1877 FA Cup final

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1877 FA Cup final
The trophy, silver in colour and topped by a figure of a footballer, on an ebony plinth
The second FA Cup trophy is identical in design to that won by Wanderers in 1877. The original trophy was stolen in 1895 and never recovered.
Event1876–77 FA Cup
After
Great Marlow F.C.)
Attendance3,000
1876

The 1877 FA Cup final was a

Cambridge University in the semi-finals. Oxford had only played three matches in the five rounds prior to the final due to a combination of byes
and opponents withdrawing.

Oxford took the lead in the final when

extra time
. Oxford's goal was struck from the official records after the match, but reinstated over a hundred years later.

Route to the final

Oxford University players of the 1876–77 season. Six of the players photographed played in the cup final

Saffron Walden and Old Salopians respectively. Neither match took place, however, as in each case the away team withdrew from the competition, giving their opponents a bye into the next round. In the second round, Wanderers and Oxford both scored six goals, defeating Southall and 105th Regiment respectively.[2]

In the third round, Wanderers beat Pilgrims 3–0 and Oxford again progressed without playing when their scheduled opponents, the leading Scottish club Queen's Park, withdrew. Wanderers themselves progressed through the quarter-finals on a bye as an uneven number of teams remained in the competition. Oxford were held to a goalless draw by Upton Park, but emerged victorious after a replay two weeks later. In the semi-finals Oxford received a bye, progressing straight to the final, and Wanderers beat the other of the great universities, Cambridge University, 1–0.[2]

Match

Summary

Arthur Kinnaird was in goal for Wanderers

Both teams chose to play with two

Kennington Oval, home of Surrey County Cricket Club and took place in extremely bad weather, with rain and sleet hampering the players. Wanderers won the coin toss and chose to begin the match defending the Harleyford Road end of the stadium.[3]

The Wanderers players began the game in relative disarray, which the correspondent from The Sportsman reported was not an uncommon feature of their matches.[6] After fifteen minutes Oxford were awarded a corner kick, which Evelyn Waddington kicked high towards the goal. Kinnaird caught the ball, but in doing so stepped behind the goal-line. The Oxford players immediately appealed for a goal to be awarded, and after a consultation the officials did so, giving the University team the lead.[6] Some time later, Charles Wollaston was injured and swapped positions with Kinnaird.[3] At the time the concept of substitution had not been introduced to the sport, so injured players were obliged to remain in the game unless they were completely unable to play on, but it was common for an injured player to "retire into goal", where it was felt he would be less of a liability.[7]

As Wanderers pressed for an equaliser,

extra time.[6] Seven minutes into the extra period, William Lindsay's goalbound shot was headed away by an Oxford player but the ball rebounded to Lindsay who sent it past Alington to give Wanderers a lead which the cup holders kept until the end of the game and thus retained the trophy.[6]

Details

Wanderers2–1 (a.e.t.)Oxford University
Kenrick 86'
Lindsay 97'
Kinnaird 15' (o.g.)
Great Marlow F.C.
)
Wanderers
Oxford Univ.
GK Scotland Arthur Kinnaird
FB England Alfred Stratford
FB England William Lindsay
HB England Francis Birley
HB England Frederick Green
FW England Charles Wollaston
FW
Thomas Hughes
FW England Hubert Heron
FW England Henry Wace
FW England Charles Denton
FW England Jarvis Kenrick
GK England Edward Alington
FB Cape Colony Owen Dunell
FB England William Rawson
HB Wales Evelyn Waddington
HB England Rev. James Henry Savory
FW British Raj Rev. Philip Hosken Fernandez
FW England Edward Hagarty Parry
FW England Henry Otter
FW England Arthur Todd
FW England Arnold Hills
FW England John Bain

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

Some time after the match, Kinnaird informed the council of the Football Association (FA), of which he was a member, that in his opinion he had not carried the ball over the line for Oxford's goal.[3] Despite the fact that the referee had awarded the goal and multiple newspaper reports stated that the ball had clearly gone over the line,[8] Kinnaird's fellow council members took his word for it, and struck the goal from the records, changing the official score to 2–0 (although if Oxford had not scored, there would have been no reason for the game to go to extra time, so by rights they should have annulled Wanderers' second goal as well).[3] For the next century, all sources reported the score of the match as 2–0.[3] In the 1980s, after fresh research into contemporary reports of the game by football historians, the FA reinstated the Oxford goal, and now regard the official final score of the 1877 final as 2–1.[9]

References

General
  • Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early FA Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. SoccerData. .
Specific
  1. ^ a b "England FA Challenge Cup Finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  2. ^ a b "England FA Challenge Cup 1876–77". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 27 January 2001. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Warsop, p. 47
  4. ^ Warsop, p. 93
  5. ^ Warsop, p. 55
  6. ^ a b c d Warsop, p. 34
  7. ^ Warsop, p. 10
  8. ^ Warsop, p. 35
  9. ^ "Cup Final Statistics". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.

External links