2014 FA Cup final
The 2014 FA Cup final was an association football match between Premier League clubs Arsenal and Hull City at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 17 May 2014. It was the 133rd FA Cup final overall and the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by the Football Association. Hull made their first appearance in an FA Cup Final, while Arsenal equalled Manchester United's record of 18 final appearances.
Each club needed to win five matches to reach the final. Arsenal beat three of their divisional rivals and needed to win a penalty shoot-out to defeat cup holders Wigan Athletic. In contrast, four of Hull's opponents were from the lower divisions; they played one replay in the fifth round against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The final was refereed by Lee Probert in front of 89,345 spectators. Hull scored two goals in the opening ten minutes from James Chester and Curtis Davies, but Arsenal came back with goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny to level the match by the end of normal time, necessitating extra time. Aaron Ramsey scored the winner 11 minutes from the end of the additional period. The victory secured a joint-record 11th victory in the competition for Arsenal. Because Arsenal had already qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League via their league position, Hull qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, entering at the third qualifying round.
Background
The FA Cup is an annual knockout tournament involving professional and amateur men's football clubs in the English football league system. It is the world's oldest football competition. The 2014 final was the 133rd to be played since it was first held in 1872.Arsenal were making their 18th appearance in an FA Cup Final, equalling the record set by Manchester United. They had last played in the FA Cup final in 2005, when they defeated Manchester United 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished goalless. Conversely, this was Hull City's first appearance in an FA Cup Final since the club was founded in 1904. Arsenal's top scorer during the season was Olivier Giroud with 16 goals in the league and 6 in other competitions, followed by Aaron Ramsey with 10 in the league and 6 others. Hull's leading scorer was Matty Fryatt with 6 goals, 4 of which had come in the FA Cup. Arsenal won both of the league matches between the sides during the 2013–14 season. The fixture at Arsenal's home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London, in November 2013 ended 2–0, while the return game at the KC Stadium in Hull the following April saw Arsenal record a 3–0 victory.
Route to the final
Arsenal
As a Premier League club, Arsenal entered the competition in the third round, where they faced their north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, at the Emirates Stadium. Santi Cazorla opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 31st minute when he struck Serge Gnabry's pass first time past Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper. Midway through the second half, Tottenham's Danny Rose hesitated in possession, allowing Tomáš Rosický to win the ball and lift it over Lloris to double Arsenal's lead. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Arsenal's Theo Walcott was taken off the pitch injured on a stretcher; he was later ruled out for more than six months with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. The match ended 2–0 and Arsenal progressed to the fourth round. There, they were drawn at home again, this time against Coventry City of League One. Lukas Podolski gave Arsenal a 2–0 lead within the first half-hour, scoring from Mesut Özil's pass before doubling his tally by heading in a pass from Per Mertesacker. Giroud and Cazorla both scored close-range goals in the last 10 minutes of the second half, to give Arsenal a 4–0 victory.
For the fifth round, Arsenal were drawn against Liverpool at home, against whom they had lost 5–1 in the Premier League the previous week. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened the scoring in the 16th minute from inside the Liverpool penalty area after Yaya Sanogo's shot was blocked by Steven Gerrard. Podolski doubled their lead two minutes after half-time from, when he converted a cross from Oxlade-Chamberlain. In the 59th minute, Podolski fouled Luis Suárez and Gerrard scored the resulting penalty. Despite dominating the closing stages of the match, Liverpool failed to score again and the match ended 2–1. In the sixth round, Arsenal were again at home where they faced Everton. Özil scored from a Cazorla pass to give Arsenal the lead in the 7th minute, but Everton equalised through Romelu Lukaku from close range in the 32nd. Midway through the second half, Oxlade-Chamberlain was fouled by Gareth Barry to concede a penalty; Mikel Arteta scored on the second attempt after his first successful strike was ruled out as Giroud was deemed to have encroached on the penalty area. Giroud then scored twice in three minutes late on to secure a 4–1 win for Arsenal.
In their semi-final at Wembley Stadium, which was a neutral venue, Arsenal were drawn against the defending FA Cup holders, Championship side Wigan Athletic. After a goalless first half, Wigan took the lead after Callum McManaman was brought down in the Arsenal penalty area by Mertesacker and Jordi Gómez converted the subsequent penalty. With eight minutes of the match remaining, Mertesacker scored with a header from a mishit shot by Kieran Gibbs. Regular time ended with the scores level at 1–1, and with no goals in extra time, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Łukasz Fabiański saved Wigan's first two penalties from Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison and as all subsequent strikes were scored, Arsenal won 4–2 and proceeded to the final. In doing so, Arsenal matched their achievement from the 1949–50 FA Cup, when they reached the final without leaving London.
Hull City
Hull City also entered the 2013–14 FA Cup in the third round, where they were drawn away to Middlesbrough. In the 10th minute, Aaron McLean put Hull ahead when he struck David Meyler's deflected shot past Middlesbrough goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos. Midway through the second half, Nick Proschwitz scored from inside the Middlesbrough penalty area to give Hull a 2–0 victory. In the fourth round, Hull's opposition were League Two side Southend United, whom they faced at Roots Hall. The first half ended 0–0 and midway through the second, Fryatt scored after receiving a pass from Meyler. Fryatt doubled his and his side's tally in stoppage time, beating Dan Bentley in the Southend goal with his strike and securing a 2–0 win for Hull.
In the next round, Hull were drawn against Championship team Brighton & Hove Albion away at Falmer Stadium. Striker Leonardo Ulloa gave Brighton a first-half lead, scoring in the 30th minute after receiving a pass from Will Buckley. With four minutes of the match remaining, Hull's Yannick Sagbo levelled the score when he struck Sone Aluko's cross through the legs of Peter Brezovan, the Brighton goalkeeper. The match ended 1–1 and a replay was then required at the KC Stadium in Hull to determine the winner of the tie. Curtis Davies gave Hull the lead after 14 minutes with a header that beat defender Jake Forster-Caskey on the goal line, before a deflected free kick from Robert Koren made it 2–0 before half-time. Ulloa halved the deficit with a header midway through the second half, but the match ended 2–1 to Hull.
Hull's opponents in the sixth round were Sunderland at home. After a goalless first half, Hull scored three times in the space of nine minutes to secure a 3–0 victory. Davies scored with a header in the 68th minute before Meyler dispossessed Lee Cattermole and made it 2–0 four minutes later. A further mistake from Cattermole allowed Fryatt to score from in the 77th minute. In the semi-final, Hull's first since 1930, they faced Sheffield United, also at Wembley. Jose Baxter gave Sheffield United the lead in the 19th minute before Sagbo equalised three minutes before half-time. Two minutes later, Stefan Scougall scored from Jamie Murphy's cross to make it 2–1 at half-time. Second-half goals from Fryatt, Tom Huddlestone and Stephen Quinn gave Hull a 4–2 lead before Murphy scored in the 90th minute to reduce Sheffield United's deficit. Three minutes into stoppage time, Meyler added Hull's fifth and ensured his side a 5–3 victory and progression to the final for the first time in their history.
Match
Pre-match
The referee for the final was Lee Probert, who had previously officiated the 2010 FA Trophy Final and was the fourth official for the 2011 FA Cup Final. He was assisted by Jake Collin and Mick McDonough, while Kevin Friend was the fourth official and Simon Bennett was the reserve assistant referee. Arsenal wore their traditional red-and-white home kit for the final and used the home team dressing room, while their fans were allocated the west end of the stadium. Hull fans occupied the east end and the team played in their amber-and-black home strip. Ticket prices for the final started at £45 and were also available at £65, £85 and £115, with a £10 discount for concessions, as ticket prices remained the same as the previous FA Cup final. Both clubs were allocated 25,000 tickets, with approximately 20,000 tickets being distributed to volunteers "through the football family", which included counties, leagues, local clubs and charities. The financial prize for winning the FA Cup Final was £1.8 million.The traditional pre-match anthem, "Abide with Me", and the national anthem were performed by the winner of the third series of The X Factor, Leona Lewis, accompanied by the Band of the Welsh Guards. Arsenal were without long-term injured attackers Walcott and Gnabry, while Oxlade-Chamberlain and captain Thomas Vermaelen faced late fitness tests. While Vermaelen made the bench, Oxlade-Chamberlain missed the final. Hull strikers Shane Long and Nikica Jelavić were cup-tied, having appeared earlier in the tournament for West Bromwich Albion and Everton respectively. Aluko, Paul McShane, James Chester and Robbie Brady faced fitness tests for Hull; only Chester was deemed fit enough to start the match, Aluko and McShane were on the bench, and Brady missed out altogether. Hull welcomed back goalkeeper Allan McGregor from a kidney injury. Arsenal adopted a 4–2–3–1 formation while Hull lined up as a 3–5–1–1.