 | |||||||
| Event | 2008–09 FA Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 30 May 2009 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Ashley Cole (Chelsea)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 89,391[1] | ||||||
←2008 2010 → | |||||||
The2009 FA Cup final was the 128thfinal of the world's oldest domesticfootball cup competition, theFA Cup. The final was played atWembley Stadium in London on 30 May 2009 and marked the third time that the final has been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested byChelsea, who beatArsenal 2–1 in their semi-final, andEverton who beatManchester United 4–2 on penalties after a 0–0 draw after extra time. AfterLouis Saha opened the scoring after just 25 seconds, which is the second fastest ever goal in an FA Cup Final,Didier Drogba equalised in the 21st minute beforeFrank Lampard scored the winner with 19 minutes left to play to give Chelsea their fifth FA Cup success.[3]
Chelsea went into the match as four-time FA Cup winners, having previously won in1970,1997,2000 and2007, while Everton had won the competition five times previously, having won in1906,1933,1966,1984 and1995. Coincidentally, both teams' most recent titles came in the FA Cup, both teams beatingManchester United in the final; Everton in 1995 and Chelsea in 2007.
The two teams drew 0–0 in both meetings during the2008–09 Premier League season, atGoodison Park in December and atStamford Bridge in April.[4][5] Prior to the 2009 final, the two teams had never met in theFA Cup Final; their most recent meeting in the FA Cup came in the Fourth Round of the2005–06 competition, when Chelsea won 4–1 in a replay atStamford Bridge after a 1–1 draw atGoodison Park. In 157 matches between the two sides in all competitions, Chelsea had recorded 61 wins, Everton had won 49, and 47 matches finished as draws.
| Chelsea | Round | Everton | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southend United [L1] H 1–1 | Kalou 31' | Third Round | Macclesfield Town [L2] A 1–0 | Osman 43' |
| Southend United [L1] A 4–1 | Ballack 45',Kalou 60',Anelka 78',Lampard 90' | Replay | ||
| Ipswich Town [C] H 3–1 | Ballack 16', 59',Lampard 85' | Fourth Round | Liverpool [PL] A 1–1 | Lescott 27' |
| Replay | Liverpool [PL] H 1–0 | Gosling 118' | ||
| Watford [C] A 3–1 | Anelka 75', 77', 90' | Fifth Round | Aston Villa [PL] H 3–1 | Rodwell 4',Arteta 24' (pen.),Cahill 76' |
| Coventry City [C] A 2–0 | Drogba 15',Alex 72' | Sixth Round | Middlesbrough [PL] H 2–1 | Fellaini 50',Saha 56' |
| Arsenal [PL] Wembley Stadium, London 2–1 | Malouda 33',Drogba 84' | Semi-finals | Manchester United [PL] Wembley Stadium, London 0–0 (4–2p) | |
Everton and Chelsea were each allocated 25,109 tickets for the final. Having sold over 32,000 for their semi-final win over Manchester United, Everton were unhappy and disappointed with this allocation. The match was Everton's first FA Cup final in 14 years and Everton chief executive Robert Elstone predicted that the club could have sold in excess of 70,000 tickets for this game. Chelsea also said that the size of their allocation meant that it was unlikely that there would be sufficient tickets for all of their hospitality and non-hospitality season ticket holders.[6]
Club Wembley ten-year season ticket holders were also guaranteed a ticket for the match. After those tickets were allocated, 70% of the remaining tickets were distributed amongst the clubs that had competed in the2008–09 competition, with the other 30% given to those involved in grassroots football and the "football family".[7]
Since both finalists' first-choice kits are predominantly blue, a coin wastossed to determine which team would have the first choice of kit. Everton won the toss and chose to wear their traditional blue kit, meaning that Chelsea would wear their all-yellow third-choice kit.[8] Chelsea were nevertheless given the "home"dressing room, i.e. that used by theEngland national team.[9]
The official match ball of the 2009 FA Cup Final was theUmbro Dynamis. TheDynamis uses a 20-panel configuration, as opposed to a more traditional 32-panel design, which allegedly makes the ball faster. The surface of the ball is made from a Teijin microfibre material. TheDynamis was also used in the 2008 final, but the 2009 version has a gold colourway.[10]
The traditional FA Cup Final song,Abide With Me, was performed by theLondon Community Gospel Choir.[11] Thetrophy was then brought out onto the field, followed by the two teams, before the Chief Guest of the final – formerSecretary General of the United NationsKofi Annan[12] – was introduced to the managers and players of both teams, as well as the match officials. The introductions were immediately followed by the singing of the national anthem, "God Save the Queen", sung byBritain's Got Talent 2008 finalist, 13-year-oldFaryl Smith, making her the youngest performer of the national anthem at the FA Cup final.[13]
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Everton were without long-term injury victimsPhil Jagielka,Mikel Arteta,Yakubu Aiyegbeni,Victor Anichebe andNuno Valente. On-loan Brazilian strikerJô was cup-tied.Andy van der Meyde, who set up the winning goal in the fourth round tie with Liverpool, had since been released by the club. This meant that there was a place on the Everton bench for 17-year-old wingerJose Baxter.
Louis Saha scored for Everton with a left-footed shot to the bottom-left corner just 25 seconds into the match.[1] The previous fastest goal was byBob Chatt ofAston Villa 30 seconds into the1895 final.[3] It would the fastest goal scored in FA Cup final history until the2023 final, whenManchester City'sİlkay Gündoğan scored after 13 seconds.Tony Hibbert received a yellow card for trippingFlorent Malouda in the eighth minute.[1]Didier Drogba levelled the match for Chelsea in the 21st minute with a header set up by a left-wing cross from Malouda.[1]
Tony Hibbert was replaced byLars Jacobsen for Everton to begin the second half,[1] and two minutes in, Toffees captain Phil Neville was booked.[1] Chelsea replacedMichael Essien withMichael Ballack in the 61st minute,[1] followed two minutes later by a yellow card forMikel John Obi.[1] Frank Lampard scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the 72nd minute with a left foot shot.[1] Five minutes later, a shot from Malouda appeared to crash down off the bar and over the line, but it was not given.[1] Everton replaced Saha with James Vaughan at that point.[1] Dan Gosling was the last substitute for Everton in the 81st minute, replacing Leon Osman.[1] Lampard received a yellow card in the 84th minute, while in the fourth minute of added time, Leighton Baines of Everton was booked.[1]
          Chelsea |      Everton |
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Match officials
| Match rules
|
| Chelsea | Everton | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 2 | 1 |
| Total shots | 12 | 6 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 2 |
| Ball possession | 58% | 42% |
| Corner kicks | 5 | 1 |
| Fouls committed | 12 | 17 |
| Offsides | 2 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
