| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Manchester United(11th title) |
| Runners-up | Millwall |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Garry BarnesScott Taylor Ruud van Nistelrooy (6 goals) |
The2003–04 FA Cup was the 123rd staging of England and the world's oldest football competition, theFA Cup. The competition began on 23 August 2003, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. In the third round, the clubs from the Premiership and Division One competed in the competition for the first time.
The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw. The competition culminated with thecup final at theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff for a fourth year in a row, sinceWembley Stadium was still in the rebuilding process. The cup was won byManchester United for a record 11th time, with a3–0 victory overMillwall from Division One.
The appearance in the cup final by Millwall, aLevel 2 team, marked the first time in12 years that a team outside Level 1 of theEnglish football pyramid appeared in the final game.
| Round | Date (weekend of) | Matches | Clubs | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 23 August 2003 | 73 | 661 → 588 | £500 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 30 August 2003 | 182 | 588 → 406 | £1,000 |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 20 September 2003 | 124 | 406 → 282 | £2,250 |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 27 September 2003 | 84 | 282 → 198 | £3,750 |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 11 October 2003 | 42 | 198 → 156 | £5,000 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 25 October 2003 | 32 | 156 → 124 | £10,000 |
| First round proper | Saturday 8 November 2003 | 40 | 124 → 84 | £16,000 |
| Second round proper | Saturday 6 December 2003 | 20 | 84 → 64 | £24,000 |
| Third round proper | Saturday 3 January 2004 | 32 | 64 → 32 | £40,000 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 24 January 2004 | 16 | 32 → 16 | £60,000 |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 14 February 2004 | 8 | 16 → 8 | £120,000 |
| Sixth round proper | Saturday 6 March 2004 | 4 | 8 → 4 | £300,000 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 3 April 2004 | 2 | 4 → 2 | £900,000 |
| Final | Saturday 22 May 2004 | 1 | 2 → 1 | £1,000,000 |
All participating clubs that were not members of thePremier League orFootball 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 wereStalybridge Celtic,Lancaster City,Grantham Town,Chester City,Whitby Town,Shrewsbury Town,Burton Albion,Telford United,Scarborough,Gainsborough Trinity,Accrington Stanley,Northwich Victoria,Bradford Park Avenue,Shildon,Histon,Stevenage Borough,Barnet,Farnborough Town,Grays Athletic,Weston-super-Mare,Boreham Wood,Aldershot Town,Thurrock,Hereford United,Bishop's Stortford,Salisbury City,Ford United,Canvey Island,Hornchurch,Woking,Crawley Town andGravesend & Northfleet.
Histon, Thurrock and Hornchurch were appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Accrington Stanley and Weston-super-Mare had last featured at this stage in1993–94, Bishop's Stortford had last done so in1986-87, Grantham Town had last done so in1975-76, Bradford Park Avenue had last done so in1970-71 and Shildon had last done so in1961-62.
This round is the first in which Football League teams from Second and Third Division compete with non-league teams. Luton Town'sAdrian Forbes and Sheffield Wednesday'sAdam Proudlock netted hat tricks. Shildon, of theNorthern League at level 8 of the English football pyramid, was the lowest ranked team in the round.
Ties were played over the weekend of 6 December 2003. Mansfield'sLiam Lawrence showed how interested Championship and premiership clubs were with him by netting a hat trick. Step 6 sides Weston-super-Mare, from theSouthern League Premier Division, and Hornchurch, from theIsthmian League Premier Division, were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.
This round marks the point at which First Division and Premier League (top-flight) teams enter the competition. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 3 January 2004, with replays on 13 January and 14 January. The draw included three clubs from theFootball Conference (Step 5): Telford United, Scarborough and Accrington Stanley.
Ties played during the weekend of 24 January 2004, with replays on 3 February and 4 February. Telford United and Scarborough were again the lowest-ranked teams in the draw and, by this stage, were also the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley (2) | 3–1 | Gillingham (2) |
| 2 | Liverpool (1) | 2–1 | Newcastle United (1) |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest (2) | 0–3 | Sheffield United (2) |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (1) | 1–3 | West Ham United (2) |
| 5 | Luton Town (3) | 0–1 | Tranmere Rovers (3) |
| 6 | Everton (1) | 1–1 | Fulham (1) |
| replay | Fulham (1) | 2–1 | Everton (1) |
| 7 | Scarborough (5) | 0–1 | Chelsea (1) |
| 8 | Ipswich Town (2) | 1–2 | Sunderland (2) |
| 9 | Manchester City (1) | 1–1 | Tottenham Hotspur (1) |
| replay | Tottenham Hotspur (1) | 3–4 | Manchester City (1) |
| 10 | Northampton Town (4) | 0–3 | Manchester United (1) |
| 11 | Coventry City (2) | 1–1 | Colchester United (3) |
| replay | Colchester United (3) | 3–1 | Coventry City (2) |
| 12 | Portsmouth (1) | 2–1 | Scunthorpe United (4) |
| 13 | Arsenal (1) | 4–1 | Middlesbrough (1) |
| 14 | Birmingham City (1) | 1–0 | Wimbledon (2) |
| 15 | Telford United (5) | 0–2 | Millwall (2) |
| 16 | Swansea City (4) | 2–1 | Preston North End (2) |
The match betweenTottenham Hotspur andManchester City was particularly notable. Tottenham led the match 3–0 at half-time but Manchester City turned the match around in the second half to win 4–3, withJon Macken scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute. This was despite Manchester City having one less player on the pitch during the second half afterJoey Barton was red carded during the half-time interval.[1]
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool (1) | 1–1 | Portsmouth (1) | 34,669 |
| replay | Portsmouth (1) | 1–0 | Liverpool (1) | 19,529 |
| 2 | Sunderland (2) | 1–1 | Birmingham City (1) | 24,966 |
| replay | Birmingham City (1) | 0–2 | Sunderland (2) | 25,645 |
| 3 | Sheffield United (2) | 1–0 | Colchester United (3) | 17,074 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers (3) | 2–1 | Swansea City (4) | 12,215 |
| 5 | Fulham (1) | 0–0 | West Ham United (2) | 14,705 |
| replay | West Ham United (2) | 0–3 | Fulham (1) | 27,934 |
| 6 | Manchester United (1) | 4–2 | Manchester City (1) | 67,228 |
| 7 | Millwall (2) | 1–0 | Burnley (2) | 10,420 |
| 8 | Arsenal (1) | 2–1 | Chelsea (1) | 38,136 |
| Manchester United (1) | 2–1 | Fulham (1) |
|---|---|---|
Van Nistelrooy 25',62' | Report | Malbranque 23' (pen.) |
| Portsmouth (1) | 1–5 | Arsenal (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Sheringham 90' | Report | Henry 25',50' Ljungberg 43',57'Touré 45' |
| Millwall (2) | 0–0 | Tranmere Rovers (3) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Sunderland (2) | 1–0 | Sheffield United (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Smith 15' | Report |
| Arsenal (1) | 0–1 | Manchester United (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Scholes 32' |
| Sunderland (2) | 0–1 | Millwall (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Cahill 26' |
Manchester United won the game and lifted the trophy for the 11th time in their history (a competition record) with a 3–0 victory over a Millwall side who were the first team from outside the top flight to reach the FA Cup final in 12 years.
| Manchester United | 3–0 | Millwall (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Ronaldo 43' Van Nistelrooy 65' (pen.),81' | (Report) |
In the United Kingdom, theBBC were the free to air broadcasters for the third consecutive season whileSky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the sixteenth consecutive season.[citation needed]
The matches shown live on theBBC were:
The matches shown live onSky Sports were: