1993–94 FA Cup


The 1993–94 FA Cup was the 113th staging of the world and England's oldest cup competition, the Football Association Cup or FA Cup. The competition overall was won by Manchester United for the first time since 1990, with a 4–0 thrashing of Chelsea.

Qualifying rounds

Most participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Witton Albion, Macclesfield Town, Accrington Stanley, Gretna, Knowsley United, Telford United, Leek Town, Stalybridge Celtic, Marine, Enfield, Slough Town, Cambridge City, Nuneaton Borough, Kettering Town, VS Rugby, Marlow, Yeading, Bromsgrove Rovers, Kidderminster Harriers, Gravesend & Northfleet, Molesey, Bath City, Metropolitan Police, Carshalton Athletic, Farnborough Town, Crawley Town, Weston-super-Mare and Sutton United.
Yeading and Molesey were appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Stalybridge Celtic and Metropolitan Police had not featured at this stage since 1984–85, Gravesend & Northfleet had last done so in 1980-81, Knowsley United had last done so in 1969-70, Cambridge City had last done so in 1966-67 and Weston-super-Mare had last done so in 1961-62.
Bromsgrove Rovers competed in seven rounds of this season's tournament, defeating Gresley Rovers, Bedworth United, Solihull Borough and Rushden & Diamonds to qualify for the main draw. They then saw off Northampton Town and Yeovil Town before going out to First Division Barnsley in the third round.

First round proper

Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion from the Football League First Division entered in this round along with the 46 [Football League Football League Second Division|Second Division|Second] and Third Division teams, the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds and Halifax Town, Runcorn, Woking and Yeovil Town who were given byes. Metropolitan Police, from the Isthmian League Second Division at Step 8 of English football, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
The first round matches were played on the weekend beginning 13 November 1993.

Second round proper

The second round matches were played on the weekend beginning 4 December 1993. The round featured three teams from Step 6 of the football pyramid: Nuneaton Borough and Crawley Town from the Southern League Premier Division, and Sutton United from the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Third round proper

Teams from the Premier League and First Division entered in this round. Sutton United was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
The third round matches were played on the weekend beginning 8 January 1994.

Fourth round proper

The fourth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 29 January 1994. Kidderminster Harriers, from the Football Conference was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway team
1Notts County1–1West Ham United
replayWest Ham United1–0Notts County
2Bolton Wanderers2–2Arsenal
replayArsenal1–3Bolton Wanderers
3Grimsby Town1–2Aston Villa
4Ipswich Town3–0Tottenham Hotspur
5Stockport County0–4Bristol City
6Newcastle United1–1Luton Town
replayLuton Town2–0Newcastle United
7Kidderminster Harriers 1–0Preston North End
8Norwich City0–2Manchester United
9Plymouth Argyle2–2Barnsley
replayBarnsley1–0Plymouth Argyle
10Oldham Athletic0–0Stoke City
replayStoke City0–1Oldham Athletic
11Chelsea1–1Sheffield Wednesday
replaySheffield Wednesday1–3Chelsea
12Wimbledon2–1Sunderland
13Cardiff City1–0Manchester City
14Port Vale0–2Wolverhampton Wanderers
15Charlton Athletic0–0Blackburn Rovers
replayBlackburn Rovers0–1Charlton Athletic
16Oxford United2–2Leeds United
replayLeeds United2–3Oxford United

Fifth round proper

The fifth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 19 February 1994.
Kidderminster Harriers was again the lowest-ranked team in the draw and the last non-league club in the competition. Harriers would go on to win the Football Conference championship, but they were to be controversially denied promotion to the Third Division after the Football League introduced new stadium tenure and capacity regulations in the wake of the demise of Maidstone United during the previous season. Harriers' ground, Aggborough was deemed to be of insufficient capacity to host Football League fixtures.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway team
1Bristol City1–1Charlton Athletic
replayCharlton Athletic2–0Bristol City
2Bolton Wanderers1–0Aston Villa
3Wolverhampton Wanderers1–1Ipswich Town
replayIpswich Town1–2Wolverhampton Wanderers
4Kidderminster Harriers 0–1West Ham United
5Oldham Athletic1–0Barnsley
6Wimbledon0–3Manchester United
7Cardiff City1–2Luton Town
8Oxford United1–2Chelsea

Sixth round proper

Oldham Athletic reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the second time in five seasons, where they would meet their opponents from 1990 – Manchester United.
Luton reached their first semi-final since 1988 at the expense of West Ham United, where they would take on Chelsea.
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Semi-finals

The semi-final paired Premier League leaders Manchester United with relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic - a repeat of the 1990 semi-final. Wembley Stadium was the venue for this match, which was still goalless after 90 minutes. Oldham took the lead in extra time through Neil Pointon, and held their lead the 119th minute, when a late equaliser by Mark Hughes forced a replay. The two sides met at Maine Road for the replay, which United won 4–1 to end their opposition's hopes of a first-ever FA Cup final, and move closer to winning the double.
The other semi-final paired Premier League side Chelsea with Division One side Luton Town, with both sides looking for glory in the cup after disappointing league campaigns. Like the other semi-final the following day, this match was played at Wembley. Chelsea went through with Gavin Peacock scoring twice in a 2–0 win, to reach their first FA Cup final for 24 years.

Final

Two penalties by Eric Cantona as well as late goals by Mark Hughes and Brian McClair gave Manchester United a 4–0 triumph over Chelsea after the deadlock was still unbroken at half-time, and saw them become only the sixth club in history to win The Double.

Media coverage

For the sixth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters.
The matches shown live on the BBC were:
• Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester United
• Norwich City 0-2 Manchester United
• Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Aston Villa
• Chelsea 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• Oldham Athletic 1-1 Manchester United
• Chelsea 0-4 Manchester United
The matches shown live on Sky Sports were:
• Halifax Town 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
• Yeovil Town 1-0 Fulham
• Walsall 2-0 Wrexham
• Lincoln City 1-3 Bolton Wanderers
• Bath City 2-1 Hereford United
• Nuneaton Borough 0-1 AFC Bournemouth
• Millwall 0-1 Arsenal
• Nottingham Forest 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday
• Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Arsenal
• Luton Town 2-0 Newcastle United
• Wimbledon 0-3 Manchester United
• Ipswich Town 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
• West Ham United 0-0 Luton Town
• Luton Town 3-2 West Ham United
• Chelsea 2-0 Luton Town
• Manchester United 4-1 Oldham Athletic