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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | West Ham United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Southampton(1st title) |
| Runners-up | Manchester United |
The1975–76 FA Cup was the 95th staging of the world's oldestfootball knockout competition,The Football Association Challenge Cup, orFA Cup. Thefinal saw 2nd tierSouthampton beatManchester United 1–0, with the only goal coming fromBobby Stokes in the 83rd minute of the game.
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 wereSpennymoor United,Rossendale United,Morecambe,Gateshead United,Marine,Winsford United,Macclesfield Town,Grantham,Nuneaton Town,Boston United,Stafford Rangers,Coventry Sporting,AP Leamington,Bedford Town,Romford,Dartford,Bishop's Stortford,Leatherhead,Wycombe Wanderers,Tooting & Mitcham United,Wimbledon,Dover,Wealdstone,Hendon,Walton & Hersham,Sutton United,Weymouth andYeovil Town.
Coventry Sporting was appearing in the competition proper for the first (and only) time, while Bedford Town was re-appearing at this stage for the first time since1966–67. Winsford United qualified for the first round for the first time since the1887-88 tournament, when the club was still known asOver Wanderers.
Tooting & Mitcham United became the first club to participate in eight rounds of one tournament since Gravesend & Northfleet in1962–63, defeatingSt Albans City,Stevenage Athletic,Addlestone,Southall & Ealing Borough, Romford, Leatherhead andSwindon Town before going out toBradford City atValley Parade.
The 48 teams from theFootball League Third andFourth Divisions entered in this round along with the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds andMatlock Town,Scarborough,Wigan Athletic andAltrincham who were given byes. The first round of games were played on 22 November 1975. Replays were played mainly on the 24th–26th, with second replays performed one or two weeks after.
The second round of games were played on 13 December 1975. Replays took place on the 15th–17th or the 22nd.
Teams from theFootball League First andSecond Division entered in this round. The third round of games in the FA Cup were mainly played on 3 January 1976, with two matches played two days earlier onNew Year's Day. Replays were mainly played midweek over 6–7 January or the week after but one occurred on the 24th instead. Holders West Ham United were eliminated by Liverpool.
The fourth round games were mostly played on 28 January 1976, with three replays and a main match on the 27th and 28th. The Sunderland-Hull City match was postponed until 2 February because of bad weather.Tooting & Mitcham United was the last non-league club left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | 3–1 | Blackpool | 24 January 1976 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 1–0 | Bury | 24 January 1976 |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 3–2 | Lincoln City | 24 January 1976 |
| 4 | Sunderland | 1–0 | Hull City | 2 February 1976 |
| 5 | Derby County | 1–0 | Liverpool | 24 January 1976 |
| 6 | Ipswich Town | 0–0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 24 January 1976 |
| Replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | Ipswich Town | 27 January 1976 |
| 7 | Coventry City | 1–1 | Newcastle United | 24 January 1976 |
| Replay | Newcastle United | 5–0 | Coventry City | 28 January 1976 |
| 8 | Manchester United | 3–1 | Peterborough United | 24 January 1976 |
| 9 | Norwich City | 2–0 | Luton Town | 24 January 1976 |
| 10 | Bradford City | 3–1 | Tooting & Mitcham United | 24 January 1976 |
| 11 | Southend United | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 24 January 1976 |
| 12 | Huddersfield Town | 0–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 24 January 1976 |
| 13 | Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | Portsmouth | 24 January 1976 |
| Replay | Portsmouth | 0–3 | Charlton Athletic | 27 January 1976 |
| 14 | Leeds United | 0–1 | Crystal Palace | 24 January 1976 |
| 15 | York City | 0–2 | Chelsea | 24 January 1976 |
| 16 | Stoke City | 1–0 | Manchester City | 28 January 1976 |
The fifth set of games took place (except for one game) on 14 February 1976. Three games went to a replay which were played on 17–18 February. The Norwich City–Bradford City match and a second replay of the Bolton Wanderers–Newcastle United match were played on 23 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester City | 1–2 | Manchester United | 14 February 1976 |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 3–3 | Newcastle United | 14 February 1976 |
| Replay | Newcastle United | 0–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 18 February 1976 |
| Replay | Bolton Wanderers | 1–2 | Newcastle United | 23 February 1976 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–0 | Charlton Athletic | 14 February 1976 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–1 | Southampton | 14 February 1976 |
| Replay | Southampton | 4–0 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 February 1976 |
| 5 | Derby County | 1–0 | Southend United | 14 February 1976 |
| 6 | Norwich City | 1–2 | Bradford City | 23 February 1976 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 2–3 | Crystal Palace | 14 February 1976 |
| 8 | Stoke City | 0–0 | Sunderland | 14 February 1976 |
| Replay | Sunderland | 2–1 | Stoke City | 17 February 1976 |
The sixth round of FA Cup games were played on 6 March 1976. There was one replay on the 9th.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland | 0–1 | Crystal Palace | 6 March 1976 |
| 2 | Derby County | 4–2 | Newcastle United | 6 March 1976 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 6 March 1976 |
| Replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–3 | Manchester United | 9 March 1976 |
| 4 | Bradford City | 0–1 | Southampton | 6 March 1976 |
| Manchester United | 2–0 | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Hill | Report[dead link] |
| Southampton | 2–0 | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| Gilchrist Peach | Report[dead link] |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Southampton | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Man United |
The right 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.
One Fifth Round tie that was picked to be shown by ITV was postponed This was Norwich City v Bradford City (Anglia & Yorkshire) This was due to a Flu Outbreak in the Bradford City camp
Third RoundBBC West Ham United v Liverpool, Scarborough v Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers v Newcastle United, Newcastle United v Queens Park Rangers (Midweek replay), Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur (Saturday Replay).
ITV Derby County v Everton (ATV & Granada), Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City (LWT), Leicester City v Sheffield United (Yorkshire out of region) Other regions showed those three games.
Fourth RoundBBC Coventry City v Newcastle United, Manchester United v Peterborough United.
ITVDerby County v Liverpool (ATV & Granada), Leeds United v Crystal Palace (Yorkshire), Norwich City v Luton Town (Anglia), Charlton Athletic v Portsmouth (LWT & Southern), Stoke City v Manchester City (Midweek All regions).
Fifth RoundBBC Chelsea v Crystal Palace, Bolton Wanderers v Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers v Charlton Athletic, Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers (Midweek Both replays).
ITV Leicester City v Manchester United (ATV & Granada), Stoke City v Sunderland (Tyne-Tees Out of region), Derby County v Southend United (Anglia & LWT Out of Region).
Sixth RoundBBC Derby County v Newcastle United, Bradford City v Southampton.
ITV Sunderland v Crystal Palace (Tyne-Tees & LWT), Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers (Granada & ATV), Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United (Midweek replay All regions).
Semi-FinalsBBC Derby County v Manchester United.
ITV Crystal Palace v Southampton (All regions).
Final Manchester United v Southampton covered Live by BBC & ITV.