1874 FA Cup final

1874 FA Cup final
Event	1873–74 FA Cup
Date	14 March 1874
Venue	Kennington Oval, London
Referee	Alfred Stair (Upton Park F.C.)
Attendance	2,000

The 1874 FA Cup final was a football match between Oxford University and Royal Engineers on 14 March 1874 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the third final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in the modern era as the FA Cup). Both teams had previously reached the final but been defeated by Wanderers. The Engineers had reached the final with comparative ease, scoring sixteen goals and conceding only one in the four previous rounds. Oxford's opponents in the earlier rounds had included two-time former winners Wanderers.

The final was decided by two goals from Oxford in the first twenty minutes. Their opponents had spent two weeks training for the match, an innovative concept at the time, but were repeatedly thwarted by Charles Nepean, the Oxford goalkeeper. The Engineers were said to have missed their best back, Lieut. Alfred Goodwyn, who had been posted overseas.

Route to the final

Oxford University's F.A. Cup winning side of 1874. Standing: Vidal, Green, Mackarness, Johnson, Benson, Birley, Nepean; Seated: Ottaway, Patton, Maddison, Rawson.

Oxford University and the Chatham-based Royal Engineers were among 28 entrants to the competition in the 1873–74 season. Both teams were ranked among the strongest in the country at the time, especially the Engineers who played 86 games between 1871 and 1875 and lost only three, scoring a total of 240 goals and conceding only 20.[1]

Both teams progressed through the first round of the competition with little difficulty, Oxford defeating Upton Park 4–0 and the Engineers winning 5–0 against Brondesbury. In the second round, the University beat Barnes 2–0 and the "Sappers", as the Engineers were nicknamed, beat Uxbridge 2–1.[2]

The Engineers comprehensively defeated their quarter-final opponents, Maidenhead, winning 7–0, the first time a team had ever scored as many as seven goals in an FA Cup match.[2][3][4] Oxford, on the other hand, were paired with Wanderers, who had won the competition in both its first two seasons and never lost an FA Cup match. They had defeated the Engineers in the 1872 final and Oxford in the 1873 final.[3][4] The first match finished in a 1–1 draw, necessitating a replay which Oxford won 1–0 to end Wanderers' grip on the competition.[2]

Both semi-final matches were played at Kennington Oval, the home of Surrey County Cricket Club, as specified by the rules in use at the time. Royal Engineers defeated Swifts in the first match to be played, and Oxford booked their place in the final a month later with a 1–0 win over Clapham Rovers.[2]

Match

Summary

Cuthbert Ottaway was the Oxford captain.

Oxford were able to call on their first-choice goalkeeper, Charles Nepean, who had been unable to play in the previous year's final, which Oxford lost. They also selected William Rawson, whose brother Herbert was in the Engineers' team. The Engineers, who represented the British Army's Corps of Royal Engineers, had undertaken two weeks of special training before the match, an innovative concept in an era when little importance was placed on training,[5] but were unable to field Alfred Goodwyn, considered to be their best back, as he had been posted to India earlier in the year.[6] Oxford's players were not all students, as the team included Arthur Johnson, an ordained clergyman and Fellow of All Souls College.[7] Around 2,000 spectators were in attendance, a smaller crowd than had attended the previous final.[8]

Oxford won the coin toss and elected to begin the game defending the Harleyford Road end of the stadium.[9] Charles Mackarness gave Oxford the lead after just ten minutes. Following an Oxford corner kick, a melee developed in front of the Engineers' goal, and the ball fell to Mackarness, who shot it over the crowd of players and past goalkeeper William Merriman.[10] Frederick Patton doubled the lead ten minutes later after some skillful dribbling by captain Cuthbert Ottaway and Robert Vidal, who was nicknamed the "prince of dribblers" for his skill in that aspect of the game.[11] Oxford could have had a third goal when they managed to get the ball through the Engineers' goalposts, but the players did not appeal for the goal. At the time, as in cricket, the officials were not permitted to award a goal unless the players appealed for it, thus no goal was given. It is not recorded why the Oxford players never appealed.[9] The best effort for the Engineers came when Henry Renny-Tailyour's shot struck the goalpost. Late in the game the "Sappers" mounted a series of attacks on the Oxford goal but were unable to score, being repeatedly thwarted by Nepean. Oxford thus won 2–0 and secured the cup.[12]

Details

14 March 1874

Oxford University	2–0	Royal Engineers
Mackarness 10' Patton 20'	Report

Kennington Oval, London

Attendance: 2,000

Referee: Alfred Stair (Upton Park F.C.)

O. University

R. Engineers


Gk		Charles Nepean
FB		Charles Mackarness
HB		Francis Birley
HB		Frederick Green
FW		Robert Benson
FW		Frederick Maddison
FW		William Rawson
FW		Cuthbert Ottaway
FW		Rev. Arthur Johnson
FW		Walpole Vidal
FW		Frederick Patton


GK		Capt. William Merriman
FB		Maj. Francis Marindin
HB		Lieut. George Addison
HB		Lieut. Gerald Onslow
FW		Lieut. Pelham von Donop
FW		Lieut. John Blackburn
FW		Lieut. Herbert Rawson
FW		Lieut. Henry Renny-Tailyour
FW		Lieut. Henry Olivier
FW		Lieut. Charles Wood
FW		Lieut. Thomas Digby

Match rules

90 minutes normal time.
30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.
Replay if scores still level.
No substitutes.

Post-match

As occurred each year until 1882, the winning team did not receive the trophy at the stadium on the day of the match, but later in the year at their annual dinner.[13] The secretary of the Royal Engineers club, in his official report, stated that Oxford had thoroughly deserved their victory.[10] Some time after the match, the Engineers discovered that Alfred Goodwyn, their absent star player, had died in India on the day of the final of injuries sustained in a fall from a horse.[6]

References

General

Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early FA Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. SoccerData. ISBN 1-899468-78-1.

Specific

Warsop, p. 20
"England FA Challenge Cup 1873–74". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
"England FA Challenge Cup 1871–72". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
"England FA Challenge Cup 1872–73". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
Warsop, p. 19
Warsop, p. 81
Warsop, p. 91
Warsop, p. 41
Warsop, p. 42
Warsop, p. 31
Warsop, p. 130
Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Upfront Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.
Warsop, p. 53

External links

Line-ups

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Warsop, p. 20

[RS-2] "England FA Challenge Cup 1873–74". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.

[RS1-3] "England FA Challenge Cup 1871–72". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.

[RS2-4] "England FA Challenge Cup 1872–73". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2009.

[5] Warsop, p. 19

[W81-6] Warsop, p. 81

[7] Warsop, p. 91

[8] Warsop, p. 41

[W42-9] Warsop, p. 42

[W31-10] Warsop, p. 31

[11] Warsop, p. 130

[12] Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England – A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Upfront Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.

[13] Warsop, p. 53

FA Cup
Seasons	1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80 1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Qualifying rounds	1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Finals	1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
History Trophy List of finals Semi-finals Final referees Winning managers Non-English clubs Scottish clubs Non-League clubs in the 5th Round Giant-Killing Award