| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Arsenal |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Manchester United(8th title) |
| Runners-up | Chelsea |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Gavin Peacock (6 goals) |
The1993–94 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 byManchester United for the first time since1990, with a 4–0 thrashing ofChelsea.
Most participating clubs that were not members of thePremier League orFootball League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round wereWitton 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 andSutton 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 since1984–85, Gravesend & Northfleet had last done so in1980-81, Knowsley United had last done so in1969-70 (when the club had been known asKirkby Town), Cambridge City had last done so in1966-67 and Weston-super-Mare had last done so in1961-62.
Bromsgrove Rovers competed in seven rounds of this season's tournament, defeatingGresley Rovers,Bedworth United,Solihull Borough andRushden & Diamonds to qualify for the main draw. They then saw offNorthampton Town andYeovil Town before going out to First DivisionBarnsley in the third round.
Bolton Wanderers andWest Bromwich Albion from theFootball League First Division entered in this round along with the 46Second andThird Division teams, the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds andHalifax Town,Runcorn,Woking and Yeovil Town who were given byes. Metropolitan Police, from theIsthmian 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.
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 theSouthern League Premier Division, and Sutton United from theIsthmian League Premier Division.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chester City | 2–0 | Hull City |
| 2 | AFC Bournemouth | 1–1 | Nuneaton Borough (6) |
| replay | Nuneaton Borough | 0–1 | AFC Bournemouth |
| 3 | Bath City (5) | 2–1 | Hereford United |
| 4 | Burnley | 4–1 | Rochdale |
| 5 | Yeovil Town (5) | 0–2 | Bromsgrove Rovers (5) |
| 6 | Walsall | 1–1 | Scunthorpe United |
| replay | Scunthorpe United | 0–0 | Walsall |
| Scunthorpe United won 7–6 on penalties | |||
| 7 | Crewe Alexandra | 2–1 | Macclesfield Town (5) |
| 8 | Lincoln City | 1–3 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 9 | Shrewsbury Town | 0–1 | Preston North End |
| 10 | Stockport County | 5–1 | Halifax Town (5) |
| 11 | Wycombe Wanderers | 1–0 | Cambridge United |
| 12 | Kidderminster Harriers (5) | 1–0 | Woking (5) |
| 13 | Brentford | 1–3 | Cardiff City |
| 14 | Plymouth Argyle | 2–0 | Gillingham |
| 15 | Carlisle United | 3–1 | Stalybridge Celtic (5) |
| 16 | Port Vale | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town |
| 17 | Torquay United | 0–1 | Sutton United (6) |
| 18 | Wigan Athletic | 1–0 | Scarborough |
| 19 | Leyton Orient | 1–1 | Exeter City |
| replay | Exeter City | 2–2 | Leyton Orient |
| Exeter City won 5–4 on penalties | |||
| 20 | Crawley Town (6) | 1–2 | Barnet |
Teams from thePremier League andFirst Division (exceptBolton Wanderers andWest Bromwich Albion) 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.
The fourth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 29 January 1994. Kidderminster Harriers, from theFootball Conference (Step 5) was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Notts County | 1–1 | West Ham United |
| replay | West Ham United | 1–0 | Notts County |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 2–2 | Arsenal |
| replay | Arsenal | 1–3 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 1–2 | Aston Villa |
| 4 | Ipswich Town | 3–0 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 5 | Stockport County | 0–4 | Bristol City |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 1–1 | Luton Town |
| replay | Luton Town | 2–0 | Newcastle United |
| 7 | Kidderminster Harriers (5) | 1–0 | Preston North End |
| 8 | Norwich City | 0–2 | Manchester United |
| 9 | Plymouth Argyle | 2–2 | Barnsley |
| replay | Barnsley | 1–0 | Plymouth Argyle |
| 10 | Oldham Athletic | 0–0 | Stoke City |
| replay | Stoke City | 0–1 | Oldham Athletic |
| 11 | Chelsea | 1–1 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| replay | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–3 | Chelsea |
| 12 | Wimbledon | 2–1 | Sunderland |
| 13 | Cardiff City | 1–0 | Manchester City |
| 14 | Port Vale | 0–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 15 | Charlton Athletic | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers |
| replay | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | Charlton Athletic |
| 16 | Oxford United | 2–2 | Leeds United |
| replay | Leeds United | 2–3 | Oxford United |
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 ofMaidstone United during the previous season. Harriers' ground,Aggborough was deemed to be of insufficient capacity to host Football League fixtures.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bristol City | 1–1 | Charlton Athletic |
| replay | Charlton Athletic | 2–0 | Bristol City |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Aston Villa |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–1 | Ipswich Town |
| replay | Ipswich Town | 1–2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 4 | Kidderminster Harriers (5) | 0–1 | West Ham United |
| 5 | Oldham Athletic | 1–0 | Barnsley |
| 6 | Wimbledon | 0–3 | Manchester United |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 1–2 | Luton Town |
| 8 | Oxford United | 1–2 | Chelsea |
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.
| Manchester United | 3–1 | Charlton Athletic |
|---|---|---|
Hughes 46'Kanchelskis 72',76' | Leaburn 77' |
| Luton Town | 3–2 | West Ham United |
|---|---|---|
| Oakes 36',48',74' | M. Allen 30' Bishop 57' |
The semi-final pairedPremier 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 throughNeil Pointon, and held their lead the 119th minute, when a late equaliser byMark Hughes forced a replay. The two sides met atMaine 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 winningthe 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 withGavin Peacock scoring twice in a 2–0 win, to reach their first FA Cup final for 24 years.
| Chelsea | 2–0 | Luton Town |
|---|---|---|
| Peacock 13',48' | Report |
| Manchester United | 1 – 1 (a.e.t) | Oldham Athletic |
|---|---|---|
| Hughes 120' | Pointon 106' |
| Manchester United | 4–1 | Oldham Athletic |
|---|---|---|
| Irwin 10' Kanchelskis 15'Robson 62'Giggs 67' | Report | Pointon 40' |
Two penalties byEric Cantona as well as late goals byMark Hughes andBrian 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 winThe Double.
         Chelsea |   Manchester United |
For the sixth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, theBBC were the free to air broadcasters whileSky Sports were the subscription broadcasters.[citation needed]
The matches shown live on theBBC were:
•Sheffield United 0-1Manchester United (R3)
•Norwich City 0-2Manchester United (R4)
•Bolton Wanderers 1-0Aston Villa (R5)
•Chelsea 1-0Wolverhampton Wanderers (QF)
•Oldham Athletic 1-1Manchester United (SF)
•Chelsea 0-4Manchester United (Final)
The matches shown live onSky Sports were:
•Halifax Town 2-1West Bromwich Albion (R1)
•Yeovil Town 1-0Fulham (R1)
•Walsall 2-0Wrexham (R1 Replay)
•Lincoln City 1-3Bolton Wanderers (R2)
•Bath City 2-1Hereford United (R2)
•Nuneaton Borough 0-1AFC Bournemouth (R2 Replay)
•Nottingham Forest 0-2Sheffield Wednesday (R3 Replay)
•Bolton Wanderers 2-2Arsenal (R4)
•Luton Town 2-0Newcastle United (R4 Replay)
•Wimbledon 0-3Manchester United (R5)
•Ipswich Town 1-2Wolverhampton Wanderers (R5 Replay)
•West Ham United 0-0Luton Town (QF)
•Luton Town 3-2West Ham United (QF Replay)
•Chelsea 2-0Luton Town (SF)
•Manchester United 4-1Oldham Athletic (SF Replay)