| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Arsenal |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Leeds United (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Arsenal |
| Third place | Birmingham City |
| Fourth place | Stoke City |
The1971–72 FA Cup was the 91st season of the world's oldestfootballcup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as theFA Cup.Leeds United won the competition for the first time, beating holdersArsenal 1–0 in thefinal atWembley,London.
Several records were set during this FA Cup season. This was the third year in which the losing semi-finalists were required to compete in a "match for third place";[1] following a goalless 90 minutes,Birmingham City beatStoke City in apenalty shootout, the first time this method had been used to determine the result of an FA Cup match.[2]
In the first round proper,Ted MacDougall's nine goals forAFC Bournemouth as they beatMargate 11–0 remains the record for goals scored in a match in the FA Cup proper.[3]The fourth qualifying round tie betweenAlvechurch andOxford City became the longest FA Cup tie ever, lasting a total of eleven hours before Alvechurch won the fifth replay 1–0.[2]
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period ofextra time would be played.
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Saturday, 4 September 1971 |
| First qualifying round | Saturday, 18 September 1971 |
| Second qualifying round | Saturday, 9 October 1971 |
| Third qualifying round | Saturday, 23 October 1971 |
| Fourth qualifying round | Saturday, 6 November 1971 |
| First round proper | Saturday, 20 November 1971 |
| Second round proper | Saturday, 11 December 1971 |
| Third round proper | Saturday, 15 January 1972 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday, 5 February 1972 |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday, 26 February 1972 |
| Sixth round proper | Saturday, 18 March 1972 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday, 15 April 1972 |
| Final | Saturday, 6 May 1972 |
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 wereSouth Shields,Blyth Spartans,Scarborough,Bangor City,Ellesmere Port Town,Altrincham,Wigan Athletic,Nuneaton Borough,Rossendale United,Frickley Colliery,Boston United,Hereford United,Redditch United,Kettering Town,Alvechurch,King's Lynn,Maidenhead United,Enfield,Guildford City,Dover,Barnet,Romford,Margate,Basingstoke Town,Witney Town,Bridgwater Town,Crawley Town andWeymouth.
Those appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Ellesmere Port Town, Redditch United, Alvechurch, Basingstoke Town and Witney Town. Rossendale United was appearing at this stage for the first time since predecessor outfitRossendale FC had entered the competition in1887-88. Of the others, Frickley Colliery, Maidenhead United and Bridgwater Town had last qualified for the first round in1963-64 and Dover had last done so in1960-61.
At this stage the 48 clubs from theFootball League Third andFourth Divisions joined thenon-league clubs who came through the qualifying rounds. To complete the round, four additional non-league clubs received byes to this stage.Telford United andHillingdon Borough were the finalists from the previous season'sFA Trophy competition, whileSkelmersdale United andDagenham were the finalists from the previous season'sFA Amateur Cup.
Matches were scheduled to be played on Saturday, 20 November 1971, although theAldershot-Alvechurch match was delayed until 24 November because Alvechurch's fourth qualifying round tie againstOxford City had gone to a fifth replay which took place on 22 November, two days after the date set for the first round ties.[2] Also of particular note,Ted MacDougall set a goalscoring record for the FA Cup proper with nine goals for Third DivisionAFC Bournemouth as they beatMargate of theSouthern League 11–0.[3]
Nine drawn matches in this round were settled by a single replay.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 11 December 1971. Six matches were drawn, one of which required a second replay.
The 44First andSecond Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 15 January 1972; the tie betweenNewcastle United andHereford United atNewcastle was twice postponed because of a waterlogged pitch on which snow had fallen.[9] Ten matches were drawn, each of which was settled by a single replay. Thereplay between Hereford and Newcastle, also the subject of several postponements and eventually played on the day scheduled for the fourth round ties, was voted "best FA Cup tie ever" in a 2007 poll hosted inThe Observer newspaper.[9] It was the first time a First Division club had been eliminated from the competition by non-league opponents since Sunderland's shock loss to Yeovil Town in1948–49.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 5 February 1972; Hereford United, unable to complete their third-round replay until this date, played their match later that week (and the subsequent replay early the following week). Five matches were drawn, of which one required a second replay. After their heroics in the previous round, Hereford was the last non-league club left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 0–0 | Leeds United | 5 February 1972 | 56,300 | [19] |
| Replay | Leeds United | 2–0 | Liverpool | 9 February 1972 | 45,821 | [19] |
| 2 | Preston North End | 0–2 | Manchester United | 5 February 1972 | 27,025 | [10] |
| 3 | Reading | 1–2 | Arsenal | 5 February 1972 | ||
| 4 | Leicester City | 0–2 | Orient | 5 February 1972 | ||
| 5 | Derby County | 6–0 | Notts County | 5 February 1972 | 39,450 | [23] |
| 6 | Everton | 2–1 | Walsall | 5 February 1972 | 45,462 | [18] |
| 7 | Tranmere Rovers | 2–2 | Stoke City | 5 February 1972 | ||
| Replay | Stoke City | 2–0 | Tranmere Rovers | 9 February 1972 | 25,000 | [6] |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Rotherham United | 5 February 1972 | 36,903 | [15] |
| 9 | Coventry City | 0–1 | Hull City | 5 February 1972 | ||
| 10 | Portsmouth | 2–0 | Swansea City | 5 February 1972 | 19,782 | |
| 11 | Millwall | 2–2 | Middlesbrough | 5 February 1972 | ||
| Replay | Middlesbrough | 2–1 | Millwall | 8 February 1972 | 36,489 | [6] |
| 12 | Chelsea | 3–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 5 February 1972 | ||
| 13 | Huddersfield Town | 3–0 | Fulham | 5 February 1972 | ||
| 14 | Cardiff City | 1–1 | Sunderland | 5 February 1972 | 27,000 | [11] |
| Replay | Sunderland | 1–1 | Cardiff City | 9 February 1972 | 39,348 | [11] |
| 2nd replay | Cardiff City | 3–1 | Sunderland | 14 February 1972 | 8,868 | [C][11] |
| 15 | Hereford United | 0–0 | West Ham United | 9 February 1972 | 15,000 | [17] |
| Replay | West Ham United | 3–1 | Hereford United | 14 February 1972 | 42,271 | [17] |
| 16 | Birmingham City | 1–0 | Ipswich Town | 5 February 1972 | 40,709 | [21] |
The matches were played on Saturday, 26 February 1972. Two matches were drawn, of which one required a second replay.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derby County | 2–2 | Arsenal | 26 February 1972 | 39,622 | [24] |
| Replay | Arsenal | 0–0 | Derby County | 29 February 1972 | 63,077 | [25] |
| 2nd replay | Derby County | 0–1 | Arsenal | 13 March 1972 | 40,000 | [D][26] |
| 2 | Everton | 0–2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 26 February 1972 | 50,511 | [15] |
| 3 | Manchester United | 0–0 | Middlesbrough | 26 February 1972 | 53,850 | [10] |
| Replay | Middlesbrough | 0–3 | Manchester United | 29 February 1972 | 39,683 | [10] |
| 4 | Huddersfield Town | 4–2 | West Ham United | 26 February 1972 | 27,080 | [17] |
| 5 | Cardiff City | 0–2 | Leeds United | 26 February 1972 | 50,000 | [19] |
| 6 | Stoke City | 4–1 | Hull City | 26 February 1972 | ||
| 7 | Birmingham City | 3–1 | Portsmouth | 26 February 1972 | 43,886 | [21] |
| 8 | Orient | 3–2 | Chelsea | 26 February 1972 |
| Manchester United | 1–1 | Stoke City |
|---|---|---|
| Best | Greenhoff |
| Stoke City | 2–1 aet | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Smith Conroy | Best |
| Arsenal | 1–1 | Stoke City |
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong | Simpson |
For the third time in what turned out to be a five-year experiment, the losing semifinalists were obliged to play off forthird and fourth place.[1] The match was held over until immediately before the1972–73 season. After a goalless 90 minutes, the result was determined by apenalty shootout, the first time this method was used to settle a match in the FA Cup.[2]
| Birmingham City | 0–0 4–3 (pens.) | Stoke City |
|---|---|---|
The final took place on Saturday, 6 May 1972 atWembley and ended in a victory forLeeds United overArsenal by 1–0. The goal was scored byAllan Clarke. The attendance was 100,000.
Leeds United | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Arsenal |
The rights 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 would be shown on either the BBC or ITV.Third roundBBC Swindon Town v Arsenal, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City, Blackpool v Chelsea, Manchester United v Southampton (Midweek-replay), Hereford United v Newcastle United (Saturday-replay)ITV Southampton v Manchester United (Southern & Granada), West Ham United v Luton Town (LWT), Leeds United v Bristol Rovers (Yorkshire), Peterborough United v Ipswich Town (Anglia), Derby County v Shrewsbury (ATV), Sunderland v Sheffield Wednesday (Tyne-Tees).Fourth roundBBC Liverpool v Leeds United, Preston North End v Manchester UnitedITV Reading v Arsenal (Southern & LWT), Birmingham City v Ipswich Town (ATV), Huddersfield Town v Fulham (Yorkshire), Everton v Walsall (Granada), Coventry City v Hull City (Anglia-covered game out of region), Leeds United v Liverpool (Midweek replay-All regions).Fifth roundBBC Orient v Chelsea, Cardiff City v Leeds United, Manchester United v Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough v Manchester United (Midweek-replay)ITV Everton v Tottenham Hotspur (Granada & LWT), Birmingham City v Portsmouth (ATV), Huddersfield Town v West Ham United, Stoke City v Hull City (Anglia-covered game out of region).Sixth roundBBC Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United v Stoke CityITV Orient v Arsenal (LWT), Birmingham City v Huddersfield Town (ATV & Yorkshire) All regions covered those two games.Semi-finalBBC Birmingham City v Leeds United ITV Arsenal v Stoke City All regions covered this game Arsenal v Stoke City (Midweek Replay All Regions)Final Arsenal v Leeds United Shown Live on both BBC & all ITV regions