 Official programme | |||||||
| Event | 1932–33 FA Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 29 April 1933 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Referee | E. Wood (Sheffield) | ||||||
| Attendance | 92,950 | ||||||
←1932 1934 → | |||||||
The1933 FA Cup final was afootball match betweenEverton andManchester City on 29 April 1933 atWembley Stadium inLondon. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as theFA Cup), it was the 62nd final, and the 11th at Wembley. The 1933 final was the first where the players, including goalkeepers, were issued numbers for identification. Everton were allocated numbers 1–11 and Manchester City numbers 12–22.[1]
Each team progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Everton won the game 3–0, with goals fromJimmy Stein,Dixie Dean andJames Dunn, winning the cup for the first time since 1906.
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Leicester City (a) | 3–2 |
| 4th | Bury (h) | 2–0 |
| 5th | Leeds United (h) | 4–2 |
| 6th | Luton Town (h) | 6–0 |
| Semi-final | West Ham United (n) | 2–1 |
Both teams entered the competition in the third round, the entry point for First Division clubs. Everton were drawn to playLeicester City atFilbert Street, an all First Division tie. The match was close;Dixie Dean scored for Everton after three minutes, but Leicester quickly levelled the score. A goal byJimmy Stein gave Everton a 2–1 half-time lead, but Leicester again equalised.James Dunn eventually scored to secure a 3–2 win for Everton.[2] Second DivisionBury provided the opposition in the fourth round.Tommy Johnson scored twice for Everton in the opening half-hour. From that point, though Bury enjoyed significant spells of possession, Everton thwarted their efforts by preying on Bury mistakes. In the second half Dean added a third goal from a reboundedCliff Britton free-kick, and Bury scored a late consolation goal.[3] Everton were drawn to playLeeds United at home in the fifth round. Leeds' strong league form meant Everton entered the match as slight underdogs despite home advantage.[4] Everton goalkeeperTed Sagar made two important saves in the first half to denyArthur Hydes andBilly Furness.[4] Everton the gained the upper hand and scored twice, Dean with the first, and Stein with the second, direct from a corner.[5]
Against Third DivisionLuton Town in the quarter-final, Everton won comfortably. The match remained scoreless for half an hour, but after Stein opened the scoring for Everton the match became one-sided, and ended 6–0. Stein and Johnson both scored twice, along with a goal each for Dunn and Dean, the latter maintaining his record of scoring in every round.[6] By this time Everton were viewed as favourites to win the competition.[7] In the semi-final they playedWest Ham atMolineux,Wolverhampton. Everton took the lead in the sixth minute. A corner kick by Stein was headed on by Johnson, and then headed into the net by Dunn.[8] Everton had the better of the play in the first half, butVic Watson scored for West Ham just before half-time. In the second half West Ham's Woods missed an open goal from six yards (5.5m).[8] Everton then capitalised on their reprieve. With seven minutes remaining, a mistake byJim Barrett allowedEdward Critchley to go clear on goal and score the winner.[9]
| Round | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd | Gateshead (a) | 1–1 |
| Gateshead (h) | 9–0 | |
| 4th | Walsall (h) | 2–0 |
| 5th | Bolton Wanderers (a) | 4–2 |
| 6th | Burnley (a) | 1–0 |
| Semi-final | Derby County (n) | 3–2 |
Manchester City started the competition at Third DivisionGateshead. Despite the disparity in league positions, a heavy pitch made for an even game, which finished 1–1.[10] The replay atMaine Road was one-sided. A 9–0 Manchester City win featured six different scorers, including a hat-trick fromFred Tilson.[11] In the fourth round Manchester City faced another Third Division side,Walsall, who had provided the surprise result of the third round by defeating league leadersArsenal.[12] Brook scored both goals in a 2–0 win, in which Walsall's Reed wassent off for a foul on Brook.[13] The fifth round brought a short trip toBolton Wanderers, where the attendance of 69,920 was the highest of the round.[4] Bolton took the lead, but Brook scored twice in quick succession to give Manchester City the advantage at the interval.[5] Bolton equalised when a gust of wind caughtRay Westwood's corner. Brook completed ahat trick with apenalty to regain the lead, and in the closing minutes Tilson completed a 4–2 victory.[5] TheManchester Guardian suggested Brook's "magnificent display" made him a contender for anEngland call-up.[4]
Manchester City's quarter-final was againstBurnley of the Second Division. City took the lead early in the match following a solo goal by Tilson. In the second-half Burnley discarded their passing game in favour of a direct approach, and pressured the Manchester City goal. The City defence stood firm, and the match finished 1–0.[6] City's opponents for the semi-final, held atLeeds Road,Huddersfield, wereDerby County. Derby had two chances to score in the first half, but both were missed.[14] A Manchester City counter-attack produced the opening goal, when Brook crossed and Toseland headed in.[9] By midway through the second half Manchester City led by three goals. The second was scored by Tilson, a follow-up after an initial saved shot.[14] McMullan scored the third after dribbling through the Derby defence.[14] Derby mounted a late comeback. A goal byHoward Fabian reduced the deficit to two, andSammy Crooks added a late second for Derby, but it was too late to affect the result of the match, which ended 3–2.[14]
Everton had contested the final on four previous occasions. They beatNewcastle United 1–0 to win the Cup in1906, but were defeated in the1893,1897 and1907 finals. The 1933 final was Manchester City's third. Both their previous finals were againstBolton Wanderers. Manchester City won by a goal to nil in1904, and lost by the same scoreline in1926. Both teams had performed well in the previous season. Manchester City reached the semi-finals of the 1932 FA Cup; Everton were reigning league champions.[15] The clubs had never previously met in cup competition. The league matches between the two earlier in the season each finished as a win for the home team.[16] At the time of the final, Everton's league position was tenth, and Manchester City's sixteenth.[17] Newspapers did not declare a clear favourite for the win. Everton were viewed as having the more skilful players, particularly their forwards, whereas Manchester City were seen as having greater strength and determination.[16][18]
Everton spent the week before the match in the spa town ofBuxton, and travelled toDorking on the eve of the match. Manchester City spent the week inBushey.[18] Everton's James Dunn received treatment on a thigh injury in the ten days preceding the game, but was anticipated to be fit enough to play.[19] Manchester City's main injury worry was Fred Tilson, who was troubled by a leg injury.[18] Dunn was passed fit well before the game, allowing Everton to field the same line-up that played in four of their five previous cup ties.[20]
Ten miles (16 km) of barbed wire was used to secure Wembley Stadium against unauthorised entry.[21] The pre-match entertainment was music by theBand of the Irish Guards, and communal singing backed by the band of theRoyal Horse Guards.[22] Inclement weather prevented the attendance ofKing George V.[23] Instead the guest of honour was theDuke of York. Other guests present includedBaron Wigram,Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey, Austrian envoyBaron von Franckenstein and theWest Indies cricket team.[22]
The Manchester City line-up contained two survivors from the 1926 team,Sam Cowan andJimmy McMullan. The only Everton player with cup final experience wasTommy Johnson, who also played for Manchester City in the 1926 final. He represented the Manchester club between 1919 and 1930, and at the time of the 1933 final was Manchester City's all-time highest goalscorer.
Both teams usually wore blue, causing a colour clash. The competition rules required both teams to wear alternative colours.[24] For the first time in a cup final, the players wore numbered shirts.[25] Everton were numbered 1–11, and Manchester City 12–22. Everton goalkeeper Sagar wore 1, with the forwards bearing the higher numbers. Manchester City were the reverse. Forward Brook wore 12, through to goalkeeper Langford who wore 22.[18][26]
Each team played the formation typical of the era: two full-backs, three half-backs and five forwards. With Tilson absent from the Manchester City line-up,Alec Herd moved across to Tilson's usual centre-forward position, andBobby Marshall was selected at inside-right.[27] For Everton, Albert Geldard who was injured for the semi-final was selected at outside right, and Ted Critchley who scored the winning goal in the FA Cup semi-final, was left out of the side.
Manchester City had the first attack of the match, but it came to nothing.[28] Soon Everton began to dominate the match, with Dean frequently involved in the attacking play.[29] Several Everton attacks came on their left flank. Stein caused Manchester City right-backSid Cann problems,[30] and Cann was forced to concede a corner kick on several occasions.[28] Just after the half-hour Everton had their first shot on target, when Stein's effort was saved by Langford.[28] Another chance quickly arrived. Stein's cross passed in front of goal, but Dean was unable to connect with the ball.[29] Two minutes later Manchester City goalkeeper Langford attempted to catch a cross from Britton, but dropped the ball under pressure from Dean. The ball fell into the path of Stein, who put the ball into the empty net to give Everton the lead.[28][29][31] At half-time Everton led 1–0.
Everton continued to control the game in the second half. Manchester City took shots from long range, but none required Sagar to make a save.[27] Seven minutes into the second half, Langford again failed to catch a Britton cross, and Dean charged to the net. Dean, ball and goalkeeper all landed in the goal, making the score 2–0.[32][33] Manchester City then made a few fruitless attacks. As was the case throughout the game, the Everton defence outplayed the Manchester City forwards. TheManchester Guardian singled outWarney Cresswell for particular praise, describing his performance as "an almost perfect display".[28] Ten minutes from time a Dunn header from a corner made the score 3–0 to Everton.[27] Just before the end Everton's Johnson had a chance to make it 4–0, but the referee blew his whistle for full-time before Johnson could take his shot.[28]
       Everton |     Manchester City |
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Everton captain Dixie Dean led his team to the Royal Box and received the cup from theDuke of York.[34] Everton returned to Liverpool on the Monday evening, and paraded the city in the same horse-drawn carriage used in the celebrations of their previous cup win in 1906.[35] The players attended a reception at the town hall, where large crowds greeted them.[36] After the reception the cup was taken to Goodison Park for public viewing.[35]
Newsreels of the final featured post-match toasts by the two captains. First Dixie Dean, raising his glass, said "Here's to Lancashire, and may the cup stay in Lancashire. If Everton don't win it, may another Lancashire club win it." Cowan replied "I hope the next Lancashire club that wins it is Manchester City, my club".[37] Thefollowing year's final made the captains' remarks look perceptive. Cowan and his Manchester City team returned, and beatPortsmouth 2–1 to win the 1934 cup.[38] Both Manchester City and Everton also went on to win the league championship later in the decade; Manchester City in 1937, and Everton in 1939.
[Stein] was frequently plied with the ball because it was patent that the right-back could not cope with this spirited and wily Scot
Langford jumped to handle. The ball seemed under the crossbar, but Dean to make sure bumped the keeper and the ball into the net.
Langford waited a fraction of a second too long to catch Britton's bar-high centre, and before he knew what had happened he was lying on the ground and Dean and the ball were inside the net.
