hopes of becoming the first Fourth Division team to reach the FA Cup semi-finals were ended with a 1–0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, who moved closer to a first FA Cup final but were first faced with the task of overcoming a Liverpool side that had crushed them 9–0 in the league earlier in the season.


Semi-finals

The semi-final matches were played on 8 April 1990. Seven months after losing 9–0 to them in a league game, Crystal Palace found a 10-goal improvement to defeat
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
4–3 and give them their first FA Cup final appearance as well as ending their opposition's hopes of a second
double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...
– the third season running that Liverpool had suffered a late blow to their double hopes. Oldham Athletic, a Second Division side, opened the scoring against
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
through Earl Barrett in a game that eventually ended 3–3, forcing a replay. United won the replay 2–1. ---- ---- ----


Final

Crystal Palace, playing in their first FA Cup final, took on a
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
side that already had six FA Cups to its name, and a thrilling game ended 3–3 with Palace taking the lead twice and United once before a late equaliser by
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...
(his second goal of the game) forced a replay.


Replay

Lee Martin, a 22-year-old defender who nearly did not play due to
Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
's doubts about his fitness, scored the winning goal as
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
sealed their first major trophy in five years and their first under Ferguson's management, ending months of speculation that his job was at risk due to dismal league performances. Crystal Palace were controversially denied a clear penalty by Allan Gunn, a referee from Brighton - who instead awarded a free-kick outside the penalty area. Les Sealey played in goal for Manchester United, following Jim Leighton’s poor performance in the first match.


Media coverage

For the second consecutive season in the United Kingdom, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
were the free to air broadcasters. The matches shown live on the BBC were:
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...
vs
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
(R3); Norwich City vs
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
(R4); Newcastle United vs
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
(R5); Queens Park Rangers vs
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
(QF); both Crystal Palace vs
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
vs Oldham Athletic (SF);
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
vs Oldham Athletic (SF replay); and Crystal Palace vs
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
in both the Final and its replay. This was the first season to feature both semi-finals being televised live in full; they were shown on the same Sunday afternoon with an ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' omnibus edition scheduled in between, though this was altered when the Liverpool vs Crystal Palace match required extra time. The semi-final replay, shown on the following Wednesday evening, coincided with ITV showing the First Division match between Arsenal and Aston Villa. This was the first occasion on which
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
and ITV had shown different English club matches on the same evening. The cup replay kicked off at 19:45, with the league match kicking off twenty minutes later at 20:05, with the cup replay having to allow for the possibility of extra time, meaning viewers may have changed channels in time to see Aston Villa's Chris Price score the only goal.


References


External links


The FA Cup
at TheFA.com
FA Cup
at BBC.co.uk
FA Cup news
at Reuters.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 FA Cup FA Cup seasons
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...