1884 FA Cup final
Event | 1883–84 FA Cup | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Date | 29 March 1884 | ||||||
Venue | Kennington Oval, London | ||||||
Referee | Major Francis Marindin | ||||||
Attendance | 12,000 | ||||||
The 1884 FA Cup final was a football match between Blackburn Rovers and Queen's Park contested on 29 March 1884 at the Kennington Oval. It was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup), it was the 13th Cup final. It was the first time that a Scottish team reached the final of the tournament, with Queen's Park knocking out the previous holders of the trophy en route.
Both teams received protests from the defeated teams following the semi-final matches, but each were turned down by the
The final coincided with a Scotland v Wales international match which took place in Glasgow on the same day, with the many Scottish internationals in the Queen's Park team opting play for their club team rather than their country. In the event, Scotland won the international comfortably by a scoreline of 4 goals to 1.[1]
Despite Queen's Park entering the match as favourites, it was Blackburn Rovers who won the game by two goals to one with goals from
Route to the final
Queen's Park
Round | Opposition | Score | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Crewe Alexandra | 10–0 | Crewe (a) |
2nd | Manchester F.C. | 15–0 | Glasgow (h) |
3rd | Oswestry | 7–1 | Oswestry (a) |
4th | Aston Villa
|
6–1 | Glasgow (h) |
Quarter-final | Old Westminsters | 1–0 | Kennington Oval (a)
|
Semi-final | Blackburn Olympic
|
4–1 | Nottingham (n) |
Queen's Park were invited to compete in the 1883–84 FA Cup, despite being from Scotland.[2] They had previously been invited on several occasions from the 1871–72 competition onwards,[3] but ultimately withdrew on each occasion. Their most successful runs had been in both 1871–72 and 1872–73 when they reached the semi-final each time before withdrawing.[4] On each occasion since, they had withdrawn from the cup without playing any matches.[5][6][7][8][9] Queen's 1883–84 FA Cup campaign began on 6 October 1883 with a 10–0 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the first round in front of a crowd of 2,000 spectators.[10] The second round saw their first home game, and a 15–0 victory against Manchester F.C. on 1 December.[11] It was the first time that an English cup match had been played in Scotland, and drew 6,000 fans. However the match was a one-sided affair, with Queen's Park dominating throughout to the extent that their goalkeeper was never required to handle the ball.[12]
They defeated the Welsh team from
Blackburn Rovers
Round | Opposition | Score | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
1st | Southport Central
|
7–1 | Leamington Road (h) |
2nd | South Shore | 7–0 | Blackpool (a) |
3rd | Padiham | 3–0 | Leamington Road (h) |
4th | Staveley | 5–1 | Leamington Road (h) |
Quarter-final | Upton Park | 3–0 | West Ham Park (a) |
Semi-final | Notts County | 1–0 | Birmingham (n) |
Blackburn Rovers also started their campaign in the first round, where they won their first game at home against
Rovers won once again in an away game against
Pre-match
Prior to the match, Queen's Park and Blackburn Rovers had met on three occasions; each time the game ended in a draw.[24] Queen's went into the match as the favourites, being the most successful club in Scotland at that point and having developed a style of play involving short passing which was not in use in England.[25] They had been awarded the Scottish Cup earlier in the season after Vale of Leven declined to participate in the final due to illnesses suffered by a number of their players.[26]
Blackburn Rovers were seeking to emulate the success of rivals Blackburn Olympic, who were the current holders of the trophy, and the team that Queen's Park defeated in the semi-final.[11][17] Rovers had previously reached the FA Cup final, in 1882, where they were defeated by Old Etonians.[27] Blackburn trained during the week prior to the game by conducting practise games and going for walks. They departed for the London area by train on the day before the final; a large crowd of local supporters gathered at the train station in Blackburn to wish them well as they left.[24] The team stayed in Richmond the night before the match and made their way into the city at lunchtime on the Saturday.[27]
For the second year in succession, special trains were laid on for the final to transport fans down from Blackburn. However, due to issues with the Olympic fans from the previous year destroying tea-rooms at stations on the route, the railway instead closed all refreshment rooms on the line on the day of the match.[28] Additional stands were built at the Oval for the match at both the Gasometre end and on the west side, as the Pavilion was reserved for members of the Surrey County Cricket Club.[27]
Match
The match was refereed by Major Francis Marindin of the Royal Engineers, who was also President of the Football Association. His two umpires were Charles Wollaston of Wanderers and C. Crump of the Birmingham Football Association. According to initial estimates, there were around 10,000 to 12,000 spectators,[29] breaking previous records for attendances in London. This was unexpected, and so there was not enough staff at the stadium to prevent the crowd from rushing through the turnstiles without paying.[27] The weather was described as "bright and seasonable".[29] Queen's won the coin toss and chose to defend the gasometer end. Rovers kicked off, but play quickly turned in the Scottish team's favour and they made the first two attacks. The work of Inglis and Sowerbutts saw Rovers take control of the match briefly, but Queen's Park were awarded an indirect free kick for handball inside the Blackburn half. The ball was shot straight into the Blackburn net without touching another player, and so no goal was awarded. Rovers quickly gained a corner kick but failed to score.[29]
Queen's went on the attack once again, with
Queen's Park took the advantage early on in the second half, and a series of rapid attacks followed the break. The Scottish team were only prevented from scoring in one goal mouth scramble by the teamwork of
Match details
Blackburn Rovers | 2–1 | Queen's Park |
---|---|---|
Joe Sowerbutts Jimmy Forrest |
Report | Robert M Christie |
Blackburn Rovers
|
Queen's Park
|
|
|
90 minutes.
30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.
Replay if scores still level.
No substitutes.
Post-match
Following the match, the referee admitted that at one point during the game the ball had passed the Blackburn goal line, but as Queen's Park did not attempt to claim the goal, it was not awarded.[27] Queen's Park would ultimately become the only Scottish club to reach the final of the FA Cup, although they returned the following year where they again faced Blackburn Rovers.[33]
Following their victory in the FA Cup final, Blackburn Rovers played Blackburn Olympic in the final of the
References
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- ^ "FA Cup 1872–73". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "FA Cup 1876–77". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "FA Cup 1879–80". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "FA Cup 1880–81". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "FA Cup 1881–82". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "FA Cup 1882–83". The Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Saturday's Football Matches". Edinburgh Evening News. No. 3245. British Newspaper Archive. 8 October 1883. p. 3. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
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- ^ a b "Football Notes". Liverpool Mercury. Vol. 52, no. 11264. British Newspaper Archive. 18 February 1884. p. 7. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ a b c "Football, Association Cup Competition". Liverpool Mercury. No. 11283. British Newspaper Archive. 11 March 1884. p. 7. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ "English Association Challenge Cup". The Nottingham Evening Post. No. 1696. British Newspaper Archive. 22 October 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
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- ^ "Saturday's Football". The Derby Daily Telegraph. Vol. IX, no. 1335. British Newspaper Archive. 31 December 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
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- ^ a b Fry, C.B. (1902). "Teams That Have Won the Association Cup". The Strand Magazine: 455–463. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Football". The Graphic. No. 745. British Newspaper Archive. 8 March 1884. p. 15. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
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- ^ "A Northern Horde". Edinburgh Evening News. No. 3398. British Newspaper Archive. 2 April 1884. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "The Association Challenge Cup". The Times. No. 31095. 31 March 1884. p. 10. Retrieved 12 November 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ "report". Blackburn Standard: 3. 5 April 1884.
- ^ "FA Cup Final 1884 – Match report". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- ^ "Death of the Duke of Albany". The Wrexham Advertiser. Vol. XXXV. British Newspaper Archive. 28 March 1884. p. 8. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ Lyles, Christopher (5 January 2008). "FA Cup by numbers". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "Football". The Huddersfield Daily Chronicle. No. 5215. British Newspaper Archive. 21 April 1884. p. 4. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Collett, Mike (13 May 2010). "FA Cup final facts and figures". Reuters. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- ^ "The Association Challenge Cup". The Manchester Weekly Times. No. 1448. British Newspaper Archive. 11 April 1885. p. 7. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "The Football Association Challenge Cup". The Standard. No. 19265. British Newspaper Archive. 12 April 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "English Cup Competition – Second Round". The Blackburn Standard. Vol. LIV, no. 265. British Newspaper Archive. 27 November 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "Football". The Morning Post. No. 35713. British Newspaper Archive. 6 December 1886. p. 2. Retrieved 12 July 2014.