| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Liverpool |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Arsenal(6th title) |
| Runners-up | Sheffield Wednesday |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Ian Wright (10 goals) |
The1992–93 FA Cup was the 112th season of theFA Cup, also known asThe Football Association Challenge Cup. It was won byArsenal, who beatSheffield Wednesday 2–1 in the replay after a 1–1 draw in the final at the oldWembley Stadium. The goals were scored byIan Wright andAndy Linighan, who scored in the 119th minute. This was the last FA Cup final to be decided by a replay before final replays were abolished in 1999.
Most participating clubs that were not members of thePremier League orFootball League competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 28 places available in the first round.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round wereSouthport,Gateshead,Blyth Spartans,Macclesfield Town,Altrincham,Marine,Accrington Stanley,Stafford Rangers,Nuneaton Borough,Kettering Town,Dagenham & Redbridge,Aylesbury United,VS Rugby,Sutton Coldfield Town,Kidderminster Harriers,St Albans City,Hayes,Solihull Borough,Kingstonian,Yeovil Town,Slough Town,Bath City,Cheltenham Town,Marlow,Dorking,Salisbury,Merthyr Tydfil andSutton United.
Appearing in the competition proper for the first time were Solihull Borough, Dorking and the recently amalgamated Dagenham & Redbridge. Additionally, the reconstituted Accrington Stanley qualified for the first round for the first time since the former club of that name's mid-season resignation from the Football League in1962. Of the others, Blyth Spartans had not featured at this stage since1981-82; Gateshead, Sutton Coldfield Town and St Albans City had not done so since1980-81, Salisbury had not done so since1979-80 and Kingstonian had not done so since1933-34.
Marine enjoyed a successful run through seven rounds of the competition. They defeatedEmley,Heanor Town,Nantwich Town andRuncorn to secure their place in the main draw, and then accounted forHalifax Town and Stafford Rangers before going out toCrewe Alexandra atGresty Road in the third round.
Birmingham City andPeterborough United from theFootball League First Division entered in this round along with the 47Second andThird Division teams, the 28 non-league clubs from the qualifying rounds andWitton Albion,Wycombe Wanderers andWoking who were given byes.Maidstone United was included in the draw despite the club withdrawing from the Third Division just after the start of the season without having played a match; their eventual Cup opponentsSwansea City were awarded a walkover to the second round. Blyth Spartans, from theNorthern League at Step 8 of English football, was the lowest-ranked team in the draw.
The first round matches were played on the weekend beginning 14 November 1992.
The second round matches were played on the weekend beginning 5 December 1992. The round included six teams from the various competitions at Step 6 of the football pyramid: Marine, Cheltenham Town, Accrington Stanley, VS Rugby, Marlow and Southport.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath City (5) | 2–2 | Northampton Town |
| replay | Northampton Town | 3–0 | Bath City |
| 2 | Burnley | 1–1 | Shrewsbury Town |
| replay | Shrewsbury Town | 1–2 | Burnley |
| 3 | Yeovil Town (5) | 0–0 | Hereford United |
| replay | Hereford United | 1–2 | Yeovil Town |
| 4 | Marine (6) | 3–2 | Stafford Rangers (5) |
| 5 | Reading | 2–1 | Leyton Orient |
| 6 | Gillingham | 1–1 | Colchester United |
| replay | Colchester United | 2–3 | Gillingham |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 4–1 | Rochdale |
| 8 | Macclesfield Town (5) | 0–2 | Stockport County |
| 9 | Wycombe Wanderers (5) | 2–2 | West Bromwich Albion |
| replay | West Bromwich Albion | 1–0 | Wycombe Wanderers |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | Woking (5) |
| replay | Woking | 1–2 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 11 | Plymouth Argyle | 3–2 | Peterborough United |
| 12 | Bradford City | 0–2 | Huddersfield Town |
| 13 | Altrincham (5) | 1–4 | Port Vale |
| 14 | Exeter City | 2–5 | Swansea City |
| 15 | Cheltenham Town (6) | 1–1 | AFC Bournemouth |
| replay | AFC Bournemouth | 3–0 | Cheltenham Town |
| 16 | Rotherham United | 1–0 | Hull City |
| 17 | Wigan Athletic | 0–0 | Bury |
| replay | Bury | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic |
| 18 | Accrington Stanley (6) | 1–6 | Crewe Alexandra |
| 19 | VS Rugby (6) | 0–0 | Marlow (6) |
| replay | Marlow | 2–0 | VS Rugby |
| 20 | Hartlepool United | 4–0 | Southport (6) |
Teams from thePremier League andFirst Division (exceptBirmingham City andPeterborough United) entered in this round. The third round matches were played on the weekend beginning 2 January 1993.
Marine, from theNorthern Premier League Premier Division, and Marlow, from theIsthmian League Premier Division, were again the lowest-ranked teams in the round. Along with Yeovil Town from theFootball Conference, they were also the last non-league clubs in the competition.
The fourth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 23 January 1993. Third Division Crewe Alexandra was the lowest-ranked club in the draw.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | Middlesbrough |
| replay | Middlesbrough | 0–3 | Nottingham Forest |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Wimbledon |
| replay | Wimbledon | 0–0 | Aston Villa |
| Wimbledon won 6–5 on penalties | |||
| 3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–0 | Sunderland |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–2 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 5 | Crewe Alexandra | 0–3 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 6 | Luton Town | 1–5 | Derby County |
| 7 | Sheffield United | 1–0 | Hartlepool United |
| 8 | Tranmere Rovers | 1–2 | Ipswich Town |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–2 | Manchester City |
| 10 | Barnsley | 4–1 | West Ham United |
| 11 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion |
| 12 | Norwich City | 0–2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 13 | Huddersfield Town | 1–2 | Southend United |
| 14 | Arsenal | 2–2 | Leeds United |
| replay | Leeds United | 2–3 | Arsenal |
| 15 | Rotherham United | 1–1 | Newcastle United |
| replay | Newcastle United | 2–0 | Rotherham United |
| 16 | Swansea City | 0–0 | Grimsby Town |
| replay | Grimsby Town | 2–0 | Swansea City |
The fifth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 13 February 1993. Bolton Wanderers, from the Second Division, was the lowest-ranked team in the round and the last club from the First Round left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Newcastle United |
| 2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2–0 | Southend United |
| 3 | Derby County | 3–1 | Bolton Wanderers |
| 4 | Sheffield United | 2–1 | Manchester United |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 4–0 | Grimsby Town |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | Wimbledon |
| 7 | Manchester City | 2–0 | Barnsley |
| 8 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Nottingham Forest |
The sixth round matches were played on the weekend beginning 6 March 1993.
Blackburn Rovers, Premier League title contenders, lost on penalties to Premier League relegation battlers Sheffield United to end theirdouble hopes, while Sheffield Wednesday moved closer to a second domestic cup final in the same season by triumphing at Derby County.
Arsenal defeated Ipswich Town 4–2 atPortman Road to move closer to a second domestic cup final and their first FA Cup triumph since 1979.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Manchester City 4–2 atMaine Road to book aNorth London derby with Arsenal in the semi-final. The match was suspended during the second half when a pitch invasion took place.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackburn Rovers | 0–0 | Sheffield United |
| replay | Sheffield United | 2–2 | Blackburn Rovers |
| Sheffield United won 5–3 on penalties | |||
| 2 | Derby County | 3–3 | Sheffield Wednesday |
| replay | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–0 | Derby County |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 2–4 | Arsenal |
| 4 | Manchester City | 2–4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
The semi-final matches were played on the weekend beginning 3 April 1993.
Both semi-finals were derby matches, with Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United contesting theSteel City derby – which Wednesday won 2–1 – and Arsenal defeating Tottenham 1–0 in theNorth London derby.
| Sheffield Wednesday | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Sheffield United |
|---|---|---|
| Waddle Bright | Cork |
Sheffield Wednesday advance to the FA Cup Final
Arsenal advance to the FA Cup Final
The first final was held on 15 May atWembley Stadium and finished 1–1, after extra time, with Arsenal winning the replay on 20 May, 2–1 also after extra-time. This made Arsenal the first side to win the FA Cup and League Cup in the same season, just weeks after they had beaten Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 in the League Cup final.
| Arsenal | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Sheffield Wednesday |
|---|---|---|
| Wright | Hirst |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Arsenal | ![]() ![]() ![]() Sheffield Wednesday |
| Arsenal | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Sheffield Wednesday |
|---|---|---|
| Waddle |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Arsenal | ![]() ![]() ![]() Sheffield Wednesday |
For the fifth consecutive season in the United Kingdom, theBBC were the free to air broadcasters whileSky Sports were the subscription broadcasters.[citation needed]
The matches shown live on theBBC were:
•Nottingham Forest 2–1Southampton (R3)
•Norwich City 0–2Tottenham Hotspur (R4)
•Sheffield United 2–1Manchester United (R5)
•Manchester City 1–2Tottenham Hotspur (QF)
•Arsenal 1–0Tottenham Hotspur (SF)
•Arsenal 1–1Sheffield Wednesday (Final)
•Arsenal 2–1Sheffield Wednesday (Final Replay)
The matches shown live onSky Sports were:
•Reading 1–0Birmingham City (R1)
•Stoke City 0–0Port Vale (R1)
•Port Vale 3–1Stoke City (R1 Replay)
•Reading 2–1Leyton Orient (R2)
•Wycombe Wanderers 2–2West Bromwich Albion (R2)
•West Bromwich Albion 1–0Wycombe Wanderers (R2 Replay)
•Queens Park Rangers 3–0Swindon Town (R3)
•Bristol Rovers 0–3Aston Villa (R3 Replay)
•Arsenal 2–2Leeds United (R4)
•Leeds United 2–3Arsenal (R4 Replay)
•Tottenham Hotspur 3–2Wimbledon (R5)
•Derby County 3–3Sheffield Wednesday (QF)
•Sheffield Wednesday 1–0Derby County (QF Replay)
•Sheffield Wednesday 2–1Sheffield United (SF)