1888–89 FA Cup explained

1888–89 FA Cup
Country:England
Wales
Ireland
Defending Champions:West Bromwich Albion
Winners:Preston North End
Second:Wolverhampton Wanderers
Prev Season:1887–88
Next Season:1889–90

The 1888–89 FA Cup was the 18th edition of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup.

Qualifying rounds

Following the formation of the Football League, this season saw the introduction of qualifying rounds, with League clubs given the right to request automatic exemption to the first round proper. However, officials at Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Notts County and Stoke failed to apply for the necessary exemptions and so those clubs were entered at the first qualifying round stage. Everton withdrew from the competition after being drawn to meet Ulster in Belfast in their first match, while Stoke became the first League club to be eliminated by non-League opponents when they fell to Warwick County at the Victoria Ground also in the first qualifying round. Ultimately only Notts County successfully progressed to the competition proper after Bolton Wanderers lost to Linfield Athletic in Belfast in the third qualifying round.

The nine non-League clubs progressing from the qualifying rounds were Wrexham, Sheffield Heeley, Chatham, Grimsby Town, South Shore, Old Brightonians, Linfield Athletic, Sunderland Albion and Small Heath but 14 other sides were given byes to the first round in order to bring the number of teams up to 32. These were Old Westminsters, Witton, Bootle, Swifts, Nottingham Forest, Halliwell, The Wednesday, Birmingham St George's, Walsall Town Swifts, Crewe Alexandra, Old Carthusians, Derby Junction, Notts Rangers and Long Eaton Rangers.

For information on all matches played from the first qualifying round to the fourth qualifying round, see 1888–89 FA Cup qualifying rounds.

First round proper

Home ClubScoreAway ClubDate
Burnley4–3Old Westminsters2 February 1889
Swifts3–1Wrexham2 February 1889
Notts County2–0Old Brightonians2 February 1889
Nottingham Forest2–2Linfield Athletic2 February 1889
Aston Villa3–2Witton2 February 1889
Bootle0–3Preston North End2 February 1889
Accrington1–1Blackburn Rovers2 February 1889
Chatham2–1South Shore2 February 1889
Grimsby Town3–1Sunderland Albion2 February 1889
Crewe Alexandra2–2Halliwell2 February 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers4–3Old Carthusians2 February 1889
Derby County1–0Derby Junction2 February 1889
Notts Rangers1–1The Wednesday2 February 1889
Birmingham St George's3–2Long Eaton Rangers2 February 1889
Small Heath2–3West Bromwich Albion2 February 1889
Walsall Town Swifts5–1Sheffield Heeley2 February 1889

Replays

Home ClubScoreAway ClubDate
Nottingham ForestWalkoverLinfield Athletic
Blackburn Rovers5–0Accrington9 February 1889
Crewe Alexandra1–5Halliwell[1] 9 February 1889
The Wednesday3–0Notts Rangers9 February 1889

Second round proper

Home ClubScoreAway ClubDate
Blackburn RoversWalkoverSwifts
Aston Villa5–3Derby County16 February 1889
The Wednesday3–2Notts County16 February 1889
Chatham1–1Nottingham Forest16 February 1889
Grimsby Town0–2Preston North End16 February 1889
Halliwell2–3Birmingham St George's16 February 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers6–1Walsall Town Swifts16 February 1889
West Bromwich Albion5–1Burnley16 February 1889

Second replay

Third round proper

Home ClubScoreAway ClubDate
Preston North End2–0Birmingham St George's2 March 1889
Blackburn Rovers8–1Aston Villa2 March 1889
Chatham1–10West Bromwich Albion2 March 1889
Wolverhampton Wanderers3–0The Wednesday2 March 1889

Semi-finals

ScoreDateVenue
Preston North End1–0West Bromwich Albion16 March 1889Bramall Lane, Sheffield
Wolverhampton Wanderers1–1Blackburn Rovers16 March 1889Alexandra Road, Crewe

Replay

References

Notes and References

  1. Halliwell ceded home advantage for the replay: Football Association Challenge Cup . Sheffield Independent . 11 February 1889 . 6.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "1888–89 FA Cup".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.