1997–98 FA Cup

The 1997–98 FA Cup was the 117th season of the world's oldest cup competition, the Football Association Cup or FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 2-0 victory against Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium.

Calendar

First round proper

The First Round featured those non-league teams who had come through the qualifying rounds and the teams from the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system. The matches were played on 14 November 1997. There were fourteen replays, with four ties requiring a penalty shootout to settle them.

Second Round Proper

The second round of the competition featured the winners of the first round ties. The matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 6 December 1997, with eight replays and three penalty shootouts required, each of which featured a team who won on penalties in the previous round.

Third round proper

The third round of the season's FA Cup was scheduled for Saturday, 3 January 1998, although six matches were postponed until later dates. This round marked the point at which the teams in the two highest divisions in the English league system, the Premier League and the Football League First Division (now known as the Football League Championship). There were eight replays, with two of these games requiring a penalty shootout to settle it.

Fourth Round Proper

The Fourth Round ties were played with the thirty-two winners of the previous round. The matches were originally scheduled for Saturday, 24 January 1998. There were five replays, with one penalty shootout.

Fifth Round Proper

The Fifth Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 14 February 1998. There were four replays, with one penalty shootout.

The biggest surprise of the round was arguably Barnsley's 3-2 win (in the replay that followed a 1-1 draw) over Manchester United. Barnsley were in their first season as a top division side (and ended it with relegation), while United were defending league champions and were also in contention for the league title and the European Cup at this time, although they ended the season trophyless.

Sixth Round Proper

The Sixth Round ties were scheduled for the weekend of the 7th and 8 March 1998. Two replays were played on the 17th, both of which went to penalties.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United, Division One sides, both progressed to the semi-finals at the expense of Premier League sides. Wolverhampton Wanderers were particularly impressive in doing this, as the side they eliminated from the cup (Leeds United) went on to finish fifth in the Premier League.

Replay

Sheffield United won 3–1 on penalties.

Replay

Arsenal won 4–3 on penalties.

Semi-Finals

The two semi-final matches were played on Sunday 5 April 1998. Both ties were played at neutral venues, and resulted in a clear victories for Arsenal and Newcastle United, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley. The losing sides were both non-Premiership teams, who endured further disappointment over the next few weeks by being pipped to promotion from Division One.

Final

The 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley on 16 May 1998. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league title/FA Cup double. They joined Manchester United as only the second English team to achieve this, although Arsenal did so with an entirely different set of players (their first double was in 1971, whereas United's doubles were in 1994 and 1996).

External links

• The FA website
• BBC Sport FA Cup page
• Results at Soccerbase