1987–88_FA_Cup
1987–88 FA Cup
Football tournament season
The 1987–88 FA Cup was the 107th season of the world's oldest knockout football competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. The competition was won by Wimbledon F.C.'s Crazy Gang who defeated league champions Liverpool through a headed goal by Lawrie Sanchez, thus denying Liverpool the double. They would be one of three clubs other than Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool to win the trophy in the following 20 years (the others being Everton and Tottenham Hotspur) before Portsmouth's victory in the 2008 final. This was Wimbledon's only FA Cup title during its lifetime.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  England Wales |
| Defending champions | Coventry City |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Wimbledon (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Liverpool |
The tournament started in August 1987 with non-league teams competing in a qualifying competition.
Teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Division entered in this round plus Kidderminster Harriers, Burton Albion, Altrincham and Telford United, were given byes. The first round of games were played over the weekend 14–15 November 1987, with the exception of the Welling United – Carshalton Athletic game. Replays were played in the midweek fixtures on 16th-17th. All other replays were played on 28 November.
The second round of games were played over 5–6 December 1987, with replays being played at various dates afterwards (no replay was played on the same night as another).
Teams from the Football League First and Second Division entered in this round. The third round of games in the FA Cup were played over the weekend 9–11 January 1988, with the first set of replays being played on 12–13 January. Three games went to second replays and one of these to a third replay.
The fourth round of games were played over the weekend 30 January – 1 February 1988, with replays being played on 3 February. A second replay was then played on 9 February. Holders Coventry City were eliminated by Watford.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackpool | 1–1 | Manchester City | 30 January 1988 |
| Replay | Manchester City | 2–1 | Blackpool | 3 February 1988 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 0–2 | Liverpool | 31 January 1988 |
| 3 | Luton Town | 2–1 | Southampton | 30 January 1988 |
| 4 | Everton | 1–1 | Middlesbrough | 30 January 1988 |
| Replay | Middlesbrough | 2–2 | Everton | 3 February 1988 |
| Replay | Everton | 2–1 | Middlesbrough | 9 February 1988 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 5–0 | Swindon Town | 30 January 1988 |
| 6 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–1 | West Ham United | 30 January 1988 |
| 7 | Barnsley | 0–2 | Birmingham City | 30 January 1988 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 0–2 | Watford | 30 January 1988 |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 2–1 | Sheffield United | 1 February 1988 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–2 | Arsenal | 30 January 1988 |
| 11 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Chelsea | 30 January 1988 |
| 12 | Plymouth Argyle | 1–0 | Shrewsbury Town | 30 January 1988 |
| 13 | Bradford City | 4–2 | Oxford United | 30 January 1988 |
| 14 | Mansfield Town | 1–2 | Wimbledon | 30 January 1988 |
| 15 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 January 1988 |
| 16 | Leyton Orient | 1–2 | Nottingham Forest | 30 January 1988 |
The fifth set of games were played over the weekend 20–21 February 1988, with replays on 23–24 February.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton | 0–1 | Liverpool | 21 February 1988 |
| 2 | Newcastle United | 1–3 | Wimbledon | 20 February 1988 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 3–1 | Plymouth Argyle | 20 February 1988 |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–1 | Luton Town | 20 February 1988 |
| Replay | Luton Town | 1–0 | Queens Park Rangers | 24 February 1988 |
| 5 | Portsmouth | 3–0 | Bradford City | 20 February 1988 |
| 6 | Port Vale | 0–0 | Watford | 20 February 1988 |
| Replay | Watford | 2–0 | Port Vale | 23 February 1988 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Manchester United | 20 February 1988 |
| 8 | Birmingham City | 0–1 | Nottingham Forest | 20 February 1988 |
The sixth round of FA Cup games were played over the weekend 12–13 March 1988. There were no replays.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luton Town | 3–1 | Portsmouth | 12 March 1988 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 0–4 | Liverpool | 13 March 1988 |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 2–1 | Watford | 12 March 1988 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 1–2 | Nottingham Forest | 12 March 1988 |
Luton Town's fine season in the cup competitions culminated in a semi-final clash with Wimbledon at White Hart Lane. Wimbledon emerged as 2-1 winners to reach the FA Cup final, in only their second season in the First Division and their 11th in the Football League.
On the same day, First Division leaders Liverpool took on a resurgent Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough. Top scorer John Aldridge found the net twice in a 2–1 win.
Referee:- Keith Hackett (Sheffield)
| Liverpool | 2 – 1 | Nottingham Forest |
|---|---|---|
Aldridge  14' (pen.), 51' |
Clough 67' |
Referee:- George Courtney (Spennymoor)
    Wimbledon
|
   Liverpool
|
The right to show FA Cup games were, as with Football League matches, shared between the BBC and ITV. The stations would alternate between showing a live game and a highlights programme. No games from Rounds 1 or 2 were shown. Occasional highlights of replays would be shown on either the BBC or ITV.[1][2]
These matches were.
1Footage available on YouTube
- "The Big Match". Archived from the original on 2 March 2014.
- The FA Cup at TheFA.com
- FA Cup at BBC.co.uk
- FA Cup news at Reuters.co.uk