1921–22 FA Cup


The 1921–22 FA Cup was the 47th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Huddersfield Town won the competition, beating [Preston Football League Third Division North|North End F.C.|Preston North End] 1–0 in the final at Stamford Bridge, London.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.

Calendar

The format of the FA Cup for the season had two preliminary rounds, six qualifying rounds, four proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
RoundDate
Extra preliminary roundSaturday 10 September 1921
Preliminary roundSaturday 24 September 1921
First round qualifyingSaturday 8 October 1921
Second round qualifyingSaturday 22 October 1921
Third round qualifyingSaturday 5 November 1921
Fourth round qualifyingSaturday 19 November 1921
Fifth round qualifyingSaturday 3 December 1921
Sixth round qualifyingSaturday 17 December 1921
First round properSaturday 7 January 1922
Second round properSaturday 28 January 1922
Third round properSaturday 18 February 1922
Fourth round properSaturday 4 March 1922
Semi-finalsSaturday 25 March 1922
FinalSaturday 29 April 1922

Qualifying rounds

As generally expected, the Football League added another 20 teams to the Third Division this season and split that competition into separate North and South components. 18 of the new clubs joined Grimsby Town and the relegated Stockport County in the northern section, while Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic joined those remaining in the south. This significant expansion of the Football League meant that 31 of its clubs would be entering the FA Cup in the qualifying rounds.
In the end, the 11 League sides winning through to the first round proper from the sixth qualifying round were Darlington, Walsall, Newport County, Brentford, Norwich City, Gillingham, Southport, Ashington, Northampton Town, Swansea Town and Grimsby Town. Although they had entered the Cup sporadically since 1888–89, Ashington was appearing in the main competition for the first time.
The only non-league club to progress from the qualifiers was Worksop Town.
North Eastern League side Shildon was the most successful of the 328 clubs entered in the extra preliminary round this season. Enjoying victories over traditional powerhouse outfits from their region in Tow Law Town, Crook Town, Blyth Spartans and Bishop Auckland, the Railwaymen progressed to the sixth qualifying round before being knocked out of the tournament by Brentford.

First round proper

The 12 qualifiers and 41 of 44 First and Second Division League clubs joined the competition in this round. First Division side Birmingham famously had their entry rejected after they failed to submit the relevant paperwork, while Coventry City and Rotherham County from the Second Division were entered in the fifth qualifying round, but drawn against each other, with Coventry emerging victorious.
Of the Third South clubs, Aberdare Athletic and Charlton Athletic were entered in the extra preliminary round, while nine sides were entered in the fifth qualifying round. The eleven others were given byes to the first round proper. These were:
Of the Third North clubs, Halifax Town and Wigan Borough took no part in the competition. Eight sides were entered in the fourth qualifying round with the rest joining in the fifth qualifying round.
32 matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 7 January 1922. Eleven matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture, of which one went to another replay.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Blackpool1–2Watford7 January 1922
2Bristol City0–0Nottingham Forest7 January 1922
ReplayNottingham Forest3–1Bristol City11 January 1922
3Burnley2–2Huddersfield Town7 January 1922
ReplayHuddersfield Town3–2Burnley11 January 1922
4Preston North End3–0Wolverhampton Wanderers7 January 1922
5Southampton3–1South Shields7 January 1922
6Walsall3–3Bradford City7 January 1922
ReplayBradford City4–0Walsall11 January 1922
7Gillingham1–3Oldham Athletic7 January 1922
8Leicester City2–0Clapton Orient7 January 1922
9Blackburn Rovers1–1Southport7 January 1922
ReplaySouthport0–2Blackburn Rovers11 January 1922
10Aston Villa6–1Derby County7 January 1922
11Bolton Wanderers1–0Bury7 January 1922
12Grimsby Town1–1Notts County7 January 1922
ReplayNotts County3–0Grimsby Town12 January 1922
13Sunderland1–1Liverpool7 January 1922
ReplayLiverpool5–0Sunderland11 January 1922
14Everton0–6Crystal Palace7 January 1922
15Swindon Town2–1Leeds United7 January 1922
16Newcastle United6–0Newport County7 January 1922
17Worksop Town1–2Southend United7 January 1922
18Manchester City3–1Darlington7 January 1922
19Barnsley1–1Norwich City7 January 1922
ReplayNorwich City1–2Barnsley12 January 1922
20Brentford0–2Tottenham Hotspur7 January 1922
21Northampton Town3–0Reading7 January 1922
22Portsmouth1–1Luton Town7 January 1922
ReplayLuton Town2–1Portsmouth11 January 1922
23Brighton & Hove Albion1–0Sheffield United7 January 1922
24Manchester United1–4Cardiff City7 January 1922
25Plymouth Argyle1–1Fulham7 January 1922
ReplayFulham1–0Plymouth Argyle11 January 1922
26Millwall4–2Ashington7 January 1922
27Hull City5–0Middlesbrough7 January 1922
28Chelsea2–4West Bromwich Albion7 January 1922
29Bradford Park Avenue1–0The Wednesday7 January 1922
30Port Vale2–4Stoke7 January 1922
31Swansea Town0–0West Ham United7 January 1922
ReplayWest Ham United1–1Swansea Town11 January 1922
ReplaySwansea Town1–0West Ham United16 January 1922
32Arsenal0–0Queens Park Rangers7 January 1922
ReplayQueens Park Rangers1–2Arsenal11 January 1922

Second round proper

The 16 Second Round matches were played on Saturday, 28 January 1922. Five matches were drawn, with replays taking place in the following midweek fixture. One of these, the Bradford City–Notts County match, went to a second replay.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Liverpool0–1West Bromwich Albion28 January 1922
2Preston North End3–1Newcastle United28 January 1922
3Southampton1–1Cardiff City28 January 1922
ReplayCardiff City2–0Southampton1 February 1922
4Leicester City2–0Fulham28 January 1922
5Nottingham Forest3–0Hull City28 January 1922
6Aston Villa1–0Luton Town28 January 1922
7Bolton Wanderers1–3Manchester City28 January 1922
8Swindon Town0–1Blackburn Rovers28 January 1922
9Tottenham Hotspur1–0Watford28 January 1922
10Barnsley3–1Oldham Athletic28 January 1922
11Northampton Town2–2Stoke28 January 1922
ReplayStoke3–0Northampton Town1 February 1922
12Brighton & Hove Albion0–0Huddersfield Town28 January 1922
ReplayHuddersfield Town2–0Brighton & Hove Albion1 February 1922
13Bradford City1–1Notts County28 January 1922
ReplayNotts County0–0Bradford City1 February 1922
ReplayNotts County1–0Bradford City6 February 1922
14Crystal Palace0–0Millwall28 January 1922
ReplayMillwall2–0Crystal Palace1 February 1922
15Southend United0–1Swansea Town28 January 1922
16Bradford Park Avenue2–3Arsenal28 January 1922

Third round proper

The eight Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 18 February 1922. Four matches were drawn and went to replays in the following midweek fixture.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Stoke0–0Aston Villa18 February 1922
ReplayAston Villa4–0Stoke22 February 1922
2Blackburn Rovers1–1Huddersfield Town18 February 1922
ReplayHuddersfield Town5–0Blackburn Rovers22 February 1922
3West Bromwich Albion1–1Notts County18 February 1922
ReplayNotts County2–0West Bromwich Albion22 February 1922
4Tottenham Hotspur2–1Manchester City18 February 1922
5Barnsley1–1Preston North End18 February 1922
ReplayPreston North End3–0Barnsley22 February 1922
6Millwall4–0Swansea Town18 February 1922
7Cardiff City4–1Nottingham Forest18 February 1922
8Arsenal3–0Leicester City18 February 1922

Fourth round proper

The four Fourth round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 4 March 1922. There were three replays, each played in the following midweek fixture.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Notts County2–2Aston Villa4 March 1922
ReplayAston Villa3–4Notts County8 March 1922
2Huddersfield Town3–0Millwall Athletic4 March 1922
3Cardiff City1–1Tottenham Hotspur4 March 1922
ReplayTottenham Hotspur2–1Cardiff City8 March 1922
4Arsenal1–1Preston North End4 March 1922
ReplayPreston North End2–1Arsenal8 March 1922

Semi-finals

The semi-final matches were played on Saturday, 25 March 1922. The matches ended in victories for Preston North End and Huddersfield Town, who went on to meet in the final at Wembley.
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Final

The Final was contested by Huddersfield Town and Preston North End at Stamford Bridge. Huddersfield won by a single goal, a penalty scored by Billy Smith.