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FA Cup
2008-09
The FA Cup Trophy
Region Flag of England
Flag of Wales
Number of teams 762
Defending champions Portsmouth
Champions Chelsea
Runner-up Everton
Top goal scorer Nicolas Anelka
Craig Westcarr
Robin van Persie
Matty Fryatt
Gary Hooper
(4 goals)
 ← 2007-2008
2009-10 → 

The 2008–09 FA Cup was the 128th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short. A record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition; one club, South Normanton Athletic, folded before the fixtures were released, leaving 761 clubs to appear in the draw. Two more clubs, Brierley Hill & Withymoor and Stapenhill, folded after the draws for the early rounds were made, giving their opponents a walk-over.

The competition started on 16 August 2008 with the Extra Preliminary Round and concluded on 30 May 2009 with the Final, held at Wembley Stadium. Because winners Chelsea qualified for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League by finishing 3rd in the 2008–09 Premier League, losing finalists Everton qualified for the play-off round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Because Everton also happened to qualify for a Europa League berth by finishing 5th in the Premier League, that berth was awarded to the 6th place team, whose berth (which was available because 2009–10 Football League Cup winners Manchester United qualified for the Champions League as Premier League winners) was in turn awarded to the 7th place team.

This season's competition saw the beginning of a new television contract for the tournament, with ITV and Setanta Sports taking over the domestic rights from the BBC and Sky Sports.

Calendar[]

Round Main date Number of fixtures Clubs New entries this round Prize money Player of the Round
Extra Preliminary Round 16 August 2008 203 761 → 558 406: 356th–761st £750 n/a
Preliminary Round 30 August 2008 166 558 → 392 129: 227th–355th £1,500 n/a
First Round Qualifying 13 September 2008 116 392 → 276 66: 161st–226th £3,000 Derren Ibrahim (Dartford)
Second Round Qualifying 27 September 2008 80 276 → 196 44: 117th–160th £4,500 Dean Lodge (Kingstonian)
Third Round Qualifying 11 October 2008 40 196 → 156 none £7,500 Craig Davis (AFC Totton)
Fourth Round Qualifying 25 October 2008 32 156 → 124 24: 93rd–116th £12,500 Sam Hatton (AFC Wimbledon)
First Round Proper 8 November 2008 40 124 → 84 48: 45th–92nd £20,000 Jon Adams (AFC Telford United)
Second Round Proper 29 November 2008 20 84 → 64 none £30,000 Lindon Meikle (Eastwood Town)
Third Round Proper 3 January 2009 32 64 → 32 44: 1st–44th £75,000 Nathan Tyson (Nottingham Forest)
Fourth Round Proper 24 January 2009 16 32 → 16 none £100,000 Scott Parker (West Ham United)
Fifth Round Proper 14 February 2009 8 16 → 8 none £200,000 Mikel Arteta (Everton)
Sixth Round Proper 7 March 2009 4 8 → 4 none £400,000 Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
Semi-Finals 18 April 2009
19 April 2009
2 4 → 2 none Winners: £1,000,000
Losers: £500,000
Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Final 30 May 2009 1 2 → 1 none Winner: £2,000,000
Loser: £1,000,000

Qualifying Rounds[]

Main article: FA Cup 2008–09 Qualifying Rounds

All of the teams that entered the competition, but were not members of the Premier League or The Football League, had to compete in the qualifying rounds.

First Round Proper[]

All of the 24 League One and 24 League Two teams entered at this round, along with the winners of the previous round, the fourth qualifying round. These 32 winners came from the following levels:

The draw for the First Round Proper took place on 26 October 2008. The matches were played between 7 and 9 November 2008.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Colchester United 0 – 1 Leyton Orient 4,600
2 Havant & Waterlooville 1 – 3 Brentford 1,631
3 Blyth Spartans 3 – 1 Shrewsbury Town 2,742
4 Sutton United 0 – 1 Notts County 2,041
5 Torquay United 2 – 0 Evesham United 2,275
6 Oxford United 0 – 0 Dorchester Town 3,196
replay Dorchester Town 1 – 3 Oxford United 1,474
7 Bury 0 – 1 Gillingham 2,161
8 AFC Wimbledon 1 – 4 Wycombe Wanderers 4,528
9 Chester City 0 – 3 Millwall 1,932
10 Carlisle United 1 – 1 Grays Athletic 3,921
replay Grays Athletic 0 – 2 Carlisle United 1,217
11 Team Bath 0 – 1 Forest Green Rovers 906
12 Eastbourne Borough 0 – 0 Barrow 1,216
replay Barrow 4 – 0 Eastbourne Borough 2,131
13 AFC Hornchurch 0 – 1 Peterborough United 3,000
14 Yeovil Town 1 – 1 Stockport County 3,582
replay Stockport County 5 – 0 Yeovil Town 3,260
15 Leiston 0 – 0 Fleetwood Town 1,250
replay Fleetwood Town 2 – 0 Leiston 2,010
16 Accrington Stanley 0 – 0 Tranmere Rovers 2,126
replay Tranmere Rovers 1 – 0 Accrington Stanley 2,560
17 Walsall 1 – 3 Scunthorpe United 2,318
18 AFC Bournemouth 1 – 0 Bristol Rovers 3,935
19 Brighton & Hove Albion 3 – 3 Hartlepool United 2,545
replay Hartlepool United 2 – 1 Brighton & Hove Albion 3,288
20 Aldershot Town 1 – 1 Rotherham United 2,632
replay Rotherham United 0 – 3 Aldershot Town 2,431
Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
21 Morecambe 2 – 1 Grimsby Town 1,713
22 Huddersfield Town 3 – 4 Port Vale 6,942
23 Alfreton Town 4 – 2 Bury Town 1,060
24 Kidderminster Harriers 1 – 0 Cambridge United 1,717
25 Leicester City 3 – 0 Stevenage Borough 7,586
26 Milton Keynes Dons 1 – 2 Bradford City 5,542
27 Darlington 0 – 0 Droylsden 2,479
replay Droylsden 1 – 0 Darlington 1,672
28 Chesterfield 3 – 1 Mansfield Town 6,612
29 AFC Telford United 2 – 2 Southend United 3,631
replay Southend United 2 – 0 AFC Telford United 4,415
30 Curzon Ashton 3 – 2 Exeter City 1,259
31 Histon 1 – 0 Swindon Town 1,541
32 Kettering Town 1 – 1 Lincoln City 3,314
replay Lincoln City 1 – 2 Kettering Town 3,953
33 Barnet 1 – 1 Rochdale 1,782
replay Rochdale 3 – 2 Barnet 2,339
34 Hereford United 0 – 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 1,825
replay Dagenham & Redbridge 2 – 1 Hereford United 1,409
35 Cheltenham Town 2 – 2 Oldham Athletic 2,585
replay Oldham Athletic 0 – 1 Cheltenham Town 2,552
36 Luton Town 0 – 0 Altrincham 3,200
replay Altrincham 0 – 0 Luton Town 2,397
Luton Town won 4–2 on penalties
37 Crewe Alexandra 1 – 0 Ebbsfleet United 2,593
38 Eastwood Town 2 – 1 Brackley Town 960
39 Leeds United 1 – 1 Northampton Town 9,531
replay Northampton Town 2 – 5 Leeds United 3,960
40 Harlow Town 0 – 2 Macclesfield Town 2,149

† – After extra time

‡ – Grays' replay with Carlisle was abandoned the first time it was played after 20 minutes because of floodlight failure with Grays leading 1–0.

Blyth Spartans, Droylsden and Histon beat teams from two levels higher. Kettering Town were the fourth non-league team to beat a league club. Curzon Ashton were the only club to beat a team from four levels higher, beating Exeter City.

Second Round Proper[]

The draw for the Second Round Proper took place on 9 November 2008 and involved the 40 winning teams from the First Round Proper. These were from the following levels:

The draw was conducted by Lawrie Sanchez and Ray Parlour. Matches in the Second Round Proper were played over the weekend of 29 November 2008, with the exception of the match between Crewe Alexandra and Carlisle United, which was played on 2 December, due to the abandonment of the first game between Carlisle United and Grays Athletic in the First Round.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1‡ Chesterfield 2 – 2 Droylsden 5,698
replay Droylsden 2 – 1 Chesterfield 2,824
Droylsden expelled for fielding an ineligible player; Chesterfield progress
2 Peterborough United 0 – 0 Tranmere Rovers 5,980
replay Tranmere Rovers 1 – 2 Peterborough United 3,139
3 Eastwood Town 2 – 0 Wycombe Wanderers 1,955
4 Notts County 1 – 1 Kettering Town 4,451
replay Kettering Town 2 – 1 Notts County 3,019
5 Leicester City 3 – 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 7,791
6 Barrow 2 – 1 Brentford 3,532
7 Bradford City 1 – 2 Leyton Orient 5,065
8 Southend United 3 – 1 Luton Town 4,111
9 Forest Green Rovers 2 – 0 Rochdale 1,715
10 Histon 1 – 0 Leeds United 4,103
11 Scunthorpe United 4 – 0 Alfreton Town 4,249
12 Torquay United 2 – 0 Oxford United 2,647
13 Fleetwood Town 2 – 3 Hartlepool United 3,280
14 Morecambe 2 – 3 Cheltenham Town 1,758
15 Gillingham 0 – 0 Stockport County 4,419
replay Stockport County 1 – 2 Gillingham 3,329
16 Millwall 3 – 0 Aldershot Town 6,159
17 Carlisle United 0 – 2 Crewe Alexandra 2,755
18 AFC Bournemouth 0 – 0 Blyth Spartans 4,165
replay Blyth Spartans 1 – 0 AFC Bournemouth 4,040
19 Kidderminster Harriers 2 – 0 Curzon Ashton 2,070
20 Port Vale 1 – 3 Macclesfield Town 4,684

† – After extra time

‡ – Droylsden's first visit to Chesterfield was abandoned at half time due to fog.

6 non-league clubs beat league clubs: Leeds United lost to Histon, while League Two clubs lost to Eastwood Town, Blyth Spartans, Barrow, Forest Green Rovers and Kettering Town.

Third Round Proper[]

The draw for the Third Round Proper took place on 30 November 2008. The draw was carried out by Sir Trevor Brooking and Ray Clemence at Soho Square. The 20 Premier League and 24 Championship teams enter at this stage, along with the 20 winners of the Second Round Proper. These 20 teams came from the following levels:

The matches were played between 2 January and 5 January 2009, with the exception of the ties between Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Histon and Swansea City, Cheltenham Town and Doncaster Rovers, and Leyton Orient and Sheffield United, which were postponed until 13 January 2009.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Portsmouth 0 – 0 Bristol City 14,446
replay Bristol City 0 – 2 Portsmouth 14,302
2 Sheffield Wednesday 1 – 2 Fulham 18,377
3 Preston North End 0 – 2 Liverpool 23,046
4 Birmingham City 0 – 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 22,232
5 West Ham United 3 – 0 Barnsley 28,869
6 Middlesbrough 2 – 1 Barrow 25,132
7 Hull City 0 – 0 Newcastle United 20,557
replay Newcastle United 0 – 1 Hull City 31,380
8 Hartlepool United 2 – 0 Stoke City 5,367
9 Chelsea 1 – 1 Southend United 41,090
replay Southend United 1 – 4 Chelsea 11,314
10 Manchester City 0 – 3 Nottingham Forest 31,869
11 Cardiff City 2 – 0 Reading 12,448
12 Ipswich Town 3 – 0 Chesterfield 12,524
13 Charlton Athletic 1 – 1 Norwich City 12,615
replay Norwich City 0 – 1 Charlton Athletic 13,997
14 West Bromwich Albion 1 – 1 Peterborough United 18,659
replay Peterborough United 0 – 2 West Bromwich Albion 10,735
15 Torquay United 1 – 0 Blackpool 3,654
16 Leyton Orient 1 – 4 Sheffield United 4,527
17 Southampton 0 – 3 Manchester United 31,901
18 Millwall 2 – 2 Crewe Alexandra 5,754
replay Crewe Alexandra 2 – 3 Millwall 3,060
19 Histon 1 – 2 Swansea City 2,821
20 Forest Green Rovers 3 – 4 Derby County 4,836
21 Queens Park Rangers 0 – 0 Burnley 8,896
replay Burnley 2 – 1 Queens Park Rangers 3,760
22 Leicester City 0 – 0 Crystal Palace 15,976
replay Crystal Palace 2 – 1 Leicester City 6,023
23 Tottenham Hotspur 3 – 1 Wigan Athletic 34,040
24 Cheltenham Town 0 – 0 Doncaster Rovers 4,417
replay Doncaster Rovers 3 – 0 Cheltenham Town 5,345
25 Arsenal 3 – 1 Plymouth Argyle 59,424
26 Kettering Town 2 – 1 Eastwood Town 5,090
27 Blyth Spartans 0 – 1 Blackburn Rovers 3,445
28 Macclesfield Town 0 – 1 Everton 6,008
29 Watford 1 – 0 Scunthorpe United 8,690
30 Sunderland 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers 20,685
31 Coventry City 2 – 0 Kidderminster Harriers 13,652
32 Gillingham 1 – 2 Aston Villa 10,107

† – After extra time

Torquay United were the only team to beat a team from 3 levels higher, while Hartlepool United were the only team to beat a team from 2 levels higher.

Fourth Round Proper[]

The draw for the Fourth Round of the FA Cup was held on 4 January 2009. It comprised teams from the following levels:

The draw was conducted by Roberto Di Matteo and Dave Beasant.

A technical error during ITV's broadcast of the Everton–Liverpool replay meant that millions of viewers missed Dan Gosling's winner for Everton late in extra time. Coverage of the match was temporarily interrupted by advertisements, only for viewers to see Everton's players celebrating upon the restoration of the feed. ITV received thousands of complaints about the mistake, with many viewers questioning ITV's ability to broadcast live football, especially given their £275 million contract with the Football Association. ITV has subsequently apologised for the error.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Liverpool 1 – 1 Everton 43,524
replay Everton 1 – 0 Liverpool 37,918
2 Manchester United 2 – 1 Tottenham Hotspur 75,014
3 Hull City 2 – 0 Millwall 18,639
4 Sunderland 0 – 0 Blackburn Rovers 22,634
replay Blackburn Rovers 2 – 1 Sunderland 10,112
5 Hartlepool United 0 – 2 West Ham United 6,849
6 Sheffield United 2 – 1 Charlton Athletic 15,957
7 Cardiff City 0 – 0 Arsenal 20,079
replay Arsenal 4 – 0 Cardiff City 57,237
8 Portsmouth 0 – 2 Swansea City 17,357
9 Chelsea 3 – 1 Ipswich Town 41,137
10 Doncaster Rovers 0 – 0 Aston Villa 13,517
replay Aston Villa 3 – 1 Doncaster Rovers 24,203
11 West Bromwich Albion 2 – 2 Burnley 18,294
replay Burnley 3 – 1 West Bromwich Albion 6,635
12 Torquay United 0 – 1 Coventry City 6,018
13 Kettering Town 2 – 4 Fulham 5,406
14 Watford 4 – 3 Crystal Palace 10,006
15 Derby County 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest 32,035
replay Nottingham Forest 2 – 3 Derby County 29,001
16 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 – 2 Middlesbrough 18,013

† – After extra time

Fifth Round Proper[]

The draw for the Fifth Round Proper was held on 25 January 2009. It comprised 10 teams from the Premier League and 6 from the Championship, and was conducted by Gary Mabbutt and Gary Pallister. The Fifth Round matches were played on the weekend of 14 February 2009, with the exception of the tie between Arsenal and Burnley, after Arsenal's Fourth Round replay with Cardiff City was postponed due to snow. The match was played on 8 March 2009.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1 Sheffield United 1 – 1 Hull City 22,283
replay Hull City 2 – 1 Sheffield United 17,239
2 Watford 1 – 3 Chelsea 16,851
3 West Ham United 1 – 1 Middlesbrough 33,658
replay Middlesbrough 2 – 0 West Ham United 15,602
4 Blackburn Rovers 2 – 2 Coventry City 15,053
replay Coventry City 1 – 0 Blackburn Rovers 22,793
5 Derby County 1 – 4 Manchester United 32,103
6 Swansea City 1 – 1 Fulham 16,573
replay Fulham 2 – 1 Swansea City 12,316
7 Everton 3 – 1 Aston Villa 35,439
8 Arsenal 3 – 0 Burnley 57,454

Sixth Round Proper[]

The draw for the Sixth Round Proper was held on 15 February 2009. It comprised 7 teams from the Premier League and Coventry City from the Championship. It was conducted by Frank McLintock and Graeme Souness. The matches were played on the weekend of 7 March 2009,

7 March 2009
12:30 GMT
Coventry City 0 – 2 Chelsea Ricoh Arena, Coventry
Attendance: 31,407
Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)
Report Drogba Goal 15'
Alex Goal 72'

7 March 2009
17:15 GMT
Fulham 0 – 4 Manchester United Craven Cottage, London
Attendance: 24,662
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)
Report Tévez Goal 20'35'
Rooney Goal 50'
Park Goal 81'

17 March 2009
19:45 GMT
Arsenal 2 – 1 Hull City Emirates Stadium, London
Attendance: 55,641
Referee: Mike Riley (West Yorkshire)
Van Persie Goal 74'
Gallas Goal 84'
Report Barmby Goal 13'

8 March 2009
16:00 GMT
Everton 2 – 1 Middlesbrough Goodison Park, Liverpool
Attendance: 37,856
Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)
Fellaini Goal 50'
Saha Goal 56'
Report Wheater Goal 44'

Semi-Finals[]

The draw for the semi-finals was held on 8 March 2009, and was conducted by Bob Wilson and Joe Royle. The semi-final matches were played at Wembley Stadium, on the weekend of 18 April 2009. Unlike the previous rounds, replays were not held if a match ended as a draw; if necessary, extra time was added and a penalty shoot-out was held immediately after the match.

18 April 2009
17:15 BST
Arsenal 1 – 2 Chelsea Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 88,103
Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Walcott Goal 18' Report Malouda Goal 33'
Drogba Goal 84'

19 April 2009
16:00 BST
Manchester United 0 – 0
(a.e.t.)
Everton Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 88,141
Referee: Mike Riley (West Yorkshire)
Report
    Penalties  
Berbatov Missed (saved)
Ferdinand Missed (saved)
Vidić Soccerball shad check
Anderson Soccerball shad check
2 – 4 Missed (over the crossbar) Cahill
Soccerball shad check Baines
Soccerball shad check Neville
Soccerball shad check Vaughan
Soccerball shad check Jagielka
 

Final[]

Main article: 2009 FA Cup Final
30 May 2009
15:00 BST
Chelsea 2 – 1 Everton Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 89,391
Referee: Howard Webb (South Yorkshire)
Drogba Goal 21'
Lampard Goal 72'
Saha Goal 1'

Top scorers[]

The top scorers in the 2008–09 FA Cup (First Round Proper and onwards) are as follows:

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Flag of France Nicolas Anelka Chelsea 4
Flag of England Matt Fryatt Leicester City 4
Flag of England Gary Hooper Scunthorpe United 4
Flag of Netherlands Robin van Persie Arsenal 4
Flag of England Craig Westcarr Kettering Town 4
6 Flag of Brazil Afonso Alves Middlesbrough 3
Flag of Germany Michael Ballack Chelsea 3
Flag of England Andy Barcham Gillingham 3
Flag of England Jermaine Beckford Leeds United 3
Flag of Ivory Coast Didier Drogba Chelsea 3
Flag of England Louis Dodds Port Vale 3
Flag of Croatia Eduardo Arsenal 3
Flag of England Greg Halford Sheffield United 3
Flag of England Matt Harrold Wycombe Wanderers 3
Flag of England Rob Hulse Derby County 3
Flag of England Andrew Johnson Fulham 3
Flag of England Frank Lampard Chelsea 3
Flag of England Adam le Fondre Rochdale 3
Flag of England Jack Lester Chesterfield 3
Flag of England Craig Mackail-Smith Peterborough United 3
Flag of England James Milner Aston Villa 3
Flag of Russia Roman Pavlyuchenko Tottenham Hotspur 3
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago Jason Scotland Swansea City 3
Flag of Scotland Steven Thompson Burnley 3

External links[]

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