 Chelsea celebrating their 4th FA Cup title | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Teams | 687 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chelsea(4th title) |
| Runners-up | Manchester United |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer | Frank Lampard (6 goals) |
The2006–07 FA Cup (known asThe FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 126th staging of the world's oldestfootball knockout competition; theFA Cup. This season's edition was the first to be sponsored by E.ON.
The competition started on 18 August 2006 with the first of the record number of 687 teams entering in the Extra preliminary round and concluded on 19 May 2007 with the final, the first to be held at the newWembley Stadium.[1]
Chelsea claimed this season's FA Cup with a hard-fought 1–0 victory overManchester United, withDidier Drogba scoring the winning goal in the dying minutes of extra-time. Manchester United had played against top-flight opponents in each round, as they had when they won the Cup in1948.
This was the last FA Cup (to date) at whichthe semi-finals were played at neutral club venues; since 2008 all FA Cup semi-finals have been played atWembley Stadium.[2]
| Round | Date | Fixtures | Clubs | Byes/Exemptions | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | 19 August 2006 | 129 | 687 → 558 | none | £500 |
| Preliminary round | 2 September 2006 | 166 | 558 → 392 | 203: 227th–429th | £1,000 |
| First round qualifying | 16 September 2006 | 116 | 392 → 276 | 66: 161st–226th | £2,250 |
| Second round qualifying | 30 September 2006 | 80 | 276 → 196 | 44: 117th–160th | £3,750 |
| Third round qualifying | 14 October 2006 | 40 | 196 → 156 | none | £5,000 |
| Fourth round qualifying | 28 October 2006 | 32 | 156 → 124 | 24: 93rd–116th | £10,000 |
| First round proper | 11 November 2006 | 40 | 124 → 84 | 48: 45th–92nd | £16,000 |
| Second round proper | 2 December 2006 | 20 | 84 → 64 | none | £24,000 |
| Third round proper | 6 January 2007 | 32 | 64 → 32 | 44: 1st–44th | £40,000 |
| Fourth round proper | 27 January 2007 | 16 | 32 → 16 | none | £60,000 |
| Fifth round proper | 17 February 2007 | 8 | 16 → 8 | none | £120,000 |
| Sixth round proper | 10 March 2007 | 4 | 8 → 4 | none | £300,000 |
| Semi-finals | 14 April 2007 | 2 | 4 → 2 | none | £900,000 |
| Final | 19 May 2007 | 1 | 2 → 1 | none | £1,000,000 |
All participating clubs that were not members of thePremier League orFootball League entered the competition in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 32 places available in the first round proper.
The winners from the fourth qualifying round wereBarrow,Stafford Rangers,Tamworth,Gainsborough Trinity,King's Lynn,York City,Fleetwood Town,Rushden & Diamonds,Burton Albion,Northwich Victoria,Farsley Celtic,Kettering Town,Morecambe,Kidderminster Harriers,Basingstoke Town,Lewes,Bishop's Stortford,Weymouth,Maidenhead United,Stevenage Borough,Woking,Clevedon Town,Newport County,Oxford United,Yeading,Aldershot Town,Exeter City,Leatherhead,Chelmsford City,Bromley,Salisbury City andHavant & Waterlooville.
Clevedon Town was appearing in the competition proper for the first time. Of the others, Basingstoke Town had last featured at this stage in1998–99, King's Lynn had last done so in1997-98, Bromley had last done so in1996-97, Fleetwood Town in1990-91, Leatherhead in1980-81, Farsley Celtic in1974-75 and Maidenhead United in1971-72.
Football League clubs from League One and League Two entered the competition at this stage. The draw was made byWill Greenwood andNeil Back, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking. Step 8 side Leatherhead, of theIsthmian League First Division South, was the lowest-ranked team in the round.
Matches were played on weekend of Saturday, 11 November 2006.
Matches played on weekend of Saturday, 2 December 2006. The draw was made on 12 November byGraham Gooch andMike Gatting, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking, and televised live onBBC One. King's Lynn, from theSouthern League Premier Division at Step 7, was the lowest-ranked team in the round.
As mentioned below, Bury defeated Chester City 3–1 at theDeva Stadium but it was soon revealed that Bury had fielded an ineligible player, resulting in them being expelled from the competition and Chester City being reinstated.
This round marks the point at which the Premier League and Football League Championship teams entered the competition. The draw was made on 3 December 2006 byAmir Khan andRicky Hatton, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking, and televised live onBBC One. Conference National (Step 5) sides Aldershot Town and Tamworth were the lowest-ranked teams in the round and the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 6 January 2007 with replays taking place during the week of 16 and 17 January (with the exception of the Luton – QPR replay, which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch).
Matches played on weekend of Saturday, 27 January 2007. The draw was made on 8 January byHope Powell andFaye White, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking, and televised live onBBC Two andSky Sports News. League Two sides Barnet and Bristol Rovers were the lowest-ranked teams in the round.
Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 17 February 2007. The draw took place on Monday, 29 January 2007 and was made byDarren Campbell andRoger Black, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking, and televised live onBBC Two andSky Sports News. The round featured ten clubs from the Premier League and six from the Football League Championship.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea (1) | 4–0 | Norwich City (2) | 41,537 |
| 2 | Watford (1) | 1–0 | Ipswich Town (2) | 17,016 |
| 3 | Preston North End (2) | 1–3 | Manchester City (1) | 18,890 |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle (2) | 2–0 | Derby County (2) | 18,026 |
| 5 | Manchester United (1) | 1–1 | Reading (1) | 70,608 |
| replay | Reading (1) | 2–3 | Manchester United (1) | 23,821 |
| 6 | Arsenal (1) | 0–0 | Blackburn Rovers (1) | 56,761 |
| replay | Blackburn Rovers (1) | 1–0 | Arsenal (1) | 18,882 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough (1) | 2–2 | West Bromwich Albion (2) | 31,491 |
| replay | West Bromwich Albion (2) | 1–1 | Middlesbrough (1) | 24,925 |
| 1 – 1 after extra time – Middlesbrough win 5 – 4 on penalties | ||||
| 8 | Fulham (1) | 0–4 | Tottenham Hotspur (1) | 18,655 |
Matches played on the weekend of Saturday, 10 March 2007. The draw for the round, also known as the quarter-finals, took place on Monday, 19 February 2007 at 1:30pm GMT. The draw was made bySteve McClaren andTerry Venables, adjudicated byTrevor Brooking and televised live onBBC Two. This was the last round in which matches were held on the home grounds of one of the teams. The only non-Premier League team to reach the quarter-finals this season were Plymouth Argyle.
| Middlesbrough (1) | 2–2 | Manchester United (1) |
|---|---|---|
Cattermole 44'Boateng 47' | (Report) | Rooney 23' Ronaldo 68' (pen.) |
| Chelsea (1) | 3–3 | Tottenham Hotspur (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Lampard 22',71' Kalou 86' | (Report) | Berbatov 5' Essien 28' (o.g.)Ghaly 36' |
| Blackburn Rovers (1) | 2–0 | Manchester City (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Mokoena 28' Derbyshire 90' | (Report) |
| Plymouth Argyle (2) | 0–1 | Watford (1) |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Bouazza 21' |
| Manchester United (1) | 1–0 | Middlesbrough (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Ronaldo 76' (pen.) | (Report) |
| Tottenham Hotspur (1) | 1–2 | Chelsea (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Keane 76' (pen.) | (Report) | Shevchenko 54' Wright-Phillips 61' |
Unlike earlier rounds, matches were played on neutral grounds on the weekend of Saturday, 14 April 2007. There would be no replays even if the matches were drawn; instead, extra time would decide winners immediately thereafter. Only if extra time did not decide the winners, apenalty shootout would decide winners. The draw for the semi-finals took place on Monday, 12 March 2007 at 1:30pm GMT. The draw was made byRay Clemence, and adjudicated byTrevor Brooking.
| Watford (1) | 1–4 | Manchester United (1) |
|---|---|---|
| Bouazza 26' | (Report) | Rooney 7',66' Ronaldo 28'Richardson 82' |
The 126th FA Cup final was played at the newWembley Stadium[5] and it was the firstFA Cup Final to be played in London since2000. Similarly to the semi-finals, there would be no replay even if the match was drawn; instead, extra time would be used to decide the winners. If extra time failed to separate the two sides, the match would go to penalties. Chelsea's victory ended Manchester United's hopes of becoming the only English club to winthe double four times (having previously won it in 1994, 1996 and 1999), and in doing so, completed their own cup-double.
| Chelsea | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Drogba 116' | (Report) |
In the United Kingdom, theBBC were the free to air broadcasters for the sixth consecutive season whileSky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the nineteenth consecutive season.[citation needed]
The matches shown live on theBBC were:
Salisbury City 1-1Nottingham Forest (R2)
Tamworth 1-4Norwich City (R3)
Manchester United 2-1Aston Villa (R3)
Newcastle United 1-5Birmingham City (R3 Replay)
Luton Town 0-4Blackburn Rovers (R4)
Manchester United 2-1Portsmouth (R4)
Chelsea 3-0Nottingham Forest (R4)
Bolton Wanderers 1-3Arsenal (R4 Replay)
Arsenal 0-0Blackburn Rovers (R5)
Manchester United 1-1Reading (R5)
Preston North End 1-3Manchester City (R5)
Reading 2-3Manchester United (R5 Replay)
Middlesbrough 2-2Manchester United (QF)
Chelsea 3-3Tottenham Hotspur (QF)
Plymouth Argyle 0-1Watford (QF)
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2Chelsea (QF Replay)
Watford 1-4Manchester United (SF)
Chelsea 1-0Manchester United (Final)
The matches shown live onSky Sports were:
Macclesfield Town 0-0Walsall (R1)
Hartlepool United 0-0Rochdale (R1 Replay)
King's Lynn 0-2Oldham Athletic (R2)
Nottingham Forest 2-0Salisbury City (R2 Replay)
Cardiff City 0-0Tottenham Hotspur (R3)
Manchester City 2-1Sheffield Wednesday (R3 Replay)
Arsenal 1-1Bolton Wanderers (R4)
Middlesbrough 2-2Bristol City (R4 Replay)
Fulham 0-4Tottenham Hotspur (R5)
Blackburn Rovers 1-0Arsenal (R5 Replay)
Blackburn Rovers 2-0Manchester City (QF)
Manchester United 1-0Middlesbrough (QF Replay)
Blackburn Rovers 1-2Chelsea (SF)
Chelsea 1-0Manchester United (Final)
