| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | West Ham United |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Tottenham Hotspur (6th title) |
| Runners-up | Manchester City |
The1980–81 FA Cup was the 100th season of the world's oldestfootball knockout competition,The Football Association Challenge Cup, orFA Cup for short. Thefinal sawTottenham Hotspur defeatManchester City in the first Wembley replay. The final saw a memorable solo goal fromRicky Villa that was voted the greatest goal scored at Wembley.[1]
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 wereBlyth Spartans,Workington,Gateshead,Fleetwood Town,Burscough,Northwich Victoria,Burton Albion,Kidderminster Harriers,Boston United,Stafford Rangers,Wycombe Wanderers,Sutton Coldfield Town,Kettering Town,St Albans City,Barton Rovers,Enfield,Barnet,Harlow Town,Wembley,Maidstone United,Gravesend & Northfleet,Yeovil Town,Addlestone & Weybridge Town,Windsor & Eton,Minehead,Farnborough Town,Leatherhead andWeymouth.
Appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Sutton Coldfield Town, Barton Rovers, Wembley, Addlestone & Weybridge Town and Farnborough Town. Additionally, the reconstituted Gateshead was appearing at this stage for the first time in their own right after predecessor clubGateshead United had folded in 1977. Of the others, St Albans City had last featured in the first round in1968-69, Fleetwood Town's predecessor outfitFleetwood F.C. had last done so in1965-66 and Windsor & Eton had last done so in1925-26.
Maidstone United played eleven matches across seven rounds of the tournament, defeatingRamsgate,Folkestone,Bromley,Barking, Kettering Town (after two replays) andGillingham (afteranother two replays) before going out toExeter City in a high-scoring encounter at theLondon Road Athletic Ground.
The 48 teams from theFootball League Third andFourth Divisions entered in this round, joining the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds andAltrincham,Dagenham,Mossley andScarborough who were given byes. This round contained six clubs from Step 8 of the fledglingEnglish Football Pyramid - Fleetwood Town, Windsor & Eton, Blyth Spartans, Burscough, Barton Rovers and Sutton Coldfield Town - who were the lowest-ranked teams remaining in the competition.
The first round of games were played on 22 November 1980. Replays were played mainly on 25 and 26 November, with a couple of games on 1 December.
The second round of games were intended to be played on 13 December 1980. Replays took place over 16–17 December with second replays needed in two cases. Blyth Spartans, from theNorthern League at Step 8 of English football, was the lowest-ranked club in the round.
Teams from theFootball League First andSecond Division entered in this round. The third round of games in the FA Cup were played on 3 January 1981. Replays took place over 6–7 January with second replays needed in two cases. One of those second replays resulted in the elimination of Cup holders West Ham United by Wrexham. Enfield, from theIsthmian League Premier Division at Step 6 of English football, was the lowest-ranked club in the round.
The fourth round of games were mainly played on 24 January 1981. Replays were played on 27 and 28 January.Enfield was the last non-league club left in the competition.
The fifth set of games were all played on 14 February 1981. Two replays were played on 17 and 18 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | 0–0 | Everton | 14 February 1981 |
| Replay | Everton | 1–0 | Southampton | 17 February 1981 |
| 2 | Nottingham Forest | 2–1 | Bristol City | 14 February 1981 |
| 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–1 | Wrexham | 14 February 1981 |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 2–1 | Barnsley | 14 February 1981 |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 2–0 | Charlton Athletic | 14 February 1981 |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 1–1 | Exeter City | 14 February 1981 |
| Replay | Exeter City | 4–0 | Newcastle United | 18 February 1981 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–1 | Coventry City | 14 February 1981 |
| 8 | Peterborough United | 0–1 | Manchester City | 14 February 1981 |
The sixth round of FA Cup games were played on 7 March 1981. There were three replays, taken place over 10–11 March.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nottingham Forest | 3–3 | Ipswich Town | 7 March 1981 |
| Replay | Ipswich Town | 1–0 | Nottingham Forest | 10 March 1981 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 March 1981 |
| Replay | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3–1 | Middlesbrough | 10 March 1981 |
| 3 | Everton | 2–2 | Manchester City | 7 March 1981 |
| Replay | Manchester City | 3–1 | Everton | 11 March 1981 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Exeter City | 7 March 1981 |
The matches were both played on 11 April 1981, with a replay on 15 April. Tottenham and Manchester City reached theFinal.
| Manchester City | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Ipswich Town |
|---|---|---|
Power |
Referee:- Pat Partridge (Co. Durham)
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Archibald 4' Hoddle 44' | Hibbitt 5' Carr 90' (pen.) |
Referee:- Clive Thomas (Porthcawl)
Referee:- George Courtney (Spennymoor)
The final was held atWembley Stadium on 9 May 1981. The replay was held on 14 May 1981.
       Tottenham Hotspur |      Manchester City |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match rules
|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Villa 8',76' Crooks 70' | (Report) | MacKenzie 11' Reeves 50' (pen.) |
Tottenham Hotspur | Manchester City |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match rules
|
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. For the first time the BBC showed highlights of a single game from the first and second rounds after highlights of League games. ITV did not show any games from Round One or Two. Occasional highlights of replays would be shown on either the BBC or ITV.
This season ITV were showing highlights on their regional highlights programmes on Saturday nights and BBC1 were showing highlights on Match Of The Day on Sunday afternoons in the second season of the 4 year alternation deal.
