1872–73 FA Cup

The 1872–73 Football Association Challenge Cup was the second staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest national football tournament. Sixteen teams entered, one more than the previous season, although two of the sixteen never actually played a match.

1872–73 FA Cup
Country England
 Scotland
Dates19 October 1872 - 29 March 1873
Teams16
Defending championsWanderers
ChampionsWanderers (2nd title)
Runners-upOxford University
Matches played13
Goals scored35 (2.69 per match)

In keeping with the original concept of it being a "challenge" cup, the holders, Wanderers, were given a bye all the way to the final, for which they were also allowed to select the venue. This was the only season in which the holders were granted these privileges.

Queen's Park were given byes until the semi-finals in order to reduce the amount of travelling necessary, but then withdrew anyway when scheduled to play Oxford University, who therefore received a walkover to the final.

Format

First Round: 14 teams (all except Queen's Park and defending champions Wanderers) would play, each match eliminating the loser.

Second Round: 6 teams (Royal Engineers getting a bye) would play, the winners advancing.

Third Round: The 3 winners and Royal Engineers would play. The winners would advance.

Fourth Round: The two remaining teams from the Third Round would play, the winner facing Queen's Park.

Semi-Final: The Fourth Round team would face Queen's Park. However, this was not needed as Queen's Park withdrew.

Final: The Semi-Final team would face Wanderers, the defending champion.

Calendar

Round Date Fixtures Clubs New entries this round
Original Replays Walkovers Byes
First round 19–26 October 1872 7 0 1 2 16 → 9 14
Second round 23 November – 7 December 1872 3 0 0 3 9 → 6 none
Third round 9–21 December 1872 2 0 0 2 6 → 4 none
Fourth round 3 February 1873 1 0 0 2 4 → 3 none
Semi-final none 1 0 1 1 3 → 2 1
Final 29 March 1873 1 0 0 0 2 → 1 1

First round

19 October 1872 (1872-10-19) Barnes0–1 South Norwood
26 October 1872 (1872-10-26) Civil Service0–3 Royal Engineers
26 October 1872 (1872-10-26) Maidenhead 1–0Marlow
26 October 1872 (1872-10-26) Reigate Priory2–4 Windsor Home Park
26 October 1872 (1872-10-26) 1st Surrey Rifles2–0 Upton Park
26 October 1872 (1872-10-26) Crystal Palace2–3 Oxford University

Second round

23 November 1872 (1872-11-23) Clapham Rovers0–3 Oxford University
7 December 1872 (1872-12-07) 1st Surrey Rifles0–3 Maidenhead
Notes
  1. Originally played 23 November 1872 at South Norwood's ground, South Norwood winning 1–0. The match was ruled as void, and ordered to be replayed.[1]

Third round

21 December 1872 (1872-12-21) Windsor Home Park0–1 Maidenhead

Fourth round

3 February 1873 (1873-02-03) Oxford University 4–0Maidenhead

Semi-final

Final

As the 1871–72 Cup winners, Wanderers had not played in the cup before this game.

Wanderers2–0Oxford University
Kinnaird 27'
Wollaston 80'
Attendance: 3000


The final was played at Lillie Bridge. The attendance of 3,000 was considered low, and of those who did attend, not all stayed for the whole duration of the game. This was attributed to the Boat Race occurring later the same day.

References

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