Aston Villa, winning side | |||||||
| Event | 1886–87 FA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 4 April 1887 | ||||||
| Venue | Kennington Oval,London | ||||||
| Referee | Francis Marindin | ||||||
| Attendance | 15,500 | ||||||
←1886 1888 → | |||||||
The1887 FA Cup final was afootball match betweenAston Villa andWest Bromwich Albion at theKennington Oval. It was the final of the sixteenth staging of theFA Cup which saw 124 teams compete for the final. The final was won by Aston Villa with goals coming fromArchie Hunter andDennis Hodgetts to give Aston Villa a 2–0 victory.This is Aston Villa’s first of 7 FA cups.
Aston Villa's route to the final was a turbulent one, smashingWednesbury Old Athletic 13–0 in the first round, but having to play three replays againstWolverhampton Wanderers. After that, they recovered to make it to the final.
Although West Bromwich Albion didn't have any wins nearly as large as Aston Villa's, their path to the final was less turbulent, constantly defeating teams without much variation.[1]
Aston Villa
| Round | Opponent | Score | Rep.1 | Rep.2 | Rep.3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesbury Old Athletic | 13–0 | |||
| 2 | Derby Midland | 6–1 | |||
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 |
| 4 | bye | ||||
| 5 | Horncastle | 5–0 | |||
| 6 | Darwen | 3–2 | |||
| Semi-Finals | Rangers | 3–1 | |||
West Bromwich Albion
| Round | Opponent | Score | Rep.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burton Wanderers | 6–0 | |
| 2 | Derby Junction | 2–1 | |
| 3 | bye | ||
| 4 | Mitchell St. George's | 1–0 | |
| 5 | Lockwood Brothers | 1–0[note 1] | 2–1 |
| 6 | Notts County | 4–1 | |
| Semi-Finals | Preston North End | 3–1 | |
Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion had already played each other in the FA Cup once, in1885. They played out a goalless draw, with West Bromwich winning the replay 3–0.[2] Although the two clubs have afierce rivalry, this match was well before the rivalry developed and was probably not even a catalyst for the rivalry.

After defeating the incredibly strong team Preston North End in the semis, West Bromwich began the match as favourites. For forty-five minutes, the Aston Villa defense was besieged. The Albion strikers even attempted to run the goalie over his own goal line. However, the first half ended goalless. In the second half, momentum began to shift Villa's way, as West Brom lost confidence. Finally, Villa broke the deadlock whenArchie Hunter fired home, the West Brom goalie not even attempting a save, believing Hunter to beoffside. In the final minute, Villa completed the win, withDennis Hodgetts colliding with West Bromwich Albion goalieBob Roberts, and poking the ball over the line to make it 2–0[1]
![]() ![]() ![]() Aston Villa | ![]() ![]() ![]() West Bromwich Albion |