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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Manchester United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Ipswich Town (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Arsenal |
The1977–78 FA Cup was the 97th season of the world's oldest knockoutfootball competition,The Football Association Challenge Cup, orFA Cup. The final sawIpswich Town beatArsenal 1–0, with a goal fromRoger Osborne.
Most participating clubs that were not members of theFootball League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round wereBlyth Spartans,Wigan Athletic,Spennymoor United,Mossley,Stafford Rangers,Burscough,Runcorn,Goole Town,Arnold,Burton Albion,Nuneaton Borough,AP Leamington,Kettering Town,Enderby Town,Boreham Wood,Enfield,Leatherhead,Barnet,Tilbury,Lowestoft Town,Folkestone & Shepway,Hendon,Wealdstone,Tooting & Mitcham United,Bideford,Minehead,Weymouth andBath City.
Enderby Town was the only non-league club appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Mossley had last featured at this stage in1969–70, Arnold and Lowestoft Town had last done so in1967-68, Folkestone & Shepway had last done so in1966-67, Burton Albion in1965-66, Burscough in1959-60 and Tilbury in1949-50.
Blyth Spartans became the first club sinceNew Brighton in1956-57 to feature in nine rounds of one FA Cup tournament. They progressed from the first qualifying round to the fifth round proper, defeatingShildon,Crook Town,Consett,Bishop Auckland, Burscough,Chesterfield, Enfield andStoke City beforeWrexham needed a replay atSt James' Park in Newcastle to end their run.
The 48 teams from theFootball League Third andFourth Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds andWorkington,Scarborough,Dagenham andWycombe Wanderers who were given byes. The first matches were played on 26 November 1977 with replays mainly taking place on 28–30 November. Three replays were postponed until 5-7 December.
The second round of games were played on 17 December 1977. Replays took place on 19th–21 December.
Teams from theFootball League First andSecond Divisions entered in this round. The third round of games in the FA Cup were played on 6–7 January 1978. Replays were mainly played over 9–11 January but some occurred on 16 January instead.
The fourth round of games were intended to be played on 28 January 1978, but by this time only nine matches had been played, of which three went to replays. The other matches and replays were completed either midweek on 31 January – 1 February, or on 6 February. Replays were played at various times after the initial games. Holders Manchester United were eliminated by West Bromwich Albion.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walsall | 1–0 | Leicester City | 28 January 1978 |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | 2–1 | Manchester City | 31 January 1978 |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Mansfield Town | 6 February 1978 |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 3–2 | Everton | 28 January 1978 |
| 5 | Derby County | 2–1 | Birmingham City | 1 February 1978 |
| 6 | Ipswich Town | 4–1 | Hartlepool United | 28 January 1978 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 2–2 | Wrexham | 28 January 1978 |
| Replay | Wrexham | 4–1 | Newcastle United | 6 February 1978 |
| 8 | Bristol Rovers | 2–0 | Southampton | 28 January 1978 |
| 9 | West Ham United | 1–1 | Queens Park Rangers | 28 January 1978 |
| Replay | Queens Park Rangers | 6–1 | West Ham United | 31 January 1978 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–2 | Notts County | 31 January 1978 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 1–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 January 1978 |
| Replay | West Bromwich Albion | 3–2 | Manchester United | 1 February 1978 |
| 12 | Millwall | 4–0 | Luton Town | 31 January 1978 |
| 13 | Chelsea | 6–2 | Burnley | 31 January 1978 |
| 14 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 28 January 1978 |
| 15 | Stoke City | 2–3 | Blyth Spartans | 6 February 1978 |
| 16 | Orient | 3–1 | Blackburn Rovers | 28 January 1978 |
The fifth set of games mainly took place on 18 February 1978, with two of the games played on 22nd and 27th. Four games went to replays which were played on 27–28 February. A second replay was then played on 2 March.
Blyth Spartans was the first non-League club to reach the Fifth Round sinceYeovil Town in1948-49. They were the last club from the qualifying rounds left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 2–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 27 February 1978 |
| 2 | Derby County | 2–3 | West Bromwich Albion | 22 February 1978 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 1–1 | Blyth Spartans | 18 February 1978 |
| Replay | Blyth Spartans | 1–2 | Wrexham | 27 February 1978 |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–1 | Nottingham Forest | 18 February 1978 |
| Replay | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | Queens Park Rangers | 27 February 1978 |
| Replay | Nottingham Forest | 3–1 | Queens Park Rangers | 2 March 1978 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 2–2 | Ipswich Town | 18 February 1978 |
| Replay | Ipswich Town | 3–0 | Bristol Rovers | 28 February 1978 |
| 6 | Millwall | 2–1 | Notts County | 18 February 1978 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 4–1 | Walsall | 18 February 1978 |
| 8 | Orient | 0–0 | Chelsea | 18 February 1978 |
| Replay | Chelsea | 1–2 | Orient | 27 February 1978 |
The sixth round of FA Cup games were played on 11 March 1978. There was one replay on 14th.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlesbrough | 0–0 | Orient | 11 March 1978 |
| Replay | Orient | 2–1 | Middlesbrough | 14 March 1978 |
| 2 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | Nottingham Forest | 11 March 1978 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 2–3 | Arsenal | 11 March 1978 |
| 4 | Millwall | 1–6 | Ipswich Town | 11 March 1978 |
| Ipswich Town | 3–1 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| Talbot Mills Wark | Report[dead link] | T. Brown pen |
| Arsenal | 0–1 | Ipswich Town |
|---|---|---|
| Osborne |
![]() ![]() ![]() Arsenal | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Ipswich |
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The right to show FA Cup games were, as with Football League matches, shared between the BBC and ITV network. All games were shown in a highlights format, except the Final, which was shown live both on BBC1 & ITV. The BBC football highlights programme Match of the Day would show up to three games and the various ITV regional network stations would cover up to one game and show highlights from other games covered elsewhere on the ITV network. No games from Rounds 1 or 2 were shown. Highlights of replays were shown on either the BBC or ITV. The BBC were only able to cover two planned Round Three FA Cup round ties due to a technical error for West Ham United v Watford.
Third RoundBBC Carlisle United v Manchester United, Leeds United v Manchester City, Manchester United v Carlisle United (Midweek replay).ITV Chelsea v Liverpool (LWT), Sheffield United v Arsenal (Yorkshire), Everton v Aston Villa (Granada & ATV), Middlesbrough v Coventry City (Tyne-Tees), Peterborough United v Newcastle United (Anglia)
Fourth RoundBBC Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United v Wrexham, Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers.ITV Middlesbrough v Everton (Tyne-Tees & Granada), West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers (LWT), Walsall v Leicester City (ATV), Bristol Rovers v Southampton (HTV & Southern), Nottingham Forest v Manchester City (Midweek All Regions)
Fifth RoundBBC Wrexham v Blyth Spartans, Queens Park Rangers v Nottingham Forest, Arsenal v Walsall.ITV Bristol Rovers v Ipswich Town (HTV & Anglia), Orient v Chelsea (LWT) All regions showed these two games.
Sixth RoundBBC West Bromwich Albion v Nottingham Forest, Millwall v Ipswich Town.ITV Wrexham v Arsenal (HTV, Granada & LWT), Middlesbrough v Orient (Tyne-Tees & Yorkshire) All regions showed these two games
Semi-FinalsBBC Ipswich Town v West Bromwich Albion.ITV Arsenal v Orient (All regions)
Final Arsenal v Ipswich Town shown live on BBC and ITV.