The 2004–05 FA Cup was the 124th season of the world's oldest football competition, the

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 ...

. The competition began on 28 August 2004, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For England's top 44 clubs, from the 2004–05 Premier League and 2004–05 Football League Championship, the FA Cup began at the third round in January. Ties were all single-legged and took place at the stadium of the club drawn first. If scores were level at the end of a match, the match was replayed at the away club's stadium, usually in the middle of the following week. If the scores are still level, extra-time and penalties (if necessary) are used to determine a winner. From the semi-finals onwards, the ties take place at a neutral stadium, and there are no replays. That is to say, extra-time and penalties are played if necessary to determine a winner in a single match. The new

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

was still at least a year away from being ready for use, so the final was staged at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 21 May 2005. The

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

was won by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on penalties after a goalless draw with holders

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 ...

, the first time that the FA Cup final had been decided on penalties.

Calendar

Qualifying rounds

All participating clubs that were not members of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

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 ...

entered the competition in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper. The winners from the fourth qualifying round were

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...

, Hinckley United, Hereford United, Carlisle United, Halesowen Town, Tamworth, Halifax Town, Stafford Rangers,

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...

, Alfreton Town, Leigh RMI, Coalville Town, Lancaster City, Billericay Town, Forest Green Rovers, Barnet,

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

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 ...

, Dagenham & Redbridge,

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

, Exeter City, Slough Town, Bath City, Aldershot Town, Hayes,

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...

Yeading Yeading ( ) is a settlement in west London, forming part of the London Borough of Hillingdon, having been developed after the Second World War. Etymology Yeading is very early Saxon and was originally ''Geddingas'' or ''Geddinges'', meaning " ...

, Stevenage Borough, Tiverton Town,

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...

and Cambridge City. Coalville Town was appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Alfreton Town had not featured in the main draw since 1973–74, Halesowen Town had not done so since 1991-92 and Yeading had not done so since 1994-95. Curiously, this would be the only season that both Yeading and Hayes qualified for the first round of the FA Cup prior to their 2007 merger.

First round proper

This round was the first in which Football League teams from League One and League Two competed with non-league teams. Coalville Town, of the Midland Alliance, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw. Owing to the introduction of the Conference North and South competitions at Step 6 this season, the Midland Alliance was now at Step 9 of the English football pyramid. *Ties were played over the weekend of 13 November and 14 November 2004. *Cambridge City's victory over Leigh RMI made this the first season since 1966–67 in which City progressed further in the Cup than their crosstown rivals Cambridge United.

Second round proper

Ties were played over the weekend of 4 December 2004. The round featured four clubs from Step 7: Bath City and Histon from the

Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and e ...

, and Slough Town and Yeading from the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Third round proper

This round marked the point at which Championship and Premier League (top-flight) teams entered the competition. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 8 January 2005. One of the surprise results of this round came at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

where holders Manchester United were held to a 0-0 home draw against Conference National side Exeter City, although United won the replay 2-0. Neighbours Manchester City suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of League One strugglers Oldham Athletic, who beat them 1-0 at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

. Yeading was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw, but their successful run was ended with a 2-0 loss at

Loftus Road Loftus Road, currently known as MATRADE Loftus Road Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Shepherd's Bush, West London, Greater London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers F.C., Queens Park Rangers Football Club, w ...

to Premier League side Newcastle United in front of more than 10,000 spectators.

Fourth round proper

Ties played during the weekend of 29 January 2005. Yeovil Town, in only their second season in League Two, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.

Fifth round proper

Matches played weekend of 19 February 2005 - replays were played during the week commencing 28 February 2005. The only non-Premiership side to win in this round was Leicester City, who triumphed 2-1 at The Valley against Premier League side Charlton Athletic, while Brentford was the last team from League One left in the competition.

Sixth round proper

Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 12 March 2005. Leicester City, the only remaining non-Premiership side in the competition, lost 1–0 to Blackburn Rovers. ---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

A match at the Millennium Stadium - geograph

*Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 16 April 2005. *Both ties were played at neutral venues ----

Final

The 2005 FA Cup final was contested between

and

at the

. Manchester United dominated the game but failed to take any of their opportunities and ultimately they went on to lose in the first

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

penalty shoot-out. Paul Scholes had his kick saved by Jens Lehmann, leaving

Patrick Vieira Patrick Paul Vieira (; born 23 June 1976) is a French professional association football, football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie A club Genoa CFC, Genoa. He was named in the FIFA 100 of the greatest living footballers i ...

with the opportunity to win the Cup for the Gunners.

Top scorers

:Source:

Media coverage

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 for the fourth consecutive season while

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

were the subscription broadcasters for the seventeenth consecutive season.. In this new contract period of television rights, the BBC's coverage increased further to three live matches from rounds 3 to 6, plus one live replay in the same rounds where applicable. The matches shown live on the

were: *

0-1 Oldham Athletic (R1) * Hinckley United 0-0

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

(R2) * Sheffield United 3-1 Aston Villa (R3) * Plymouth Argyle 1-3 Everton (R3) *

0-2 Newcastle United (R3) * Exeter City 0-2

(R3 Replay) *

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

2-1

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(R4) *

3-0

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

(R4) * Oldham Athletic 0-1

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

(R4) * Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 West Bromwich Albion (R4 Replay) *

1-1 Sheffield United (R5) * Everton 0-2

(R5) *

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

0-0 Blackburn Rovers (R5) * Sheffield United 0-0

(R5 Replay) *

0-1

(QF) *

0-4

(QF) * Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Leicester City (QF) * Newcastle United 1-4

(SF) *

0-0

(Final) The matches shown live on

were: * Southend United 0-3

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

(R1) *

1-1 Bristol City (R1 Replay) * Scunthorpe United 2-0

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

(R2) * Notts County 2-0

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

(R2 Replay) *

1-0

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 ...

(R3) * Swansea City 0-1

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(R3 Replay) * Chelsea 2-0

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

(R4) * Sheffield United 1-1

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

(R4 Replay) * Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea (R5) *

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 ...

0-3 Tottenham Hotspur (R5 Replay) * Newcastle United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur (QF) *

3-0 Blackburn Rovers (SF) *

0-0

(Final)

References

External links

The FA Cup Archive
at TheFA.com
FA Cup
at BBC.co.uk
FA Cup news
at Reuters.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:2004-05 FA Cup FA Cup seasons