The 1945–46 FA Cup was the 65th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, generally known as the FA Cup, and the first to be held after the Second World War. Derby County were the winners, beating Charlton Athletic 4–1 after extra time in the final at Wembley, London. The tournament witnessed a disaster in the sixth round when, during the second leg of the Bolton–Stoke City tie, 33 people were crushed to death in the Burnden Park disaster.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | England Wales |
| Defending champions | Portsmouth (1939) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Derby County (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Charlton Athletic |
For the only time in the history of the competition, all matches from the first round proper up to and including the sixth round proper were played over two legs, the first leg being played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. In the first and second rounds proper, the second leg was played on the following Saturday; from the third round onwards, it was played during the week following the first leg. If aggregate scores were level after 90 minutes of the second leg had been played, a replay would take place at a neutral venue. These changes were made in order to give clubs additional revenue, as the Football League would not resume normal play until the autumn of 1946.
Calendar
edit| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Extra preliminary round | Saturday 1 September 1945 |
| Preliminary round | Saturday 8 September 1945 |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 22 September 1945 |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 6 October 1945 |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 20 October 1945 |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 3 November 1945 |
| First round proper | Saturday 17 November 1945 Saturday 24 November 1945 |
| Second round proper | Saturday 8 December 1945 Saturday 15 December 1945 |
| Third round proper | Saturday 5 January 1946 w/c Monday 7 January 1946 |
| Fourth round proper | Saturday 26 January 1946 w/c Monday 28 January 1946 |
| Fifth round proper | Saturday 9 February 1946 w/c Monday 11 February 1946 |
| Sixth round proper | Saturday 2 March 1946 w/c Monday 4 March 1946 |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 23 March 1946 |
| Final | Saturday 27 April 1946 |
- w/c = week commencing
Qualifying rounds
editAs with the 1919–20 tournament, participant numbers were down this season after many clubs from the lower echelons of the English football system did not resume after the Second World War. Local leagues across the UK were reeling after seven seasons of competitive hiatus, while other stronger clubs such as Burton Town were unable to survive the loss of regular income streams during wartime.
Most of the clubs from outside the Football League who did enter the tournament still competed in the qualifying rounds to secure one of 25 places available in the first round proper.
The 25 winners from the fourth qualifying round were Stockton, Willington, North Shields, Netherfield, Chorley, Marine, Stalybridge Celtic, Yorkshire Amateur, Shrewsbury Town, Gainsborough Trinity, Wellington Town, Kettering Town, Grantham, Wisbech Town, Chelmsford City, Romford, Barnet, Slough United, Walthamstow Avenue, Sutton United, Bromley, Trowbridge Town, Newport (IOW), Cheltenham Town and Lovell's Athletic.
Results
editFirst round proper
editAt this stage 38 Third Division North and Third Division South clubs, and Newport County from the Second Division, joined the 25 non-league clubs who had advanced from the qualifying rounds. Chester, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Norwich City received byes to the third round while Hull City and New Brighton did not enter the competition. To make the number of matches up, non-league sides Bath City, Yeovil Town, Bishop Auckland and South Liverpool received byes to this stage, with Bishop Auckland being the champions from the 1938-39 FA Amateur Cup.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 17 November 1945 and the second legs on the following Saturday, 24 November 1945. No replays were necessary.
Second round proper
editThe first leg matches were played on Saturday, 8 December 1945 and the second legs on the following Saturday, 15 December 1945. No replays were necessary.
Third round proper
editAt this stage 43 Football League First and Second Division clubs entered the competition along with Chester, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Norwich City.
The first leg matches were played on Saturday, 5 January 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 7 January 1946. Two replays were necessary, both of which were played on Wednesday, 16 January 1946. Lovell's Athletic was the last non-league club left in the competition.
Fourth round proper
editThe first leg matches were played on Saturday, 26 January 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 28 January 1946. One replay was necessary, which was played on 4 February 1946.
Fifth round proper
editThe first leg matches were played on Saturday, 9 February 1946 and the second legs in the following week commencing Monday, 11 February 1946.
Sixth round proper
edit| 2 March 1946 | Aston Villa | 3 – 4 | Derby County | Villa Park, Birmingham |
| Report | Attendance: 76,500 Referee: W. E. Ross-Gower (London) |
| 9 March 1946 | Derby County | 1 – 1 | Aston Villa | Baseball Ground, Derby |
Carter  44' |
Report | Broome |
Attendance: 32,000 Referee: W. E. Ross-Gower (London) |
| 2 March 1946 | Bradford Park Avenue | 2 – 2 | Birmingham City | Park Avenue, Bradford |
| Dougall Jones |
Attendance: 19,732 |
| 9 March 1946 | Birmingham City | 6 – 0 | Bradford Park Avenue | St Andrew's, Birmingham |
| Dougall Bodle Mulraney |
Attendance: 49,858 |
| 2 March 1946 | Charlton Athletic | 6 – 3 | Brentford | The Valley, London |
| 6 March 1946 | Brentford | 1 – 3 | Charlton Athletic | Griffin Park, London |
| 2 March 1946 | Stoke City | 0 – 2 | Bolton Wanderers | Victoria Ground, Stoke-on-Trent |
| 9 March 1946 | Bolton Wanderers | 0 – 0 (33 spectators died) | Stoke City | Burnden Park, Bolton |
| Attendance: A |
Semi-finals
edit| Derby County | 1 – 1 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| Carter 4' |
Report | Mulraney 59' |
| Charlton Athletic | 2 – 0 | Bolton Wanderers |
|---|---|---|
| Duffy 36', 51' |
Replay
edit| Birmingham City | 0 – 4 (a.e.t.) | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Doherty 96', 112' Stamps 103', 118' |
Final
editThe final took place on Saturday, 27 April 1946 at Wembley and ended in a 4–1 win for Derby County after extra time. Charlton Athletic's Bert Turner opened the scoring with an own goal in the 85th minute, which he equalised a minute later to force extra time. A goal from Peter Doherty and two from Jack Stamps completed Derby's victory.
      Derby County
|
  Charlton Athletic
|
Notes
edit- ^ David Kynaston (2008). Austerity Britain 1945–51. Bloomsbury. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7475-9923-4.
- ^ Match played at White Hart Lane, London.
- ^ Match played at Craven Cottage, London.
- ^ Match played at Elland Road, Leeds.
External links
edit- The FA Cup Archive at TheFA.com
- Results on Soccerbase