1879 FA Cup final

The 1879 FA Cup final was contested by Old Etonians and Clapham Rovers at the Kennington Oval in London. Old Etonians won by 1–0, the only goal scored by Charles Clerke.

1879 FA Cup final

Event	1878–79 FA Cup
Old Etonians Clapham Rovers 1 0
Date	29 March 1879
Venue	Kennington Oval, London
← 1878 1880 →

Summary

Although Clapham dominated the early stages of the final, with Norman Bailey having two attempts on target, Herbert Whitfeld continued to run at the Clapham defenders with little assistance from his colleagues. After a goalless first-half, the only goal of the game came after 59 minutes, when Charles Clerke scored from close range following a run from Harry Goodhart.^[1] The old Etonians thus claimed the cup for the first time in what was considered to be "the poorest FA Cup Final to date".^[2]

Match details

29 March 1879 (1879-03-29)

Old Etonians	1–0	Clapham Rovers
Clerke 59'

Kennington Oval, London

Old Etonians

C. Rovers

Old Etonians: GK John Purvis Hawtrey DF Edward Christian DF Lindsay Bury MF Hon. Arthur Kinnaird (C) MF Edgar Lubbock FW Charles Clerke FW Norman Pares FW Harry Goodhart FW Herbert Whitfeld FW John Chevallier FW Mark Beaufoy

Clapham Rovers: GK Reginald Birkett DF Robert Ogilvie DF Edgar Field MF Norman Bailey MF James Prinsep FW Frederick Rawson FW Arthur J. Stanley FW Stanley Scott FW Herbert Bevington FW Edward Growse FW Cecil Keith-Falconer