The 2007–08 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 127th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. A record 731 clubs' entries were accepted for the competition.

2007–08 FA Cup
The FA Cup on the roof terrace of Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower on 12 May 2008
Tournament details
CountryEngland
Wales
Teams731
Final positions
ChampionsPortsmouth (2nd title)
Runner-upCardiff City
Tournament statistics
Top goal scorer(s)Craig Mackail-Smith
(7 goals)

The competition culminated with the final held at Wembley Stadium, London on 17 May 2008. The match was contested by Portsmouth and Cardiff City; Nwankwo Kanu scored the only goal of the game to give Portsmouth the title.

The appearance in the Cup Final by Cardiff City, a Level 2 team, marked the second time in 5 years that a team outside Level 1 of the English football pyramid appeared in the final game.

This was the last FA Cup to be broadcast by the BBC and Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, before coverage was handed over to ITV and Setanta starting in August 2008.

Calendar

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Round Date Matches Clubs New entries this round Prize money Player of the Round
Extra preliminary round 18 August 2007 171 729 → 558 342: 388th–729th £500 none
Preliminary round 1 September 2007 166 558 → 392 161: 227th–387th £1,000 none
First round qualifying 15 September 2007 116 392 → 276 66: 161st–226th £2,250 Jack Pitcher (Gloucester City)[1]
Second round qualifying 29 September 2007 80 276 → 196 44: 117th–160th £3,750 Matt Townley (Team Bath)[2]
Third round qualifying 13 October 2007 40 196 → 156 none £5,000 Andy Forbes (Eastleigh)[3]
Fourth round qualifying 27 October 2007 32 156 → 124 24: 93rd–116th £10,000 Craig Farrell (York City)[4]
First round proper 10 November 2007 40 124 → 84 48: 45th–92nd £16,000 Stuart Beavon (Weymouth)[5]
Second round proper 1 December 2007 20 84 → 64 none £24,000 Craig Mackail-Smith (Peterborough United)[6]
Third round proper 5 January 2008 32 64 → 32 44: 1st–44th £40,000 Michael Mifsud (Coventry City)[7]
Fourth round proper 26 January 2008 16 32 → 16 none £60,000 Alfie Potter (Havant & Waterlooville)[8]
Fifth round proper 16 February 2008 8 16 → 8 none £120,000 Luke Steele (Barnsley)[9]
Sixth round proper 8 March 2008 4 8 → 4 none £300,000 Kayode Odejayi (Barnsley)[10]
Semi-finals 5 April 2008 2 4 → 2 none £900,000 Joe Ledley (Cardiff City)[11]
Final 17 May 2008 1 2 → 1 none £1,000,000 Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)

First round proper

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This round is the first in which Football League teams from League One and League Two compete with non-league teams.

  • Ties were played over the weekend of 10 November and 11 November 2007.
  • Leeds United, now a third-tier side, made their earliest ever entry to the FA Cup and suffered a surprise 1–0 home defeat to Hereford United in the replay that followed a goalless draw.
Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Darlington (4) 1–1 Northampton Town (3) 2,964
replay Northampton Town (3) 2–1 Darlington (4) 2,895
2 Hampton & Richmond Borough (6) 0–3 Dagenham & Redbridge (4) 2,252
3 Torquay United (5) 4–1 Yeovil Town (3) 3,718
4 Leyton Orient (3) 1–1 Bristol Rovers (3) 3,157
replay Bristol Rovers (3) 3–3 Leyton Orient (3) 3,742
Bristol Rovers won 6–5 on penalties
5 Bury (4) 4–1 Workington (6) 2,641
6 Barnet (4) 2–1 Gillingham (3) 2,843
7 Accrington Stanley (4) 2–3 Huddersfield Town (3) 2,202
8 Barrow (6) 1–1 AFC Bournemouth (3) 2,203
replay AFC Bournemouth (3) 3–2 Barrow (6) 2,969
9 Forest Green Rovers (5) 2–2 Rotherham United (4) 2,102
replay Rotherham United (4) 0–3 Forest Green Rovers (5) 2,754
10 Southend United (3) 2–1 Rochdale (4) 5,180
11 Team Bath (7) 0–2 Chasetown (8) 2,067
12 Bradford City (4) 1–0 Chester City (4) 4,069
13 Morecambe (4) 0–2 Port Vale (3) 2,730
14 Hereford United (4) 0–0 Leeds United (3) 5,924
replay Leeds United (3) 0–1 Hereford United (4) 11,315
15 Mansfield Town (4) 3–0 Lewes (6) 2,607
16 Gainsborough Trinity (6) 0–6 Hartlepool United (3) 2,402
17 Exeter City (5) 4–0 Stevenage Borough (5) 3,513
18 Oldham Athletic (3) 2–2 Doncaster Rovers (3) 4,280
replay Doncaster Rovers (3) 1–2 Oldham Athletic (3) 4,340
19 Peterborough United (4) 4–1 Wrexham (4) 4,266
20 Halifax Town (5) 0–4 Burton Albion (5) 1,936
21 York City (5) 0–1 Havant & Waterlooville (6) 2,001
22 Harrogate Railway Athletic (8) 2–0 Droylsden (5) 884
23 Rushden & Diamonds (5) 3–1 Macclesfield Town (4) 1,759
24 Ware (8) 0–2 Kidderminster Harriers (5) 2,123
25 Walsall (3) 2–0 Shrewsbury Town (4) 4,972
26 Horsham (7) 4–1 Maidenhead United (6) 3,379
27 Altrincham (5) 1–2 Millwall (3) 2,457
28 Cheltenham Town (3) 1–1 Brighton & Hove Albion (3) 2,984
replay Brighton & Hove Albion (3) 2–1 Cheltenham Town (3) 3,711
29 Stockport County (4) 1–1 Staines Town (7) 3,460
replay Staines Town (7) 1–1 Stockport County (4) 2,860
Staines Town won 4–3 on penalties
30 Crewe Alexandra (3) 2–1 Milton Keynes Dons (4) 3,049
31 Lincoln City (4) 1–1 Nottingham Forest (3) 7,361
replay Nottingham Forest (3) 3–1 Lincoln City (4) 6,783
32 Cambridge United (5) 2–1 Aldershot Town (5) 2,641
33 Notts County (4) 3–0 Histon (5) 4,344
34 Oxford United (5) 3–1 Northwich Victoria (5) 2,972
35 Billericay Town (7) 1–2 Swansea City (3) 2,334
36 Carlisle United (3) 1–1 Grimsby Town (4) 5,128
replay Grimsby Town (4) 1–0 Carlisle United (3) 2,008
37 Eastbourne Borough (6) 0–4 Weymouth (5) 2,711
38 Chesterfield (4) 1–2 Tranmere Rovers (3) 4,296
39 Wycombe Wanderers (4) 1–2 Swindon Town (3) 3,332
40 Luton Town (3) 1–1 Brentford (4) 4,167
replay Brentford (4) 0–2 Luton Town (3) 2,643

Second round proper

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  • The draw was made on 11 November 2007.
  • Ties were played over the weekend of 1 December 2007.
Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Oxford United (5) 0–0 Southend United (3) 5,163
replay Southend United (3) 3–0 Oxford United (5) 2,740
2 Swindon Town (3) 3–2 Forest Green Rovers (5) 7,588
3 Oldham Athletic (3) 1–0 Crewe Alexandra (3) 3,900
4 Northampton Town (3) 1–1 Walsall (3) 3,887
replay Walsall (3) 1–0 Northampton Town (3) 3,066
5 Cambridge United (5) 1–0 Weymouth (5) 4,552
6 Millwall (3) 2–1 AFC Bournemouth (3) 4,495
7 Staines Town (7) 0–5 Peterborough United (4) 2,460
8 Bradford City (4) 0–3 Tranmere Rovers (3) 6,379
9 Torquay United (5) 0–2 Brighton & Hove Albion (3) 4,010
10 Notts County (4) 0–1 Havant & Waterlooville (6) 3,810
11 Dagenham & Redbridge (4) 3–1 Kidderminster Harriers (5) 1,493
12 Port Vale (3) 1–1 Chasetown (8) 5,875
replay Chasetown (8) 1–0 Port Vale (3) 1,986
13 Bristol Rovers (3) 5–1 Rushden & Diamonds (5) 4,816
14 Huddersfield Town (3) 3–0 Grimsby Town (4) 6,729
15 Burton Albion (5) 1–1 Barnet (4) 2,769
replay Barnet (4) 1–0 Burton Albion (5) 1,379
16 Bury (4) 1–0 Exeter City (5) 2,725
17 Luton Town (3) 1–0 Nottingham Forest (3) 5,758
18 Horsham (7) 1–1 Swansea City (3) 2,731
replay Swansea City (3) 6–2 Horsham (7) 5,911
19 Hereford United (4) 2–0 Hartlepool United (3) 3,801
20 Harrogate Railway Athletic (8) 2–3 Mansfield Town (4) 1,486

Third round proper

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This round marks the first time Championship and Premier League (top-flight) teams play. Matches were played on the weekend of Saturday, 5 January 2008. The draw was made on 2 December 2007 at 15:15 GMT by Kevin Beattie and Sammy Nelson, adjudicated by Sir Trevor Brooking.

Involved in the third round draw for the first time ever were Havant & Waterlooville and Chasetown. Chasetown are the lowest-ranked team ever to have reached this stage of the FA Cup. The draw itself produced few major ties, with the exception of Chelsea drawing their West London rivals, Queens Park Rangers, and Aston Villa drawing Manchester United as their third round opponents for the fourth time in seven seasons, and the second time in successive years.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Preston North End (2) 1–0 Scunthorpe United (2) 4,616
2 Chasetown (8) 1–3 Cardiff City (2) 2,420
3 Colchester United (2) 1–3 Peterborough United (4) 4,003
4 Bolton Wanderers (1) 0–1 Sheffield United (2) 15,286
5 Blackburn Rovers (1) 1–4 Coventry City (2) 14,421
6 Brighton & Hove Albion (3) 1–2 Mansfield Town (4) 5,857
7 Walsall (3) 0–0 Millwall (3) 4,358
replay Millwall (3) 2–1 Walsall (3) 4,645
8 Charlton Athletic (2) 1–1 West Bromwich Albion (2) 12,682
replay West Bromwich Albion (2) 2–2 Charlton Athletic (2) 12,691
West Bromwich Albion won 4–3 on penalties
9 Watford (2) 2–0 Crystal Palace (2) 10,480
10 Luton Town (3) 1–1 Liverpool (1) 10,226
replay Liverpool (1) 5–0 Luton Town (3) 41,446
11 Plymouth Argyle (2) 3–2 Hull City (2) 12,419
12 Aston Villa (1) 0–2 Manchester United (1) 33,630
13 Tranmere Rovers (3) 2–2 Hereford United (4) 6,909
replay Hereford United (4) 1–0 Tranmere Rovers (3) 6,471
14 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 2–2 Reading (1) 35,243
replay Reading (1) 0–1 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 22,130
15 Burnley (2) 0–2 Arsenal (1) 16,709
16 Bristol City (2) 1–2 Middlesbrough (1) 15,895
17 Fulham (1) 2–2 Bristol Rovers (3) 13,634
replay Bristol Rovers (3) 0–0 Fulham (1) 11,882
Bristol Rovers won 5–3 on penalties
18 Huddersfield Town (3) 2–1 Birmingham City (1) 13,410
19 Swansea City (3) 1–1 Havant & Waterlooville (6) 8,761
replay Havant & Waterlooville (6) 4–2 Swansea City (3) 4,400
20 Sunderland (1) 0–3 Wigan Athletic (1) 20,821
21 Southend United (3) 5–2 Dagenham & Redbridge (4) 6,393
22 Everton (1) 0–1 Oldham Athletic (3) 33,086
23 Derby County (1) 2–2 Sheffield Wednesday (2) 20,612
replay Sheffield Wednesday (2) 1–1 Derby County (1) 18,020
Derby County won 4–2 on penalties
24 Southampton (2) 2–0 Leicester City (2) 20,094
25 West Ham United (1) 0–0 Manchester City (1) 33,806
replay Manchester City (1) 1–0 West Ham United (1) 27,809
26 Ipswich Town (2) 0–1 Portsmouth (1) 23,446
27 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2) 2–1 Cambridge United (5) 15,340
28 Barnsley (2) 2–1 Blackpool (2) 8,276
29 Chelsea (1) 1–0 Queens Park Rangers (2) 41,289
30 Stoke City (2) 0–0 Newcastle United (1) 22,861
replay Newcastle United (1) 4–1 Stoke City (2) 35,108
31 Swindon Town (3) 1–1 Barnet (4) 5,944
replay Barnet (4) 1–1 Swindon Town (3) 2,810
Barnet won 2–0 on penalties
32 Norwich City (2) 1–1 Bury (4) 19,815
replay Bury (4) 2–1 Norwich City (2) 4,146

Fourth round proper

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The draw was held at 13:30 GMT on Monday, 7 January 2008. The event was hosted by Sir Trevor Brooking, with Alan Cork and John Aldridge making the draw.[12] Fourth-round matches were played on the weekend of 26 January 2008. For the first time since 1957, there were no replays for the fourth round as all ties were settled at the first game.[13]

This was Havant & Waterlooville's first fourth round appearance. They lost 5–2 to Liverpool at Anfield. After Havant's elimination, Bristol Rovers became the lowest ranked team left in the Cup. They play in League One with fellow fifth round qualifiers Huddersfield Town.

The BBC's Match of the Day broadcast live matches from two stadia that it had never broadcast live matches before; from Field Mill, Mansfield for Mansfield Town's match with Middlesbrough and from the JJB Stadium, Wigan for Wigan's match with defending champions Chelsea.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Arsenal (1) 3–0 Newcastle United (1) 60,046
2 Coventry City (2) 2–1 Millwall (3) 17,268
3 Oldham Athletic (3) 0–1 Huddersfield Town (3) 12,749
4 Barnet (4) 0–1 Bristol Rovers (3) 5,190
5 Liverpool (1) 5–2 Havant & Waterlooville (6) 42,566
6 Southend United (3) 0–1 Barnsley (2) 7,212
7 Wigan Athletic (1) 1–2 Chelsea (1) 14,166
8 Derby County (1) 1–4 Preston North End (2) 17,344
9 Manchester United (1) 3–1 Tottenham Hotspur (1) 75,369
10 Portsmouth (1) 2–1 Plymouth Argyle (2) 19,612
11 Southampton (2) 2–0 Bury (4) 25,449
12 Hereford United (4) 1–2 Cardiff City (2) 6,885
13 Peterborough United (4) 0–3 West Bromwich Albion (2) 12,701
14 Mansfield Town (4) 0–2 Middlesbrough (1) 6,258
15 Sheffield United (2) 2–1 Manchester City (1) 20,800
16 Watford (2) 1–4 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2) 12,719

Fifth round proper

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The draw was held at 13:25 GMT on Monday, 28 January 2008. Sir Trevor Brooking hosted the event held at FA premises at Soho Square, where he was joined by Jimmy Case and Ray Wilkins, who conducted the draw. The matches were held over the weekend of 16 February 2008.[14]

Sixth round proper

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The draw was held on 18 February 2008 at 13:25 GMT at Soho Square. The draw was conducted by Geoff Thomas and Mark Bright, overseen by Sir Trevor Brooking.[15]

For the second round in a row, the only all-Premier League tie of the round involved Manchester United, who were defeated at home by Portsmouth. Barnsley, who had already knocked out Liverpool in the previous round, produced a similar result in the sixth round, beating Chelsea 1–0 at Oakwell. West Bromwich Albion defeated Bristol Rovers away at the Memorial Stadium, whilst Cardiff City caused a third shock of the weekend by beating Premier League team Middlesbrough. There were no replays. The sixth-round matches were played on the weekend of 8 March 2008.[15]

Manchester United (1)0–1Portsmouth (1)
Report Muntari   78' (pen.)

Barnsley (2)1–0Chelsea (1)
Odejayi   67' Report
Attendance: 22,410
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)

Middlesbrough (1)0–2Cardiff City (2)
Report Whittingham   9'
Johnson   23'
Attendance: 32,986
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)

Bristol Rovers (3)1–5West Bromwich Albion (2)
Coles   31' Report Morrison   16'
Miller   30', 69', 85'
Phillips   73'

Semi-finals

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The draw was held on 10 March 2008 at 13:25 GMT at Soho Square with Bryan Robson making the draw. Both semi-finals were played at Wembley Stadium and held on 5 April and 6 April 2008.[16] There was only one club from the top flight (Portsmouth) in the draw for the first time since 1908.[17]

West Bromwich Albion (2)0–1Portsmouth (1)
Report Kanu   54'

Barnsley (2)0–1Cardiff City (2)
Report Ledley   9'
Attendance: 82,752

Final

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The final was held at Wembley Stadium on 17 May 2008, and Portsmouth's 1–0 victory gave them their first major trophy for 58 years and their first FA Cup for 69 years. It was also the first time that the winning team's manager (Harry Redknapp) was an Englishman since Joe Royle guided Everton to FA Cup glory 13 years earlier as well as being the first time a club from outside the Big Four of English football won the Cup since the aforementioned Everton side in 1995.

Cardiff City (2)0–1Portsmouth
Report Kanu   37'
Attendance: 89,874
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cardiff City
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Portsmouth

Media coverage

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In the United Kingdom, the BBC were the free to air broadcasters for the seventh consecutive season while Sky Sports were the subscription broadcasters for the twentieth consecutive season.[citation needed]

The matches shown live on the BBC were:

Torquay United 4-1 Yeovil Town (R1)

Harrogate Railway 2-3 Mansfield Town (R2)

Aston Villa 0-2 Manchester United (R3)

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal (R3)

Stoke City 0-0 Newcastle United (R3)

Manchester City 1-0 West Ham United (R3 Replay)

Mansfield Town 1-2 Middlesbrough (R4)

Wigan Athletic 1-2 Chelsea (R4)

Manchester United 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur (R4)

Bristol Rovers 1-0 Southampton (R5)

Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal (R5)

Sheffield United 0-0 Middlesbrough (R5)

Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheffield United (R5 Replay)

Barnsley 1-0 Chelsea (QF)

Middlesbrough 0-2 Cardiff City (QF)

Bristol Rovers 1-5 West Bromwich Albion (QF)

West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Portsmouth (SF)

Cardiff City 0-1 Portsmouth (Final)


The matches shown live on Sky Sports were:

Hereford United 0-0 Leeds United (R1)

Staines Town 1-1 Stockport County (R1 Replay)

Horsham 1-1 Swansea City (R2)

Swansea City 6-2 Horsham (R2 Replay)

Luton Town 1-1 Liverpool (R3)

Liverpool 5-0 Luton Town (R3 Replay)

Sheffield United 2-1 Manchester City (R4)

Preston North End 0-1 Portsmouth (R5)

Manchester United 0-1 Portsmouth (QF)

Barnsley 0-1 Cardiff City (SF)

Cardiff City 0-1 Portsmouth (Final)

References

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  1. ^ "Gloucester star wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  2. ^ "Team Bath star wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 11 October 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  3. ^ "Eastleigh hero wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  4. ^ "York striker claims FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  5. ^ "Terras striker wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Mackail-Smith scoops FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Coventry hero earns FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Havant's Potter wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 4 February 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  9. ^ "Barnsley keeper wins FA Cup award". BBC Sport. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  10. ^ "Odejayi takes vote". The Football Association. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  11. ^ "Ledley takes the vote". The Football Association. 14 April 2008. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  12. ^ "Fourth round draw". The Football Association. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  13. ^ "No draws!". The Football Association. 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
  14. ^ "Fifth round draw details". The Football Association. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Sixth round draw". The Football Association. 15 February 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
  16. ^ "Semi-Final draw". The Football Association. 8 March 2008. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  17. ^ "The Magic of The FA Cup". The Football Association. 9 March 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
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  NODES
Association 8
Note 1