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FA Cup semi-finals

Phase in the FA Cup From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world.

Location

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Since 2008, the new Wembley Stadium has been the home of the FA Cup semi-final.

The semi-finals have always been contested at neutral venues. Since 2008, all semi-finals have been held at the new Wembley. In the past any suitably large ground which was not the home ground of a team in that semi-final was used. Villa Park in Birmingham, Old Trafford in Manchester, and Hillsborough in Sheffield were common hosts. All semi-finals between 1871 and 1881 were played at Kennington Oval. The first neutral semi-final match outside London took place in 1882 in Huddersfield.[1]

The 1989 semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, Sheffield, turned into tragedy when 97 supporters were killed in the stands due to overcrowding.[2] The Hillsborough disaster had wide-ranging effects on future stadium design. Liverpool were granted a special dispensation to avoid playing their 2012 semi-final match against Everton on the 23rd anniversary of the disaster.[3]

The 1991 North London derby semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur was the first to be played at Wembley, the traditional venue for the FA Cup Final. Two years later both semi-finals were held at Wembley after the first FA Cup Steel City derby–between Sheffield clubs Wednesday and United–was switched from the original venue of Elland Road, Leeds, after fans of both Sheffield sides protested.[4]

This was repeated in 1994, although a replay between Manchester United and Oldham Athletic was held at Maine Road, Manchester. From 1995 to 1999 and from 2001 to 2004 other neutral grounds were used, though in 2000 both matches were played at the old Wembley, in its final year of operation. In 2005 both semi-finals were played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. However, in 2006 the FA decided to revert to the neutral ground system, with Villa Park and Old Trafford hosting the games.

In 2003, it was announced that all future semi-finals would be played at the new Wembley Stadium, once it had opened;[5] this took effect in 2008. The decision was mainly for financial reasons, to allow the FA to recoup some of the costs of rebuilding the stadium. However, the move was opposed by traditionalists and drew criticism from some supporters' groups.[6][7] Over a decade after the move, Aston Villa (amongst others) have called for the semi-finals to be regionalised once again.[8]

Tottenham Hotspur's 2018 semi-final was to some extent a home match for them, as they played their home games at Wembley that season while their new stadium was under construction. However, for the semi-final, it was treated as a neutral venue.[9][10]

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Format

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Highfield Road in Coventry (1982 image) hosted the only semi-final third replay in 1979–80.

In the past, there would be a replay if a semi-final match was drawn. If the replay was also drawn, there would be a second replay. In theory, an unlimited number of games could be played to obtain a winner. For example, in 1980 it took four games to decide the tie between Arsenal and Liverpool. This was the most games needed to settle an FA Cup semi-final, although there were several occasions when three games were played.

Queen's Park chose not to contest the 1871–72 replay match with Wanderers.

Prior to the 1992 semi-finals, the only semi-final played under different rules to this was the 1989 semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford, which had been rearranged due to the Hillsborough disaster, for which it had been declared in advance that the game would be decided by extra time and penalties if necessary. In 1991 the FA decided that only one replay should be played (starting with the 1991–92 competition). If this game ended in a draw, extra time would be played, followed by penalty kicks if the match was still even. From the 1999-2000 competition it was decided that the semi-finals should be decided in one game, with extra time and penalties if the score was level after 90 minutes. Replays are still used in earlier rounds, however, though they were eliminated in the quarter-finals in 2016. The last FA Cup semi-final replay, in 1999, saw Manchester United take on Arsenal at Villa Park.[11] This turned out to become one of the most memorable semi-finals of all time, with Peter Schmeichel saving a last-minute penalty from Dennis Bergkamp and a Ryan Giggs extra time goal deciding the outcome in Manchester United's favour. In 2003 this goal was voted the greatest ever in FA Cup history.

From 2016 to 2017, a fourth substitute was allowed in semi-final matches if the game went into extra time.[12]

Exceptions

There were no semi-finals played in the 1872–73 competition. Under the rules at the time, holders Wanderers received a bye to the final. Queen's Park again decided not to contest a semi-final, so Oxford University advanced automatically.[13]

Between 1877 and 1881 only one semi-final was played due to the format of the competition leaving three teams remaining.

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Records

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Villa Park in Birmingham hosted 55 semi-final matches between 1901 and 2007, more than any other stadium.

Villa Park is the most used stadium in FA Cup semi–final history, having hosted 57 semi–finals.[14]

The record for most appearances in semi-finals is held by Manchester United, with 32 in total.

The record for most consecutive semi-final appearances is held by Manchester City, with seven successive semi-finals between the years of 2019 to 2025.[15]

The highest attendance for an FA Cup semi-final is 88,141 for Everton's penalty win over Manchester United on 19 April 2009.[16] It was the fourth semi-final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium.

The highest winning margin was Newcastle United's 6–0 victory over Fulham in the 1908 Anfield semi-final.

The highest post-war winning margin was Stoke City's 5–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the second 2011 semi-final on 17 April 2011.

The highest-scoring match was Hull City's 5–3 victory over Sheffield United in the second 2014 semi-final.

List of FA Cup semi-finals

Key

* Match went to extra time
† Match decided by a penalty shoot-out after extra time
Bold Winning team won The Double
Italics Team from outside the top level of English football
(since the formation of The Football League in 1888)

Results

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Semi-finals table

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Playing in their first semi-final, Woolwich Arsenal (in dark shirts) faced Newcastle United (in striped shirts) at the Victoria Ground, Stoke in 1906.
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Woolwich Arsenal versus The Wednesday at St Andrew's in 1907. The Arsenal would drop "Woolwich" from their name in 1914; The Wednesday would add "Sheffield" in 1929.
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Arsenal against Blackburn Rovers was one of the 2005 semi-finals held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, taking the fixture out of England for the first time since 1885.
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The pre-match line-ups at Villa Park for Middlesbrough versus West Ham United, 2006
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Blackburn Rovers v Chelsea at Old Trafford in 2007: the last FA Cup semi-final before the event was moved to the new Wembley Stadium.
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Arsenal versus Chelsea in 2009 was one of several London derbies held at the national stadium
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Manchester clubs City and United have reached the FA Cup semi-final a combined 45 times. The Manchester derby has twice been a semi-final.
Hull v Sheffield United, new Wembley, 2014
In amongst Hull City fans at the 2014 all-Yorkshire semi-final against Sheffield United
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Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur's rivalry dates back to the 1967 FA Cup final, and the clubs met again in the 2017 semi-final.

Teams shown with an asterisk beside their name are no longer in existence. This table is updated as of the 2024–25 FA Cup.

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Venues

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Semi-finals were held at Sheffield Wednesday's home ground Hillsborough for 85 years.
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Maine Road (1985 image), dubbed the Wembley of the North, was used for semi-finals between 1928 and 1994.
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In the 19th century, seventeen FA Cup semi-final matches were held at the Kennington Oval (1891 image).
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Bramall Lane (1965 photo) hosted 17 semi-finals from 1889 to 1938; Sheffield has been host city on 51 occasions.
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The original Wembley Stadium began hosting semi-finals in 1991 with the North London derby.
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Three semi-final venues in Nottingham: Meadow Lane, the City Ground and Trent Bridge. A fourth venue, the Town Ground, was located at the bottom left of the image.
* Venue than no longer exists
† Venue than no longer hosts regular football
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In Summary: (*Venue no longer exists or regularly host football matches)

  1. Villa Park 57
  2. Wembley 36
  3. Hillsborough 34
  4. Old Trafford 22
  5. Maine Road* 18
  6. Bramall Lane, Kensington Oval* 17
  7. Highbury*, White Hart Lane* 12
  8. Elland Road, Goodison Park, Stamford Bridge, Molineux 10
  9. St Andrew's 9
  10. Victoria Ground*, Wembley (1923)* 7
  11. City Ground, Ewood Park, Leeds Road* 6
  12. Anfield, Racecourse Ground* 5
  13. Burnden Park* 4
  14. Alexandra Recreation Ground*, Trent Bridge* 3
  15. Baseball Ground*, Crystal Palace*, Fallowfield Stadium*, Filbert Street*, Millenium Stadium*, Meadow Lane*, Town Ground*, Wellington Road*, Whalley Range* 2
  16. Elm Park*, Merchiston Castle School*, Fartown Ground*, Highfield Road*, Hyde Road*, Roker Park*, Turf Moor 1
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Third-fourth place matches

The FA Cup Third-fourth place matches were played to determine the order of third and fourth place in the FA Cup. They were introduced in 1970 replacing the traditional pre-final match between England and Young England. The third-fourth place matches were generally unpopular, with only the first one in 1970 getting some positive attention as an occasion, and they were abandoned after five seasons. The 1972 and 1973 third-fourth place matches were played at the start of the following season, and the 1974 third-fourth place match was played five days after the final. The 1972 third-fourth place match was the first FA Cup match to be decided on penalties. The five third-fourth place FA Cup matches were:

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See also

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Queen's Park could not afford a second trip to London for their semi-final replay and were forced to withdraw.
  2. [N 2]
    Queen's Park once again withdrew from the FA Cup at the semi-final stage.
  3. [N 3]
    Non-League club
  4. [N 4]
    Club in second flight of league system
  5. [N 5]
    Match abandoned at half time due to a crush in the crowd and dark conditions.
  6. [N 6]
    Club in third flight of league system
  7. [N 7]
    Abandoned after 6 minutes (see Hillsborough Disaster).
  8. [N 8]
    3–1 on penalties
  9. [N 9]
    4–1 on penalties
  10. [N 10]
    4–2 on penalties
  11. [N 11]
    7–6 on penalties
  12. [N 12]
    Bury has reformed as a phoenix club since their last appearance in a semi-final.
  13. [N 13]
    Welsh team
  14. [N 14]
    Scottish team that was invited to compete
  15. [N 15]
    Wimbledon FC was dissolved, the team relocating as Milton Keynes Dons in 2004. A phoenix club, AFC Wimbledon has formed since their last appearance in a semi-final.
  16. [N 16]
    Venue in nation other than England or Wales
  17. [N 17]
    Venue in Wales

References

External links

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