2001–02 FA Cup


The 2001–02 FA Cup was the 121st season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, the FA Cup. The competition was won by Arsenal with a 2–0 win against Chelsea, courtesy of goals from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg in the final 20 minutes of the game, completing a domestic Double for Arsenal.

Qualifying rounds

All participating clubs that were not members of the Premier League or Football League entered the competition in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round were Stalybridge Celtic, Morecambe, Northwich Victoria, Doncaster Rovers, Brigg Town, Worksop Town, Barrow, Altrincham, Southport, Lancaster City, Whitby Town, Cambridge City, Kettering Town, Tamworth, Farnborough Town, Hereford United, Worcester City, Aylesbury United, Bedford Town, Grays Athletic, Barnet, Newport County, Hayes, Welling United, Lewes, Gravesend & Northfleet, Forest Green Rovers, Aldershot Town, Tiverton Town, Hinckley United, Dagenham & Redbridge and Canvey Island.
Lewes and Hinckley United were appearing in the competition proper for the first time, although the recently merged Hinckley United was doing so for the first time in their own right after predecessor club Hinckley Athletic had last featured at this stage in 1962-63. Of the others, Newport County had last participated in the first round of the Cup in 1988-89, Bedford Town had last done so in 1981-82, Worksop Town had last done so in 1978-79, and Brigg Town had last done so back in 1881-82.
Brigg Town also became the first club to progress from the extra preliminary round to the competition proper since Linby Colliery in 1950-51. The Zebras defeated Great Harwood Town, Morpeth Town, Shildon, Gretna, Farsley Celtic and Boston United to book their place in the main draw and a first round date with Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.

First round proper

This round is the first in which teams from the Second Division and Third Division compete with non-League teams. Matches were played 16, 17 and 18 November, with replays on 27 November and 28 November. The round included two clubs from Step 8 of English football: Brigg Town from the Northern Counties East League and Lewes from the Isthmian League Second Division.

Second round proper

Matches were played on 8-9 December, with replays on 18-19 December. The round featured one club from each of the three competitions at Step 6 of the football pyramid: Altrincham from the Northern Premier League, Hinckley United from the 2001–02 [Southern Football League|Southern League] and Canvey Island from the Isthmian League.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance
1Blackpool 2–0Rochdale 5,191
2Chesterfield 1–1Southend United 4,522
replaySouthend United 2 – 0Chesterfield 5,518
3Canvey Island 1–0Northampton Town 3,000
4Macclesfield Town 4–1Swansea City 2,025
5Swindon Town 3–2Hereford United 7,699
6Tranmere Rovers 6–1Carlisle United 7,428
7Wycombe Wanderers 3–0Notts County 4,725
8Brighton & Hove Albion 2–1Rushden & Diamonds 5,647
9Plymouth Argyle 1–1Bristol Rovers 6,141
replayBristol Rovers 3 – 2Plymouth Argyle 5,763
10Hull City 2–3Oldham Athletic 9,422
11Altrincham 1–2Darlington 3,302
12Exeter City 0–0Dagenham & Redbridge 4,082
replayDagenham & Redbridge 3 – 0Exeter City 2,660
13Scunthorpe United 3–2Brentford 3,457
14Mansfield Town 4–0Huddersfield Town 6,836
15Cardiff City 3–0Port Vale 9,650
16Halifax Town 1–1Stoke City 3,335
replayStoke City 3 – 0Halifax Town 4,356
17York City 2–0Reading 3,161
18Peterborough United 1–0AFC Bournemouth 4,773
19Leyton Orient 2–1Lincoln City 4,195
20Hinckley United 0–2Cheltenham Town 2,661

Third round proper

This round marked the first time First Division and Premier League teams played. Matches played 5 January and 6 January, replays on 15 January and 16 January. Canvey Island was again the lowest-ranked team in the round - along with Football Conference side Dagenham & Redbridge they were also the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance
1Darlington 2–2Peterborough United 10,892
replayPeterborough United 2 – 0Darlington
2Burnley 4–1Canvey Island 11,496
3Liverpool 3–0Birmingham City 40,875
4Watford 2–4Arsenal 20,105
5Walsall 2–0Bradford City
6Leicester City 2–1Mansfield Town
7Aston Villa 2–3Manchester United 38,444
8Grimsby Town 0–0York City
replayYork City 1 – 0Grimsby Town
9Macclesfield Town 0–3West Ham United
10Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–1Gillingham 15,271
11Crewe Alexandra 2–1Sheffield Wednesday
12Sunderland 1–2West Bromwich Albion 29,133
13Derby County 1–3Bristol Rovers 18,549
14Sheffield United 1–0Nottingham Forest 14,696
15Stockport County 1–4Bolton Wanderers 5,821
16Newcastle United 2–0Crystal Palace
17Wycombe Wanderers 2–2Fulham
replayFulham 1 – 0Wycombe Wanderers
18Manchester City 2–0Swindon Town
19Barnsley 1–1Blackburn Rovers
replayBlackburn Rovers 3 – 1Barnsley
20Coventry City 0–2Tottenham Hotspur 20,758
21Portsmouth 1–4Leyton Orient
22Brighton & Hove Albion 0–2Preston North End 6,548
23Norwich City 0–0Chelsea 21,017
replayChelsea 4 – 0Norwich City 24,231
24Millwall 2–1Scunthorpe United
25Wimbledon 0–0Middlesbrough
replayMiddlesbrough 2–0Wimbledon
26Southend United 1–3Tranmere Rovers
27Cardiff City Cardiff City F.C. 2–1 [Leeds United F.C. (2002)|2–1]Leeds United 22,009
28Charlton Athletic 2–1Blackpool
29Cheltenham Town 2–1Oldham Athletic 5,801
30Stoke City 0–1Everton 28,218
31Rotherham United 2–1Southampton
32Dagenham & Redbridge 1–4Ipswich Town

Fourth round proper

Matches were played on the weekend beginning 26 January, with the Chelsea-West Ham replay held on 6 February. Four Third Division clubs in Bristol Rovers, Leyton Orient, Cheltenham Town and York City were the lowest-ranked teams in the draw.
The Arsenal-Liverpool tie was a rematch of the previous year's final.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance
1Preston North End 2–1Sheffield United 13,068
2Gillingham 1–0Bristol Rovers
3Middlesbrough 2–0Manchester United
4West Bromwich Albion 1–0Leicester City 26,860
5Everton 4–1Leyton Orient
6Ipswich Town 1–4Manchester City
7Tranmere Rovers 3–1Cardiff City
8Tottenham Hotspur 4–0Bolton Wanderers
9Millwall 0–1Blackburn Rovers
10Chelsea 1–1West Ham United 33,443
replayWest Ham United 2–3Chelsea 27,272
11Charlton Athletic 1–2Walsall
12Arsenal 1–0Liverpool 38,092
13Cheltenham Town 2–1Burnley 7,300
14York City 0–2Fulham
15Rotherham United 2–4Crewe Alexandra
16Peterborough United 2–4Newcastle United

Fifth round proper

Matches played on the weekend of 16 February and 17 February, with the replay on 26 February.
West Bromwich Albion were the only non-Premiership side to progress to the last eight, at the expense of Cheltenham Town – the last remaining Division Three side in the competition.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamAttendance
1Walsall 1–2Fulham
2Middlesbrough 1–0Blackburn Rovers
3West Bromwich Albion 1–0Cheltenham Town 27,179
4Everton 0–0Crewe Alexandra
replayCrewe Alexandra 1–2Everton
5Newcastle United 1–0Manchester City
6Tottenham Hotspur 4–0Tranmere Rovers
7Chelsea 3–1Preston North End 28,133
8Arsenal 5–2Gillingham

Sixth round proper

Matches were played on the weekend of 9 March, with the replay on 23 March.
West Bromwich Albion were the last non-Premiership side remaining in the competition, and their hopes of further progression were ended when they lost the quarter-final tie at home to Fulham.
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Semi-finals

Matches played at a neutral venue on April 14, 2002.
Gianluca Festa, who had been on the losing side for Middlesbrough in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals five years earlier, endured further misfortune when he scored an own goal that ended his side's hopes of FA Cup glory and handed the initiative to Arsenal.
Fulham, who were playing their first top division season for more than 30 years, had been hoping to compensate for a disappointing Premier League campaign with glory in the FA Cup. These hopes were ended by their neighbours Chelsea, who won the semi-final tie 1–0.
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Final

Arsenal's 2–0 victory set them up for a third double and saw them equal Tottenham's eight FA Cup triumphs – putting them second only to Manchester United as the most frequent winners of the FA Cup.

Media coverage

In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters taking over from ITV who had it after four years while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the fourteenth consecutive season.
The BBC had a much-expanded rights package compared to previous terrestrial networks, showing live games from the first two rounds and multiple live matches from rounds 3 to 6. This meant two BBC live matches on a Sunday and matches being played at 7pm on a Sunday evening, which was not popular with travelling supporters and was discontinued after the fifth round; the quarter-final between Newcastle and Arsenal was the first FA Cup match other than finals to be shown live by the BBC on a Saturday.
The live matches shown on the BBC were:
The live matches shown on Sky Sports were: